Courtesy of a “non-impactful” trip two years ago (and a baseball cap)
The post-semester trip to Israel has become a rite of passage for secular college students involved in Meor, Olami’s college campus kiruv division. But in May 2021, with Israeli borders shut due to coronavirus precautions, the trip had to be shelved.
Instead, Rabbi Meir Goldberg of Meor Rutgers Jewish Xperience and Rabbi Jonny Kersh of Olami’s J-Beatz planned a small trip to Arizona, and seven students joined. There were speeches and heartfelt talks, but breathtaking scenery aside, the Arizona desert just couldn’t compete with the Holy Land, and the two rabbis left for home assuming that the trip hadn’t been particularly impactful.
On the flight back, Rabbi Goldberg nonchalantly put on a baseball cap with “Rutgers” spelled out in Hebrew cursive letters. During the flight, a girl in her late teens approached him hesitantly, squinting at his cap. “Are you involved in Rutgers?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
The girl explained that she “had grown up Jewish,” but had fallen out of any sort of religiosity when she hit college and now wanted to start reconnecting. Would he be able to help?
Create a free account to keep reading.
