Rabbi Eli is a familiar figure to many students at UA, helping students learn about Judaism, leading trips, and co-running the organization Jewish Arizonans on Campus (JAC). The picture is from JAC’s Web site.

How did you get involved with the Jewish community at the University of Arizona?

After moving to the Valley, I began working with high school teens and programs in September 2004. About a year after my initial involvement with the Jewish youth scene in Arizona, Rabbi Brumer asked me to help with one of his shabbatons, and from this I was inspired to continue my involvement not only with high school students, but also the collegiate community, which I felt had a yearning for greater Jewish teaching resources. There were already established youth groups on Tucson’s campus, Hillel for example, and we built relationships with these organizations to foster the growth of these young Jewish students. JAC is especially proud of the close relationship it has established with Hillel over the past five years, and as a point of fact, only recently began using the title ‘JAC’.

What does JAC do, and how did the idea for the organization come about?

This organization came about not because of anything that we personally have done, but rather because of the students’ ardent desire to have this type of Jewish resource on campus. Our strongest asset is the students who not only provide the heart for the group, but a continued longing that ensures JAC will have an extremely significant and lasting impact on the collegiate Jewish community.
We engage students on various different levels of Judaism. From the basic social interaction and schmoozing between Jews, to trips for Shabbat and to Israel, to one-on-one directed study, JAC attempts to answer the questions Jewish students approach them with.

You are involved in leading the discussion group “Shmooze, Eat and Learn” at Hillel. Are there any particular topics that you feel students are most eager to talk about?

It actually depends on a student’s background. JAC is composed of a diverse range of students, from those born religious to those that are simply attempting to discover exactly a previously ignored Jewish heritage. So, the questions run the gamut. For those initially approaching Judaism and religious study, sex is a common question. However, it is not the only question. Once we get past the first few topics, which really seem to be college kids testing limits and boundaries, the students feel more comfortable asking the big, deep, philosophical questions that will have a far greater impact in shaping their future.

Can you tell us about the trips that JAC is offering to UA students, and what you hope students will get out of visiting these particular places?

This winter we have trips planned to London, New York, California and Israel. It isn’t about the destinations, it is about the experience. And literally, to a person, everyone has said that the trips are fantastic experiences.
The key thing to remember about these trips is that they allow the students freedom. It isn’t solely about traveling to an exotic locale and neither is it solely about studying. The trips show that the religious and the secular do not have to be in opposition. Rather, one can be as religious as one wants and still participate in the world as a whole. We provide study if participants want and we show students what a Shabbat is. This last concept is important. If a person has not yet experienced the songs and warmth associated with Shabbat, this trip will show them what it is truly all about.

The JAC website mentions that you have a background in music and that you were a regular on the New York Jewish music scene. Is there a connection between your musical background and your current role in the Jewish community?

Well, this is a rather complicated question. Looking at all the different tunes used in prayer shows that music is an integral part of the Jewish experience. As for myself, music has always inspired me to grow and to explore; it was an essential part of my personal growth and exploration into what I consider to be true, and I couldn’t imagine not sharing this with others. The more you share the more it inspires you, so yes, the music has inspired me to take a larger role in sharing and participating with and within the community and ultimately getting others to explore our rich, shared heritage.