Rabbi Cassi Kail joins Chapman University as the new Director of Jewish Life
Kail shares her intentions of fostering a sense of belonging among the university’s Jewish students and promoting open communication on campus for all. Photo collage by EMILY PARIS, Photo Editor, photo courtesy of Rabbi Cassi Kail
Rabbi Cassi Kail has loved supporting those she has shepherded as a Jewish religious leader for the last 13 years.
“I love serving the community — being able to meet people where they are,” Kail said.
Now, She will be using this invaluable experience to lead Chapman’s faith-based Jewish organizations as the school’s new Director of Jewish Life.
Although Kail appreciated her time serving as a congressional Rabbi in New York for over a decade, she shared that she felt it was time for something “different.” While she valued counseling her congregation and leading rituals, she now feels she is more needed elsewhere.
“As I look at the world right now, especially after Oct. 7, there are so many Jewish students who are struggling on college campuses, and I really felt called to be on a college campus,” Kail said.
With so much unrest in the greater religious community, Kail has goals of continuing to foster an environment on Chapman’s campus where Jewish students feel fully supported.
According to Kail, there are two faith-based groups for Jewish students at the university: Chabad and Hillel. She added that the Jewish community at Chapman — just like the global Jewish community — is “incredibly diverse.” As the new Director of Jewish Life, Kail is responsible for shepherding the on-campus Jewish community as a whole.
Talya Malka, a member of Chabad at Chapman, shared what she hopes to see from Kail as the new director. Malka, a senior in communications studies and a first-generation college student has been a member of Chabad since her freshman year.
“After I went to the first Shabbat dinner during my freshman year Orientation week, my decision to come to Chapman was solidified,” said Malka, who went on to serve as Shabbat Chair for the club in 2022.
Malka continued: “The community was so welcoming, and Rabbi Eliezer and his wife Mushky have become my second set of parents.”
Eliezer and Mushky Gurary serve as co-directors for Chabad at Chapman.
As for what she hopes to see from Kail moving forward, Malka shared that she hopes the new director will help to spread the word about Chabad as it has “truly shaped” her experience at Chapman, and it is one part of college that she will miss the most when she graduates.
Malka also expressed her hopes that Kail will support Jewish students and educate the greater Chapman community.
“I am hoping to see her implement support of Jews on campus, helping us fight the rise of antisemitism and creating a sense of belonging for every Jew on campus,” Malka said.
Kail echoed this sentiment when discussing her goals as director.
“No matter how people want to engage and connect to Judaism, whether it be religiously or culturally, whether it be through being part of Chabad, being part of Hillel (or) being part of opportunities that are offered through the Fish Interfaith Center, I am here to support and to create enriching opportunities for everyone. ‘That’s pretty exciting’.”
Kail is the first person to hold this position on a full-time basis since September 2023.
“I’m here all the time, and that provides a different type of opportunity,” Kail said. “So, I’m excited to see what kind of new partnerships we can create.”
Promoting open dialogue is also a critical part of her plans as director. She hopes to achieve this through forging new bonds with members of other religious communities.
“A big passion of mine is interfaith work,” Kail said. “It always has been.”
Kail is a member of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, a group promoting collaboration and respectful dialogue among religious leaders from all backgrounds. Through this group, Kail had the opportunity to visit Qatar in 2023 alongside several Muslim and Jewish religious leaders.
“(The trip) is about creating deep relationships that allow us to really support one another,” Kail said. “Even though our faiths (and) our political perspectives might be completely different from one another, we don’t need to agree (in order) to respect one another’s right to pray and practice our faith and lean into our identities in ways that are communally and personally fulfilling.”
The concepts Kail learned are now essential to her attitude toward interfaith work.
“We can celebrate what is so special about each and every one of our faiths and learn from and be inspired by one another,” Kail said.
Kail feels that the culture at Chapman promotes similar ideas, mainly through the work of the university’s Fish Interfaith Center, which hosts events for communities from an array of faiths on campus. She went on to highlight that these aspects of the Fish Interfaith Center were a large part of the reason she chose to come to Chapman in the first place.
“(The center) has so many different religious opportunities housed there,” Kail said. “And, I think because of the deep relationships that are formed within the Fish Interfaith Center, it has created an environment in which it seems like people really feel safe and appreciated on campus, and I really want to be a part of that and contribute to that.”
A major part of Kail’s passion for interfaith work is centered around open communication within the greater community — a practice she wants to promote on campus.
“I think college campuses are a microcosm of what our country will be like in one to 15 years from now. So, the more that we can have conversations with one another, the better off we will be, not only as individuals but as a society.”
Kail also mentioned that she feels there is something particularly special about the culture at Chapman.
“From the top-down, I see these deep values of (students) respecting every individual on campus,” Kail said. “We try to live into those values, and that’s something that we should take pride in and continue to work towards.”