December 1, 2005

A Young Rabbi and his Wife Bring the Atmosphere of the Orthodox Yeshiva to Rutgers’ New Brunswick Campus

Since the beginning of the current academic year, a young Orthodox rabbi and his wife – both born in Israel but fluent in English -- have been mentoring the large Orthodox population at Rutgers University, while reaching out to non-Orthodox students as well. They are doing so as the representatives of a thriving program called JLIC – the Heshe and Harriet Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. Rabbi Ori and Lea Melamed, the JLIC “Torah educators,” are working to ensure that the Orthodox future is a bright one on the New Brunswick campus, by actively engaging students in Jewish learning, celebration and one-on-one engagement.

JLIC is a cooperative effort of the Orthodox Union; Hillel: The Foundation for Campus Jewish Life; and the Torah Mitzion organization, and in its sixth year in existence has come to Rutgers, which has one of the largest Orthodox populations at any secular campus in the country. Expanding every year from its first two schools, Yale and Brandeis, the program has also found a home at Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Brooklyn College, the University of Maryland, the University of Illinois and UCLA. This year, it added Rutgers, which is the state university of New Jersey, as well as NYU and the University of Florida.

The program has been given major financial support from an endowment provided by Orthodox Union leaders Herbert (Heshe) Seif and his wife, Harriet, of Englewood, NJ, whose names adorn the program.

Through the easy availability of Torah study; daily, Shabbat and holiday synagogue services; and kosher food; together with counseling and interaction with their peers, Orthodox students find a welcome niche at Rutgers in which their yeshiva experiences are transferred to the campus, while at the same time they are participating fully in the academic life of their college.

“The Seif JLIC program provides a network of outposts for Orthodox students to find safe haven – almost an oasis -- in an environment that has the potential to wear down even the most Orthodox young men and women,” declared OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, a clinical psychologist as well as a rabbi. Referring to secular campuses as “at times a grueling desert” in terms of potential threats to observance of Jewish law, Rabbi Weinreb says that JLIC enables Orthodox students “to have full engagement with the secular world, but with the standards they were raised in and in which they were educated before going to college.”

The program was the brainchild of Founding Director Rabbi Menachem Schrader, now based in Israel but very familiar with the campus scene in the United States, who recognized that an alternative was necessary for Orthodox students who choose to attend secular colleges – a steadily growing and substantial number. He won support from the three organizations and started the program in the 2001-2 school year.

Now it has come to New Brunswick, with the Melameds hired as the JLIC Torah educators. “There are several hundred Orthodox students on the Rutgers campus, and the Hillel Director, Andrew Getraer, turned to the OU to establish the JLIC program there,” Rabbi Schrader declared. “Hillel was very interested in having the JLIC program with a husband and wife involved to help Orthodox students have a full expression of their religiosity within the campus Hillel family.”

The Melameds, who are parents of four daughters, are the first Israeli couple to become the JLIC educators. Ori received rabbinical ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, as well as degrees in teaching – not at all surprising since melamed means “teacher” in Hebrew. Besides his Torah knowledge, he is an accomplished guitar player and story teller who has performed in front of large crowds in the United States and France; a community builder; a talk show host in Israel; and the kind of advisor/mentor “who has a knack for finding the lighter side to a dreary situation,” a skill which certainly comes in handy on any college campus, especially at exam time.

Lea Melamed received her B.A. with honors in psychology and musicology from Bar Ilan University and her Masters in Jewish history from Touro College. She has wide teaching experience and also has a background in music.

“Rabbi Melamed and Lea have already infused the Orthodox community at Rutgers with a spirit of Torat Eretz Yisrael (the Torah of the Land of Israel),” Rabbi Schrader declared. “Even though they have been there only a few months, they have come to know and be close with a considerable number of students and are teaching Torah in a meaningful way.”

Rabbi Ilan Haber, the National Director of JLIC, agrees. “We are excited about the unique talents the Melameds bring to the position,” he said. “Both Ori and Lea have substantive educational experience, and a love and talent for music. This has already translated well to campus, where they have led festive events with their students.”

“Rutgers Hillel is thrilled to be partnering with the OU and Torah Mitzion on the JLI program," declared Executive Director Andrew Getraer. "We have one the most significant Orthodox student populations in the country, with about 450 students, as well as one of the largest Jewish populations of any campus in America, with some 5,000 Jewish students. Thanks to the JLI C partnership, we finally have the resources to serve our growing Orthodox community as they need and deserve.”

“Our JLIC couple, Rabbi Ori Melamed and his wife Lea, are doing incredible work here, even in the first semester in America. They have a natural bond with students, and have added a whole new dimension to our learning, davening (prayer), and informal relationships. Their work in building community and learning also spills over on to many other students, and adds a vital dimension to all of our programming,” Mr. Getraer said.

“It is hard to downplay the significance of the OU-Hillel partnership. Now that we are working so closely together, my personal goal as Hillel Director, is for Rutgers to become the premier campus for Orthodox students in America.”

The Melameds came to New Brunswick, Ori explained, “to provide the students with strong resources for Jewish learning and growth. It’s all about encouraging living an active Jewish life on campus.”

“We would like students to feel that there is always someone there who cares about them in the most personal way,” declared Lea. “Someone they can ask any question they like, whether it’s about Torah, Israeli music or about their personal lives.”

Lea and Rabbi Ori Melamed

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