Rav Simcha and Margalit Herschman are the JLIC couple at JCT's Lev campus. Whatever a student needs, whenever he needs it, they're there.
It's a fair question. Torah is already part of the day at JCT. But most ESP students here are a long way from home, and a Beit Midrash can't have you over for Friday night dinner.
That's where the Herschmans come in. Guys reach out to them all the time, about a halacha question, a rough week, a decision they're stuck on, or just wanting a home-cooked meal.
JLIC, the OU's Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, places couples like the Herschmans on campuses across North America and Israel. At JCT-Lev they're here for the ESP students.
Rav Simcha and Margalit have been the JLIC directors at JCT-Lev since 2023, together with their kids.
Rav Simcha is originally from West Hempstead, NY, and learned in Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh. He received a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University.
He is passionate about teaching, and he loves exercising, hiking and cooking. In his spare time, you can find him in the Old City in Yerushalayim.
Margalit is originally from Chicago. She learned in Migdal Oz and did Sherut Leumi at Shaare Zedek Hospital, in the school in the children's ward.
She received her bachelor's and master's in social work in Israel and works as a social worker. She is passionate about social work and living in Israel, and she loves being in nature and hosting Shabbos meals.
What a regular week looks like. Exact times and any extras go up on @jlicjct each week.
Get the weekly schedule
With a short shiur on some nights.
Need somewhere for Shabbat lunch? Message the Shabbat meals group and they'll help you find one.
Bayit cham means "warm home," and that's the idea. On Tuesday nights the Herschmans have the guys over: pizza, a pot of soup, and a full table.
Then everyone heads back to campus for night seder.
Thursday nights end the week in the Beit Midrash, with cholent, singing, and a shiur from Rav Simcha.
Sometimes a campus-wide Shabbat at JCT-Lev, sometimes the whole group away for Shabbat somewhere new, like Chevron.
Lunch and learn on campus to mark the new month.
Chag events, like Simchat Beit Hashoeva on Sukkot with the Givat Mordechai community.
An American Thanksgiving dinner at the Herschmans', for the Americans who are far from home in November.
Follow JLIC JCT-Lev for the weekly schedule and what's coming up.
