Steve Shapiro (served 2015-2019)

“The part of the mission that resonates the most with us is the idea that you need to raise engaged, mature, thoughtful children in this society, and with a set of values that comes from Judaism. But people also have to go out and live in the larger world and bring those values to the world. We, [at Heschel] are very dedicated to tikkun olam. The rabbis always understood that tikkun olam helps the world, but it also does a hell of a lot for the person doing the act itself. And one of the ideas that resonated most with me over the years was the notion that I think Heschel--in a way that other institutions don't necessarily do, especially today--inculcates a sense not only of ‘what are my rights and my entitlements,’ but also ‘what are my obligations? What is expected of me?’”