The Hillel at Miami University - the Jewish community center for the Oxford community and Miami students - gained a new rabbi for the 2009-10 school year.
Rabbi Rachel Gartner is the first female rabbi serving the Oxford community.
Gartner moved to Oxford in fall 2008 in support of her husband's new job as a professor at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., and found an opening for a rabbi, a profession she has held for seven years, at the Hillel at 11 E. Walnut St.
Gartner calls her new job, "beshert," the Hebrew word meaning it was meant to be.
Born in New York City, Gartner said she was raised in a very cultural district, full of city life. When she learned she was moving to the much smaller town of Oxford, Gartner said she was worried about the small town aura and how she "missed the cosmopolitan city life."
However, after absorbing the new culture of Oxford and Miami, Gartner said she's adjusted pretty well and she can have a "very vibrant life with the warmth of a small town.
Gartner officially started working at the Hillel in July, but she said her job didn't really start until the students began to move in for school.
"It was so quiet when the students weren't here. It was a little boring," Gartner said.
Senior Diogo Metz, president of the Association of Jewish Students at Miami, said Gartner is easy to get along with.
"(She is) very great to deal with," Metz said. "The way she connects to a variety of students is fascinating."
Metz said he couldn't believe how fast Gartner was able to transition into her new position.
Metz also said he likes having a female rabbi because she is more able to offer moral support in every aspect of life, Jewish or not.
Gartner said she plans to implement a change at Hillel where they support all ethnicities and cultures.
"(I want us to) celebrate the diverse expressions of Jewish life, whether it be ethnically, culturally (or) religiously," Gartner said. "Or (whether it be) for people in relation to Israel or agents of social justices and change."
Gartner said she also wants to help the Hillel at Miami strengthen its faith base and reach out to the community more often.
"(I would Hillel like to) visit other organizations, perhaps (by) singing in the music department," Gartner said.
Gartner said she also plans on getting the Hillel at Miami involved with Greek organizations on campus, resident life and several other student organizations, first by opening Hillel's doors to all Miami students.
"This building is open to anyone, whether as a place to hold organizational meetings, or as a quiet place to study," Gartner said. "There are always chocolates and comfortable couches."
