Hillel held its annual elections for student board positions this past week, with only three of the eleven positions contested. Additionally, this upcoming year will see the first female president of Mesorah (the Hillel Orthodox community), Orly Elstein.
Discussing her decision to run for the position, Elstein wrote CampusJ in an e-mail, “I see [Mesorah], down the line, becoming a dominant force on campus and a forum for Orthodox Jews in Rutgers to come socialize with each other and learn from each other. I hope that by running programs and creating an active community, we will grow and attract other Jews to our campus, and have Rutgers become knows as viable option for religious Jews.”
When asked about her becoming the first female Mesorah president, Elstein answered, “I think it’s a great thing that a female is president, but I’m not here to boast women’s rights or to push the envelope on women’s religious issues (although there is a time and place for that). Being a religious woman is something that obviously defines me, but I’m approaching this position as just another individual looking to make a difference.”
Elstein also noted that “the task of Tefillah is traditionally the [Mesorah] president’s job to oversee and so it will stay that way.”

Here is a list of the new Hillel Board.

President - Nina Sherman
Treasurer - Julie Greenberg
Secretary - Debbie Shaw
Religious Life Coordinator - Jeremy Davis
Israel Coordinator - Molly Salovitz
Education Coordinator - Naomi Gold
Social/Arts Coordinator - Ariella Prince
Community Service Coordinator - Avi Smolen
Mesorah (Orthodox) President - Orly Elstein
Koach (Conservative) President - Ilana Katronetsky
Kesher (Reform) President - Jill Necky