(May is Jewish American Heritage Month and AEPi, along with dozens of other Jewish organizations, will use the month to explore and highlight the vibrant history, culture, and contributions of Jewish Americans throughout our nation’s history. This is the third of four articles in which AEPi is focusing on brothers who are making a difference in our Jewish journeys and/or who have an interesting Jewish journey themselves. Join with AEPi this month as we highlight our fraternity’s Jewish American Heritage.)

Growing up in an observant Jewish community in St. Louis, Brother Rabbi Adir Yolkut (Columbia, 2010) was, admittedly, in a bit of a bubble. “That environment was great for me, at first, not so much for my exposure to the real world but for my involvement and engagement in the Jewish community.” His family pivoted a bit as Adir approached high school and he moved from a Jewish Day School to a public high school. “That was really eye-opening to me, but it turned out to be a really good experience. It sort of pushed me to more strongly seek out Jewish opportunities because now I didn’t have them given to me on a silver platter.”

“It really was like a kickstart for the next part of my Jewish journey because I got very involved in our (now Conservative) synagogue and took on leadership opportunities in USY. In high school, one part of my identity was the public-school kid, who was friends with a diverse crew of people. And, on the other side, I was the regional USY board member who was leading like song sessions on Shabbat afternoon. That really helped me sort of find a lot of balance. It set me on the path to becoming the Rabbi that I am today.”

Following high school, Rabbi Yolkut applied to the joint JTS and Columbia University program and first took a gap year in Israel. Fraternities were nowhere in his path. “But, you know how it goes; I started going to rush things my freshman year at Columbia and I met this group of guys at AEPi and then I was considering joining. I remember that first call with my parents after I got a bid and they had no idea what I was talking about. I had to explain to them that it’s a fraternity.”

“AEPi ended up being a super special part of my time in college. Maybe those friendships would exist outside of the AEPi experience, but I like to think that there was something special that happened when we (joining) together that bolsters that connection.”

After graduation, Rabbi Yolkut took another gap year to staff the Israeli program he attended after graduation. He continued his Rabbinical studies in Los Angeles and, five years after graduating from Columbia began a career as a pulpit rabbi in Westchester (NY). Following the end of his contract, he began looking for a new direction in the Jewish world. “I came to Repair the World to serve as our director of education and it feels really good to be in this space.”

(Note: Repair the World mobilizes Jews and their communities to take action to pursue a just world, igniting a lifelong commitment to service. Repair the World and AEPi International are partners and work together on a number of different initiatives in communities, on campuses and internationally on initiatives like AEPi’s Strength Through Service.)

Rabbi Yolkut’s new role is allowing him to spread his wings and impact thousands. “I get to do a lot of content creation and teaching opportunities across different platforms. I’m working to really make Jewish education more robust in terms of our offerings, making it a more essential part of the program that we offer around service. That’s right up my alley…I really believe strongly in trying to increase literacy among Jewish people, helping them realize the text is actually really relevant in the modern world as we confront modern issues.”

To date, Rabbi Yolkut hasn’t yet worked directly with AEPi brothers but he’s hoping to change that as he enters his second year on staff with Repair the World. “I just started in July – right after last year’s AEPi convention — and my wife and I had a baby in January so my first year has been a little scattered. I’m hoping to do more of that in the coming year.”

“I was in Israel on a Repair the World trip a few months ago and we realized that several of us were AEPi brothers and then I ran into a brother from Columbia who I knew who had made Aliyah a few years ago. I hadn’t seen him in a while, and it was a great reminder that those guys are always there for you.”

Finding ways to connect with Jewish youth today is critical and Repair the World is providing a unique framework for that. “The data seems to show even pre-October 7th, young people were not necessarily clamoring for the same types of spiritual opportunities that their parents or grandparents did, but they are creating connections and spiritual opportunities that are a little bit different. There is this sort of this feeling now of being on the defensive and worried about the future and legacy of Judaism in a way that hadn’t happened before. There’s been an upswing certainly in our work at Repair of the World. We’ve had a huge surge of participation over the last year and a half now since October 7.”

“I think service, the work that we do around volunteerism, is a great way to build these connections because it can bridge and foster things in a time of hopelessness that make people feel like, ‘okay, I’m really doing something here.’ And it’s not just doing something good. It’s doing something that’s ‘Jewishly’ good.”

(As Jewish American Heritage Month continues, we will continue to feature AEPi brothers and their Jewish journeys. Click here for more information on Jewish American Heritage Month.)