Jewish activist embodies the ‘Spirit of Princeton’

by Marilyn Silverstein
NJJN Bureau Chief/PMB

Jonah Perlin’s got the spirit. For one thing, the 21-year-old Princeton University junior has a strong Jewish spirit.

“I really came to Princeton wanting to be involved in Jewish life,” said Perlin, a religion major who is a leader of the Reform minyan on campus, cofounder of the Jewish Social Justice Group, and a former student board president of the Center for Jewish Life/Hillel. “These are just things I care about,” he said, “and I know that student involvement actually can make a difference in real people’s lives.”

Perlin’s got plenty of school spirit. He’s a member of Princeton’s Civic Task Force and Religious Life Council and an editorial board member of The Daily Princetonian.

“I also really care about Princeton,” he said. “My mom went to Princeton. My parents met at Princeton. I want to make Princeton a better place than it was when I got here. For me, it’s really about using my four years at the university to better myself, to better my community, and to better Princeton as a whole.”

As cofounder of the Jadwin Jungle, the basketball fan club at the university, Perlin’s even got a rah-rah spirit. “We encourage people to come out to basketball games,” he explained. “Princeton has a great basketball tradition. Now, we fill the student section pretty much every game.”

All in all, Perlin seems to embody the spirit of Princeton — and his peers and mentors clearly agree. In early spring, he was one of just nine students — and one of only two juniors — to be honored with the university’s coveted Spirit of Princeton Award. The award honors undergraduate students whose service has gone otherwise unrecognized, and who have made positive contributions to the arts, community service, student organizations, residential living, religious life, and athletic endeavors on campus.

“I was pretty excited,” he said. “I never thought I would get it. It’s really about breadth and depth — about being a leader with many different facets. It’s about finding small things that you love and making them stronger. I know so many Princeton students that that defines, so it was a little bit shocking but also a great honor that people would choose me.

“On the one hand, I would have done everything regardless of being given an award. On the other hand, it’s very nice. It’s kind of an affirmation of the things I’ve done. It’ll definitely keep my drive going next year. It’s kind of a push for me.”

Not that Perlin needed a push. His drive is very much a reflection of the lives of his parents, he said. His mother, Rabbi Amy Perlin, is religious leader of Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station, Va., and his father, Gary Perlin, served for several years as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the World Bank before becoming executive vice president and CFO of the Capital One Financial Corp. in 2003.

“They both taught me that part of being a Jew in America is more than just volunteering,” Perlin said. “It’s making your community an essential component to everything you do. It’s a value they passed on to me, and it’s something I’m hoping to embody every day.”

For many years, Perlin said, he thought he would follow in his mother’s path and become a rabbi. But now he’s also considering the possibilities of law school or studying religion in graduate school. No matter what, he said, he will be active in the Jewish community, either as a lay leader or a professional.

“One major way I’m connected with Judaism is through service,” he said. “For me, service is not an option; service is a responsibility. I really think that doing service is central to what it means to be a modern Jew.”