H EADLINES
Catherine Regehr
Trunk Show
Rabbi Howard Alpert
with his wife Sarah
Daytime to Evening
Courtesy of the
Alpert family
Cocktail, Gowns & Evening Separates
Thursday to Saturday
February 10-12
next generation of Jewish
leaders. Th erefore, Hillel direc-
tors needed to help them lead,
make mistakes and learn.

Th e rabbi’s approach applied
to both individual Jewish
journeys and communal issues
that Jewish collegians wanted
to address.

“It is Hillel’s role to give
students independence to
fi gure it out for themselves,”
Levitt said. “He wanted Hillel
to be a student organization.

He didn’t want it to be too
institutionalized.” Levitt views his operation
the same way.

“Th at’s a really important
lesson,” he concluded.

A legacy like Alpert’s can’t
really be measured.

But Levitt credited him with
impacting thousands of young
Jews who fi gured out what
Judaism meant to them. He
also recognized his mentor for
hiring, training and helping to
shape multiple generations of
Hillel staff ers.

Winaker gave Alpert a
similar degree of credit.

“Jewish campus life is
much stronger in our region
thanks to Howard Alpert,” he
concluded. According to that 2017
Exponent story, the rabbi “grew
up in New York, attended
Queens College and received
his rabbinic degree from
Yeshiva University.” Before
arriving in Philadelphia, he led
Hillels at Queens College, the
University of Illinois and the
Ohio State University.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Daniel Alpert, the rabbi’s
40-year-old son, said there
were four decades of students
who “were inspired by him and
guided by him.”
Alpert’s own fi ve children
felt the same way, according to
Daniel Alpert and his brother
Avi Alpert.

All fi ve kids have had
different Jewish journeys.

Together, they now repre-
sent both Conservative and
Orthodox Judaism. In the
past few years, the family has
celebrated a Conservative b’nai
mitzvah, an Orthodox b’nai
mitzvah and a women’s-only
Orthodox b’nai mitzvah.

Rabbi Alpert couldn’t attend
the women’s-only service.

But he loved it as much as the
others, according to his sons.

“He was so glad that it was
happening,” Daniel Alpert
said. Outside of his religion and
career, Rabbi Alpert enjoyed
spending time with his wife.

In the fi nal summer of his
life, they traveled cross-country
in a trailer and went camping.

Later in the year, Rabbi Alpert
stunned Sarah Alpert with a
surprise 70th birthday party.

Th ey went back to their old
Lower Merion community and
walked into a roomful of friends.

“I didn’t know it was
coming,” she said. “He gave a
beautiful speech. How much
he loved me. How our life was
so good.” ●
11-5 pm
19th & Sansom Streets 215-567-4662
Discounted Parking
Regehr TS Ad 2202.indd 1
LIVING WITH
FRIENDS! Our Residents Love Our Brand New Dining
Room and Bistro! Every day our residents enjoy
both fine and casual dining with friends. Our new
dining venues provide creative and delicious culinary
experiences of Chef Ken and the dining team.

Contact Jennifer and Rebecca
to schedule your personal visit at
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jsaff ren@jewishexponent.com;
215-832-0740 12/15/21 9:03 AM
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