Mission

To enrich the lives of Jewish students and young adults so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.

Vision

Metro Chicago Hillel envisions a world where every student and young adult is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.

Organizational Values

Metro Chicago Hillel is a collection of Jewish communities of students and young adults around Chicago. We create inclusive, pluralistic, and welcoming spaces that engage and educate young folks across the spectrum of identity, background, and belief and enable them to reach their full potential. Through our classes, pastoral encounters, leadership development, and immersive experiences, we build communities committed to engaging with Jewish learning, living, justice and Israel.

These are the values upon which those communities are based:

B'tzelem Elohim (In the image of the Divine) – Every student is created in the Divine image. Everyone across the spectrum of identity, background and belief deserves respect and belongs in our community.
Tzedek (Justice) – Jewish values and texts inspire students and young adults to pursue justice.
Limmud (Learning) – Students and young adults actively engage with Jewish text and learning.
Yisrael (Israel) – Students and young adults are committed to Jewish peoplehood and experience a deep engagement with the Jewish people all over the world, and the state and land of Israel, and all of her inhabitants.
Yehadut (Jewish Life) – Students and young adults are actively engaged with Jewish practice, holidays and traditions.

At Metro Chicago Hillel we create pluralistic Jewish communities on our campuses and across Chicago that are committed to promoting social and economic justice locally, nationally and in Israel. Together with our students and young adults we strive to create safe and supportive spaces for everyone who might enter, that welcome and lift up the different identities held by the people in our communities, and that uphold the dignity of all people from diverse racial, gender, and sexual identities, religious practices, levels of physical and mental ability and Jewish knowledge, and all the myriad ways people give shape to themselves. We pledge to revisit and revise this statement as we learn and grow.