On April 28, Stern College for Women continued a beloved tradition that began over half a century ago: the annual Hillel Rogoff Memorial Lecture. Established in 1971 by then-Dean of Stern College Dr. David Mirsky and the Rogoff family, the lecture series honors Hillel (Harry) Rogoff, one of the very first students of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
As Dr. Shaina Trapedo, Director of the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program, noted in her opening remarks, Rogoff "was there at the beginning, when the yeshiva that would become Â鶹Çø was just taking shape," literally among the first three young men who sat down to learn in Rabbi Matlin's apartment in 1896. A prolific writer who rose to editor in chief of The Jewish Daily Forward, Rogoff was a bridge-builder, a translator of ideas, someone who moved fluently across boundaries and brought those worlds into conversation. Rogoff embodied the institution's animating vision of Torah u'Madda, the belief that Torah and secular knowledge not only coexist but enrich one another.
Over the past five decades, the Rogoff Lecture has hosted luminaries including Elie Wiesel, Chaim Potok and Dara Horn. This year's event welcomed back one of Stern's own — alumna Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt — whose lecture drew an engaged audience of students, faculty and honored guests, including members of the Rogoff family joining both in person and via Zoom.
Chizhik-Goldschmidt as a worthy heir to Hillel Rogoff's legacy
A journalism major at Stern College, Chizhik-Goldschmidt has since built an impressive literary career with bylines in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Vogue, Foreign Policy and The New Republic. She has taught journalism at Stern and Columbia University and serves as Rebbetzin of the Altneu shul on the Upper East Side, which she co-founded with her husband, Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt.
In her lecture, "Attention, Intention, Influence," Chizhik-Goldschmidt spoke about being raised by Soviet refugees to becoming a prominent journalist and community leader. She challenged students to protect time for deep thinking, surround themselves with intellectually stimulating friends, and pursue lives dedicated to ideas and culture. Throughout her talk, she wove together wisdom from traditional Jewish sources — including Pirkei Avot, Rav Kook, and Rav Soloveitchik — with insights from Oscar Wilde, Annie Dillard, and other literary voices, embodying the very Torah u'Madda ethos that Hillel Rogoff himself championed.
The students' engagement was evident throughout the evening, especially during the lively Q&A session, when they explored questions about spiritual role models, time management, building community and navigating leadership in Orthodox spaces. Even after the formal program concluded, a line of students formed to continue the conversation with Chizhik-Goldschmidt, a testament to the impact of her words.
Dr. Trapedo's introductory remarks proved prophetic: "To see a Stern alumna take her place in this lineage is a moment to celebrate and a reminder of where great writing can begin. It can begin right here, in these classrooms, with students who love language and ideas and embrace both their heritage and the wider world." As the 54th Hillel Rogoff Memorial Lecture came to a close, it was clear that the tradition continues to thrive.
