Orthodox Rabbi at Harvard Hillel

Orthodox Rabbi

Harvard Hillel

Role Overview

Harvard Hillel seeks a dynamic, relationship-centered, and intellectually curious Orthodox Rabbi to help shape a vibrant Orthodox Jewish community while contributing to the life of Harvard’s diverse Jewish community. This is an opportunity for a rabbi who loves Torah learning, cares deeply about students, and is excited to build meaningful relationships across differences in religious practice, belief, and background.

The ideal candidate will be a committed and inspiring exemplar of Torah and mitzvot, able to make Jewish tradition intellectually compelling, spiritually meaningful, and accessible to students with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The rabbi will serve as a trusted teacher, mentor, and pastoral resource to Orthodox students while also building relationships with non-Orthodox students and contributing to a pluralistic Jewish community in which students can encounter different expressions of Jewish life with curiosity, respect, and a sense of belonging.

Working closely with students, student leaders, and Hillel colleagues, the rabbi will create opportunities for learning, Shabbat and holiday experiences, mentorship, and communal leadership. The successful candidate will be an inspiring Torah teacher and a relationship builder, showing a genuine desire to meet students where they are, engage their questions, and support them as they deepen their own Jewish lives.

At Harvard Hillel, a strong Orthodox community and a vibrant pluralistic Jewish community strengthen one another. We seek a rabbi who is confident and grounded in Orthodox practice, generous in relationships across differences, and eager to share the wisdom of Torah with students and colleagues throughout the Harvard community.

We welcome a candidate’s wife who is interested in helping build a vibrant Jewish community at Harvard to apply for a paid role as well. Depending on their interests and experience, this role might include learning with students, hosting Shabbat and holiday meals, building relationships, and planning and leading community programs. Our priority is to hire the strongest candidate for the role. At the same time, we recognize the potential value of a couple contributing to Jewish life at Harvard together, and welcome applications from couples interested in serving the community in complementary roles.

What You’ll Do

- Build relationships and provide pastoral care across the community: Develop meaningful relationships with Orthodox and non-Orthodox undergraduate and graduate students. Be a consistent, accessible presence in students’ lives, offering mentorship, pastoral care, and opportunities for Jewish learning and growth. Meet students where they are, without assumptions about their backgrounds, observance, beliefs, or prior Jewish learning.

- Teach Torah and contribute to a culture of learning: Teach Torah that is textually rigorous, intellectually ambitious, spiritually resonant, and responsive to students’ questions and interests. Create opportunities for sustained learning through shiurim, informal conversations, and regular chavruta study. Welcome challenging questions and foster a culture of learning characterized by curiosity, humility, and respect.

- Advise and develop the Orthodox Student Minyan: Serve as a trusted advisor to the Orthodox Student Minyan, offering shiurim, drashot, chavrutot, halakhic and hashkafic guidance, and practical organizational support. Partner with student leaders to cultivate a vibrant, welcoming minyan in which students take increasing ownership of communal life, religious practice, and programming.

- Contribute to pluralistic Jewish life at Harvard: Bring a confident Orthodox perspective to Harvard Hillel while actively engaging with students, rabbis, and colleagues from across the Jewish community. Participate in shared learning, programs, conversations, and communal gatherings, helping students encounter Jewish perspectives beyond their own and building relationships grounded in mutual respect. The rabbi should be able to articulate and share an Orthodox worldview while engaging thoughtfully and warmly with those who understand or practice Judaism differently.

- Create a home for Shabbat and holidays: Help students experience Shabbat and holidays as sources of connection, joy, spiritual depth, and community. Host students regularly in your home, collaborate with students and colleagues on meaningful holiday programming, and organize at least one off-site Shabbaton for the Orthodox community.

- Model exemplary middot: Relate to students and colleagues with warmth, care, humility, an approachability. Approach questions, disagreements, and conflicts with curiosity and a commitment to working toward solutions together. Be open to feedback and willing to consider others’ perspectives.

- Collaborate with the Hillel team: Work closely with the rabbinic and student life teams to develop and execute programs, support student-led initiatives, and advance shared engagement goals. Contribute ideas, follow through on commitments, communicate proactively, and help strengthen the team’s work.

- Partner with the broader Orthodox community: Serve as Harvard Hillel’s liaison to the broader Cambridge Orthodox Minyan at Harvard Hillel, supporting scheduling, financial coordination, and student participation in the broader Cambridge Orthodox community. Build relationships with local Jewish institutions and community partners to strengthen the experiences and resources available to students.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

- Strong Torah scholarship : Orthodox rabbinic ordination, deep textual knowledge, and the ability to teach traditional Jewish texts with rigor, creativity, and intellectual sophistication.

- Commitment to Orthodox Jewish life : A deep personal commitment to Torah, mitzvot, and the flourishing of Orthodox students and community.

- Excellence across differences : A genuine love of working with young adults and a demonstrated ability to build meaningful relationships with students across a wide range of Jewish backgrounds, practices, and perspectives.

- Pluralistic leadership : The ability to represent and teach from an Orthodox perspective while engaging non-Orthodox students and colleagues with warmth, curiosity, respect, and intellectual openness.

- Pastoral sensitivity : The ability to listen carefully, offer thoughtful guidance, navigate sensitive conversations, and support students through questions of identity, faith, relationships, and personal growth.

- Intellectual curiosity and humility : A willingness to ask questions before offering answers, acknowledge the limits of one’s knowledge, and continue learning alongside students and colleagues.

- Educational and programmatic skill : Experience designing, facilitating, and evaluating Jewish learning and community-building experiences. Experience in Hillel, experiential Jewish education, Orthodox communal settings, youth movements, or camp is valuable.

- Collaborative leadership : Strong communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills, along with the ability to work effectively with student leaders, colleagues, and community partners.

- A welcoming home : A willingness and ability to host students for Shabbat and holiday experiences.

- Professional qualifications : A bachelor’s degree, Orthodox rabbinic ordination, and membership in good standing in a rabbinic alumni association with established ethical guidelines.

What You’ll Receive

- Competitive salary of $135,000 for the rabbi role. If a spouse/partner is separately hired for a complementary role, that position carries an independent salary of up to $40,000.

- Comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, a tax-deferred retirement plan, life and disability insurance, a flex spending plan, generous vacation and sick time, and parental leave.

- A network of students, parents, university partners, and colleagues who will inspire you and become lifelong professional resources and partners.

- Opportunities for professional development, mentoring, and Jewish study.

- Colleagues and support from across the Hillel movement.

- Travel opportunities, both domestic and international.

- Stipends for Shabbat hosting experiences.

- Plenty of Hillel and university swag.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means that Orthodox students experience the minyan as a vibrant, welcoming, and student-owned community; students across Harvard’s Jewish community seek out the rabbi as a trusted teacher and mentor; Torah learning becomes a meaningful part of students’ lives; and the rabbi’s presence strengthens relationships, understanding, and shared Jewish life across differences. Success also means that the rabbi is a valued colleague across Harvard Hillel, contributing confidently from an Orthodox perspective while helping the broader Jewish community flourish.

About Harvard Hillel

Harvard Hillel is home to more than 500 Jewish undergraduates and 1,800 Jewish graduate students. Our mission is to help students build meaningful Jewish lives through relationships, learning, leadership, and community. Every member of our staff contributes to creating a welcoming environment where students can explore their identities, develop as leaders, and find a Jewish home on campus.

About Hillel International

In 1923, Rabbi Benjamin Frankel started Hillel with humble means, a noble mission and a breathtaking vision: to convey Jewish civilization to a new generation. Today, Hillel International continues to enrich the lives of Jewish students and is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities across North America and around the world. As Hillel evolves as an organization, the mission remains steadfast: to create lasting connections with every Jewish student that foster an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel and train them to become the next Jewish leaders.

Hillel is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an accepting and inclusive environment for all.