The Orthodox Union’s Heshe and Harriet Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) program will celebrate its tenth anniversary at Brandeis University on Sunday, March 14, at 5:00 p.m., when it will honor Rabbi Todd and Naomi Berman, the first JLIC couple at Brandeis. Brandeis was the first college to have JLIC programming, which is now found on fifteen campuses in the United States and Canada.
JLIC is a program that helps Orthodox students navigate the college environment, balance their Jewish commitments with their desire to engage the secular world, and provides avenues for spiritual development and exploration for Jewish students from varied backgrounds, representing a positive, sophisticated and welcoming face for Orthodox Judaism on campus.
The current JLIC couple at Brandeis is Rabbi Elliot and Toby Goldfisher Kaplowitz, who have held the position since 2007.
Rabbi Menachem Schrader, Founding Director of JLIC, declared, “Rabbi Todd and Naomi Berman were the first couple to be chosen as Torah Educators for JLIC, and they completely paved the way for the program. In no time at all, no one could imagine how the Orthodox Jewish students at Brandeis had managed before they arrived on campus. They were popular with all the students, and worked hand in hand with the Hillel rabbi and director, Rabbi Allan Lehman, setting the tone for the relationships we wanted all future Torah Educators to have with their Hillel colleagues. Naomi and Todd are both Torah scholars who are worthy of commanding the respect of students who had studied in Israel extensively.”
Naomi and Todd currently make their home in Efrat, Israel with their six children.
The anniversary celebration, which will take place at The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis, will feature cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and live music. There will also be a tour of the museum preceding the ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
The cost is $50 per person, and $36 for students. The money will go directly towards educational and social programming for Jewish students at Brandeis.
Besides Brandeis, JLIC is present at Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, New York University, Brooklyn College, Rutgers, University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, University of Illinois, UCLA and York University/University of Toronto in Canada.
To RSVP, visit www.jliconline.org/brandeis10, or for more information, contact jlicbrandeis@gmail.com or 212-613-8287.