Hillel = Jewish Continuity

Blake grew up in a small town in Colorado. He and his family were the only Jews. They had to drive an hour to go to their synagogue.

At school, Blake did his best to hide his Jewish identity. His mother would straighten his curly hair before putting him on the bus. He was not allowed to wear his Jewish star necklace, because she was scared of how he would be treated. Regardless, his classmates discovered he was Jewish and Blake felt the sting of antisemitism on a regular basis, from hurtful remarks, to swastikas drawn on his yearbook, to kids throwing pennies at him as he walked to class.

From high school, Blake went on to a community college in Stockton, CA, then another college in Reno, NV. He transferred to UCSD for the opportunity to play on their baseball team and for its excellence.

At the time of transferring, Blake experienced an identity crisis. He was deeply unhappy and didn’t like himself. With help, he discovered it was because he was hiding the biggest part of who he is because he had lived for so long with the fear of expressing his Jewish identity.

Enter Hillel.

Through Hillel of San Diego Blake found his people. It was the FIRST time Blake truly felt like he was a part of a Jewish community. “It’s brought me inner peace. Because of Hillel, I am now connected to so many other Jewish students.” And, through an introduction by Hillel, Blake rushed the Jewish fraternity AEPi, something he would never have imagined doing!

He finally feels like himself. He is grateful because Hillel opened the doors to many Jewish learning and leadership opportunities for him.

Blake takes a full course load, plays baseball, is part of a Jewish brotherhood, and dedicates the rest of his time to Hillel. He participated in this fall’s Jewish Learning Fellowship (Asking Life’s Big Questions); in Kol Yisrael (studying pluralism in Israel and the different perspectives of Israeli and Diaspora Jews); he is the West Coast ambassador for “Jewish on Campus” a nonprofit that helps fight antisemitism throughout North America; he serves on the board of Tritons for Israel; and has made plans to go on Birthright Israel and participate in an Onward Israel internship next summer.

“I wish JLF and Kol Yisrael were held more than once a week. I loved the deep discussions and could have gone on for much longer than our 90 minute classes! I want more. I am already planning to do the next sessions of JLF and Kol Yisrael.”

Recently, Blake helped cook the food for the Mizrahi Shabbat at UCSD Hillel. “I am fully Ashkenazi. I had only been exposed to my Orthodox Hasidic cousins in Crown Heights and to my little synagogue in the mountains of Colorado. I had never met a Persian or North African Jew. To experience their culture has been amazing. It’s been one of the best experiences of my life.”

Blake says that his dream is to pursue a masters in ethics and human rights, ultimately to make Aliyah and to become the Israeli Ambassador to the U.N.