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Hillel is the foundation for Jewish campus life. In layman’s terms, that means it’s a place where Jewish students can hang out with other Jews. It is a place where Jewish students can participate in social, recreational, and religious activities with other Jews. Another question may be, “What isn’t Hillel?” Hillel isn’t a religious group that makes everyone go to synagogue. Hillel isn’t a bunch of Jewish kids that sit around and eat gefilte fish talking about who’s more kosher. We’re normal students, who just happen to be Jewish.

The name “Hillel” comes from a sage who moved from Babylonia to Palestine in the first century. His message was that, in all Jewish endeavors, let us "love and pursue peace, and by loving our fellow creatures, may we bring them to Torah." The organization started, in part, as an alternative to fraternities and sororities many of which excluded Jews from membership.

Definitely! Would you go to a picnic with other students? Would you go tubing down the New River with other students? Would you hang out at a coffee shop with other students? If you said yes to any of these, Hillel is for you. You don’t need to be "religious" to do any of these things. The benefit of Hillel is that the other students you can hang out with are Jewish and because of that you share a common background (regardless of how bizarre), so you’ll always have something to talk about.

Do I look like your mother? Of course you don’t have to go. Hillel does have Friday night services weekly, but they are completely voluntary. If the downtown scene is calling you before 8:00, go for it. We won’t take it personally (we’ll just catch up with you later).

There is no official membership in Hillel, so we don’t have an exact number of members. To give you an idea though, we average about 50-100 students at most events and have gotten as many as 200 at some more popular ones. There are over 1,200 Jewish students at Virginia Tech, so we are always expanding!

Nope! In general, most of our events are 100% free to students. The only time that a fee is required is for ski trips, banquet dinners, etc. When this is the case, the student’s cost is always offset as much as possible. We are able to do this through generous donations from parents, Jewish organizations, and alumni.

I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is! You need to provide a deposit check of $250 after you are accepted, but you get all of that money back once you finish the trip. Virginia Tech has already sent hundreds of students to Israel on this program. To learn more, click here.

Virginia Tech has limited Kosher dining offerings. The kitchens within the university are mostly non-kosher with vegetarian/kosher options.

Virginia Tech’s Owens Food Court provides the opportunity of halal and kosher food entrees in an effort to better serve its diverse student population.  Hillel and the Blacksburg Jewish Community Center organize kosher eating groups to provide the community variety and access to special kosher meat orders throughout the year.

First off, you can encourage and support participation in Hillel. As with any non-profit organization, Hillel is always in search of monetary support. A gift from you and your family can go a surprisingly long way. To learn how you can help (with or without money), click here.

Hillel offers a wide variety of events. A sampling include: socials and services with food and friends, camping trips, mountain-biking, sporting-events, bonfires, college-age Israeli speakers, a free trip to Israel, Purim masquerade, High Holiday Services, trips to West Virginia, North Carolina, and theaters and museums.