As a Rabbi, I’m often consulted by our alumni about their relationship issues. One complaint I’m hearing a lot lately is that the other person in the relationship “just hasn’t got enough depth.”
(This is usually a little ironic, considering that the only way they met in the first place was by quickly swiping past hundreds of other people on a dating app.)
Notwithstanding the strange dating customs of today, I do truly believe that people are actively searching for depth and meaning in their lives. I see that when our grad students and alumni seek out JGSI not only as a social outlet to meet other Jews, but for a genuine deep connection to their roots and heritage that they’ve lacked–or maybe never had to begin with.
Given this, it’s no surprise that JGSI has rapidly grown in the last three years, from 67 graduate campuses to 130. And as we’ve increased our breadth, we have been mindful to continue increasing the depth of Jewish engagement that we provide our students.
One such initiative that I’m really proud of is our award-winning Sloan Fellowship. Over the course of a semester, our Sloan Fellows explore ethics, leadership and personal growth through a Jewish lens in a group setting. The program inspires them to take ownership of their Jewish identity, and for most participants, it’s the first time since their Bar/Bat Mitzvah–or ever–that they’ve learned anything meaningful about Judaism or how it applies to their modern-day life.
JGSI runs almost 600 programs annually and we love all of them, but we put our whole heart and soul into this Fellowship. The program started with just one Los Angeles-based cohort per year, but we always hoped that it would one day reach more people. During the lockdowns we began offering sessions virtually to students around the country. Each year the content gets even better and more timely. And this year, we knew it was time to bring a live cohort to New York as well.
We weren’t sure we could pull it off, but we did it! The result? Three cohorts meeting each week, totalling 135 enthusiastic grad students across the country, all taking a deep dive into Judaism.
Whether in their relationships or in their Judaism, our students want depth–and we at JGSI are providing it at scale. Just read these reflections from current Sloan Fellows below my signature :)
