Hillel 818 is thrilled to share that at the beginning of March we welcomed Darren Klein as our new Operations Director. Darren is a career Jewish professional and spent over two decades working for Far West USY, so the move to Hillel 818 felt like a natural fit.

When Ben Braunstein agreed to work for Hillel 818 he had one condition that was non-negotiable: Anything he created for Hillel 818, whether it be software, a new app, or an original mezuzah design he would retain ownership over the intellectual property. At his heart, Ben has always been a creator and a builder. While helping us open our brand new building and modernizing our systems of operations, Ben has kept working on his entrepreneurial dream - to open up a makerspace for builders and craftspeople to build things and make crafts.

Sometimes there’s an invisible string tying two people together and it takes them a bit of time to discover it. Such was the case with Hillel 818 alumnae Joshua Schleien and Rachel Katz.

For members of the Hillel 818 community and recent alumni, the story of Zohar and Noya Achiasaf hits close to home. After graduating CSUN in 2017 and 2018, the sisters recognized a significant gap in the San Fernando Valley: a lack of places for young adults to socialize and embrace Jewish culture.

For CSUN alum Joshua Schleien, he’s always felt like Hillel was his home… because it quite literally was for a period of time.

One aspect that has remained a constant in Leah’s life from before college through now is her sense of belonging to the Jewish community. “I grew up being very involved in my Jewish community… When I got to CSUN I wanted to keep some of that Jewish value in my life and to find Jewish classmates.”

CSUN alum Rachel Katz knew she was going to get involved with Hillel 818 when she started college and picked her major. “As a Jewish Studies major it’s just kind of what you did. My sister was a part of Hillel at her college, so I had known about the idea of Hillel. Then I came to a Hillel 818 event with a friend and I just stayed.I even lived at Hillel for a couple of years!”

For CSUN class of 2021 alum Samantha Harouni, Hillel wasn’t something she was necessarily looking for, but rather something that she bumped into along the way. “I remember when I was first at CSUN a couple groups, including Hillel, were trying to get me on Birthright at the same time. I didn’t know where Hillel was or anything about it but, one day, I was at Freudian Sip with my Hebrew textbook out and Rabs and Sondra were right behind me, she noticed my Hebrew book, and the conversation just started going from there. They connected me with the Israel fellow at the time and we just talked about Birthright and convinced me to go.”

November 4, 2022 was a momentous day for Hillel 818. After three years of construction, delays, and a global pandemic that shut down the world, Hillel 818 was finally able to host our first event at our newly renovated building. Current students, alumni, the Hillel 818 Board of Directors, and Hillel 818 staff all gathered for the very first Shabbat and dinner at the renovated building on Plummer Street.