Parents’ Weekend 2026 – Parashat Noach

Shabbat Shalom, and welcome to Kenyon Hillel!

This week, we read Parashat Noah, the story of Noah and the ark. It is a story about a world in crisis, but it is also a story about the importance of creating a place where life can continue, where different creatures live together, and where there is hope for what comes next.

I think there is something in that story that speaks to what we are building here at Kenyon.

One of the things I find most meaningful about Jewish life on this campus is that we come together. Every Friday evening, students put aside their papers, their exams, their busy schedules, and everything else competing for their attention. They come to Hillel to welcome Shabbat, to share a meal, to sing, to talk, and simply to be together.

On a campus of Kenyon’s size, there is something particularly special about that. Jewish life here is not something that happens in the background. It is something we create together. Every student who comes to dinner, every person who helps prepare a meal, every conversation around the table adds something to the community we are building.

And that community is about more than Friday night. It is about knowing that you have a place where you belong. It is about celebrating together, supporting one another through difficult moments, asking questions, learning, and discovering what being Jewish means to each of us.

That is what makes Jewish life at Kenyon so special. We are a relatively small community, but we have the opportunity to make a very real impact on one another’s lives.

And to the parents who are here tonight, I know that each of you has played a part in the journey that brought your student to Kenyon. You have watched them grow, encouraged them to find their own way, and helped shape the people they are becoming. For some of you, Jewish life has been a central part of your family; for others, the journey may have looked a little different.

But tonight,  I hope you will see something that I get to witness every week. Your students are finding their place in a Jewish community of their own. They are making friends, creating traditions, asking questions, and discovering that Jewish life is something they can carry with them and shape for themselves.

And for tonight, you get to be part of that, too. You are not simply guests at our home for Shabbat. You are part of the story of this community, and we are genuinely glad you are here.

The Jewish tradition teaches us that we do not build community alone. We build it by showing up, by making room for one another, and by sharing our lives around the same table.

Noah’s story ends with a rainbow and a promise of a new beginning. Every Shabbat offers us a smaller version of that possibility: a chance to pause, reconnect, and remember what matters.

So tonight, as we light the candles, bless the wine, share in freshly baked challah,  I hope you will experience what our students experience here every week: the joy of being part of a Jewish community that means so much to them.

Welcome to Kenyon Hillel. 

Shabbat Shalom!