Washington University’s Jewish a cappella group, Staam, welcomed Chanukah early Wednesday night by singing their annual concert. The concert in Ursa’s Fireside brought in over 100 students, both Jewish and non-Jewish.
Singing modern Israeli music and American music written by Jewish musicians, the concert was designed to appeal to as many students as possible.
Chanukah celebrations continue tonight when Hillel will have open space for all students to light menorahs before shabbat. According to Residential Life policy, students may not light candles in their dorm rooms without prior approval from an RCD.
Chabad is also working to spread the holiday spirit, offering free menorahs and candles to students. Chabbad will also be open on the second through eighth nights of Chanukah for students who wish to light candles.
Archive for December, 2006
Staamika Kicks off Chanukah
Published by Sam Guzik December 15th, 2006 in Washington University. 0 CommentsJSU: Idan Raichel to Spend Shabbat at Hillel
Published by Sam Guzik December 15th, 2006 in Washington University. 0 Comments
According to Jewish Student Union President Alex Freedman, the Israeli musician who has toured the United States and appeared on MTV, Idan Raichel, will be spending Shabbat with Washington University students at Hillel on the night following his upcoming concert in February.
JSU hopes to host a night of Israeli singing with Raichel following Shabbat dinner on February 2.
Freedman also announced cooperation between the multi-cultural concert and dinning services. On Wednesday and Thursday prior to the concert, there will be special multi-cultural food stations in Center Court, the Village, and the Food Court; posters for the Raichel concert will be featured prominently at these events.
Peace Now Offers Suggestions, Ruffles Some Feathers in Montreal
Published by Daniel Smajovits December 15th, 2006 in Concordia University. 0 CommentsA fair amount of controversy was in the air last week as the director general of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, addressed a crowd at the Hillel House in Montreal.
Oppenheimer, who was joined for the Montreal session with Waleed Ziad, a political analyst and former Yale University activist, is currently on a national tour of Canada sponsored by Hillel and National Jewish Campus Life. Speaking on how to become active on campus and in cities, Oppenheimer generally avoided the political issues his organization supports, although he did use his organization as the foundation for his examples.
“We are not making a lot of effort to try to convince people who think the total opposite [Of what we do],” said Oppenheimer. “We are looking at the public that we focus on, the people who think like Peace Now, but those who aren’t doing anything about it…our goal in Peace Now is not to convince people to become Left Wing, but our goal is to take people that think like Peace Now and mobilize them into action.”
Ziad, who was at the session to speak about his experiences at Yale University offered various techniques on how to improve relationships between Jews and Muslims on campus. For Ziad, it was the events of September 11th, 2001 that proved to be the turning point in relations between the two groups. “It suddenly dawned on many students, like shock therapy, that our communities are essentially not very different,” said Ziad, asserting “The key to reverting this trend [of anger and hostility] is fostering cultural, economic and even religious ties wrapping it up with really effective marketing.”
This working relationship eventually translated into the creation of a group called Jews and Muslims, whose goal was “To create a space where Muslims and Jews can come every week to build a lasting relationship, with the hope that one day they could tackle relevant problems.” Although now a graduate, Ziad said that J.A.M. continues to grow on campuses throughout the United States, and that students are invited to receive training on how to successfully grow their chapter of J.A.M. much like the original in New Haven.
The question and answer session sparked one heated argument when Oppenheimer said Israel should begin peace talks with Syria, but was mostly calm.
Despite the efforts made by Oppenheimer to leave politics out of the session, some attendees still questioned why Peace Now was given a forum to speak by NJCL and Hillel Montreal. The President of NJCL, Richard Diamond, explained that all views should be heard. “NJCL supports speakers who are on all stages of the spectrum. Our students reflect views from all over the spectrum,” he said, adding that “Having a stance which includes the Palestinian point of view is not necessarily anti-Israeli…Peace Now is not anti-Israel.”
Sam Langleben, a McGill Hillel representative, agreed with Diamond, and said that Hillel has to offer events from both the right and left wing. “We do run events that affiliate themselves with the Jewish Right Wing, with the Zionist Right Wing,” he said, adding “This was to breakaway from that, to reach out to a side of the community that we don’t always do, we thought it would be a great idea to try an event such as this one.”
Student Dafna Wisbaum said she did not agree with Oppenheimer’s views and parts of his speech, but understood why Hillel felt that it was important to have him speak. “I didn’t agree with what he was saying about peace with Syria or returning the Golan Heights…[Also] he made it sound like Peace Now was a very manipulative organization, trying to attract members,” said Dafna Wisbaum, a McGill student, noting “however, I still think it was good [For Hillel] to have him speak, so people can at least hear what he had to say.”
Response from Queer McGill on Conservative Movement’s Decision
Published by Aviva Levy December 15th, 2006 in McGill University. 0 CommentsThe Conservative Jewish movement’s recent decision to allow same-sex unions and gay/lesbian rabbis is being met with positive feedback from Queer McGill.
Devin Alfaro, Queer McGill’s political action coordinator, told CampusJ the motion is a “very positive step.” Alfaro said it is encouraging to see “that many religious groups that in the past had been ambivalent or even outright hostile toward the rights of queer people are starting to become more open and tolerant to diversity.” He emphasized the fact that now, “queer people will no longer be forced into the position of having to choose between their faith and their sexual identity.” Because he is not Jewish, Alfaro said that he doesn’t feel like he’s “in a position to comment on this specific decision,” as he is unfamiliar with Jewish law. However, Alfaro does see the motion as a step forward:
I do see this as part of progress and a movement toward greater inclusively. As the Jewish Daily Forward Article said, this decision seemed to particularly resonate amongst younger people currently in seminary. I think this shows that for many people of our generation there is a much greater openness to sexual diversity than there was even a few years ago. There is still much to be done, but I predict that within not too much time this will all be a non-issue.
A Jewish gay McGill student who preferred not to be named and is active in Queer McGill shared his thoughts on the decision:
As someone who considers myself a secular Jew, and a little cynical that any religion can ever promote true equality, I see this as a first step in the attainment of gay and lesbian rights in both Jewish society and the broader society as a whole. Being gay is not a disease, letting gays in will not increase the gayness of everyone so there is no reason not to let gays and lesbians into rabbinical school or allow gay and lesbian unions.
Campus Conservative Jews Remain Divided over Halacha
Published by Sam Guzik December 15th, 2006 in Washington University. 0 CommentsDespite a history of openness towards the GLBTQA community and initial signs that the Conservative movement’s law committee would be welcomed, campus Conservative Jews remain divided over the implications of the movement’s recent decision toward greater inclusion of gays and lesbians, which came with two responsa challenging homosexuality.
“What I see this doing is splitting the movement,” said senior Rachael Kaplan, a Conservative Jew. “It seems very contradictory to say that we believe two different things.”
“The power of human experience must inform the dynamic and creative development of Jewish law, as law responds to what Rabbi Judith Hauptman calls ‘evolving ethical sensibilities,’” said Aaron Weininger, a senior and Conservative Jew. “Our intuitions, based on the truths we discover today, call upon us to respond with mercy and justice as we make space for God to dwell in our midst.”
In a consensus statement to CampusJ, the WU Conservative Minyan committee stated that although “this is a decision which may cause some people to leave [the movement], the long term effect will take quite some time to play out as the details begin to be dealt with of implementation.”
The statement also explained that many Conservative Jews on Campus were initially confused over the meaning of the law committee’s decision and expressed a commitment to its tradition of welcoming GLBTQA Jews through joint programming with Keshet.
To the generation of Conservative Jews who were raised after the movement became fully egalitarian, this represents one of the first major halachic disputes and looks to present a similar identity crisis as was faced by the movement upon adopting egalitarianism.
“For people like me, having a woman count in a minyan seems as traditional as having Shabbat dinner, since I grew up with both. Of course I know that the former is very recent, but I never felt that,” said Alex Freedman, JSU President and a traditional Conservative Jew.
Freedman continued, “This CJLS decision represents the first major break from that tradition. It forces me, and I assume others in my position, to ask myself: to what degree should Halacha develop with the times?”
More liberal members of the movement, however, saw the newly adopted teshuvot as a logical extension of their values and understanding of Judaism.
“The argument made for a more inclusive position was very convincing. I think the other arguments were made in good faith, but I just don’t accept some of the assertions behind them,” said Margaux Buck, a conservative student and member of Keshet.
To senior Aaaron Weininger, a life-long Conservative Jew looking to pursue a career in the Rabbinate, the recent decision has opened doors. As an openly gay student, Weininger cannot be admitted to the Jewish Theological Seminary under the current admissions procedures.
Weininger has been active in the national effort to lobby for the change of those procedures. Among other efforts, Weininger is a signatory to an October 2006 petition by Congregation Netivot Shalom which asks that the United Synagogue’s hiring practices be changed.
“I am hopeful that my lending a human face to this issue will help people realize that we must look into the eyes of all Jews with the same depth and love with which we look into the process of interpreting Jewish law,” said Weininger.
LGBT Response to Ruling Mixed
Published by Valerie Saturen December 14th, 2006 in University of Arizona. 0 CommentsAmong Tucson’s Jewish LGBT community, reaction to the Conservative movement’s decisions on gay and lesbian inclusion last week has been mixed. While most agree that the decision to move toward greater inclusion constitutes a step in the right direction, some express frustration with the movement’s passage of two responsa that condemn homosexuality and suggest reparative therapy.
Jenny Schultz, the new coordinator of the LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project, told CampusJ:
I think this recent decision will have a strong impact on young people. There are many who have been eager to study as rabbis and now they have the opportunity to study within the Conservative movement, to lead congregations openly and with out shame or secrecy. Young people will be able to have commitment ceremonies and feel comfortable connecting all the aspects of their lives.
The LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project already enjoys a partnership with two local Conservative congregations, Anshei Israel and Bet Shalom. The organization’s Traveling Gay Chavura visits different congregations in the area each month, strengthening the relationship between the Jewish LGBT community and the larger Jewish community.
Ben Cook, Hillel’s 2006-2007 Grinspoon Fellow, told CampusJ that while the progressive elements comprise “a small step in the right direction,” he is disappointed by the regressive elements:
The Conservative movement constantly misses opportunities to take strong, cogent stances on today’s issues. These rulings, and the decade of squabbling and avoiding the issues it took to reach these decisions, is a perfect example of how the movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards lacks the spine to take Conservative Judaism down a well defined path. I can tell you that if this is as far as the Conservative movement is willing to take equal rights for homosexuals, that when I get married (someday, b’ezrat ha’shem) it will be in a Reconstructionist synagogue, not a Conservative one.
Conservative movement approves hiring of gay rabbis, recognition of same-sex commitment ceremonies
Published by Deborah Swerdlow December 14th, 2006 in University of Florida - Gainesville. 0 CommentsWith news of the Conservative movement’s decision to move toward greater inclusion of gays and lesbians a hot topic among Jewish students, reactions from UF campus Jewish leadership ranged from acceptance and agreement to slight criticism.
“The Torah condemns anal sex between men. As far as I know, that is the only prohibition,” said Faculty Advisor for the UF Jewish Student Union Howard Rothman, adding “Therefore, gays and lesbians should be part of religious and social communities and should be able to participate in synagogue services to the best of their abilities.”
UF Campus Rabbi Jonathan Siger also approved of the Conservative movement’s decision, but observed an “interesting” loophole.
“At the same time, you should note that there is room made for individual rabbis and their congregations to make their own decisions about hiring a homosexual rabbi,” said Rabbi Siger, explaining “In other words, the movement now says it is acceptable to ordain gays, but also says that it is okay to discriminate against them when hiring.” Siger added, “We live in interesting times.”
“If there are gay students that wish to become conservative rabbis, they will now be able to do so…If there are gay students that want a conservative rabbi to officiate at their wedding, they may now be able to fine one to do so,” Siger said, adding “Other than that, I hope it will inspire more students to come to Hillel and argue about the issue at our Friday night Shabbat dinners.”
CJLS Decision Begins to Register on Campus
Published by Sam Guzik December 12th, 2006 in Washington University. 0 Comments
Many students have begun to react to the Conservative movement’s decision last week to provide greater inclusion of gays and lesbians.
“These kinds of changes take painfully long, but it’s amazing to see a step like this happen,” said Margaux Buck, a Conservative student and member of Keshet, a pluralistic association of Jewish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and allied students.
On the Friday night following the decision, Keshet held a “Conservative Coming Out Party,” placing newspaper articles about the decision and copies of the more-permissive responsum on tables at Hillel’s Friday night dinner.
At mincha on Thursday, December 7, the daily d’var Torah was devoted to summarizing the new position of the Conservative movement, based on an article from the New York Times.
There were mixed feelings among the Conservative Jews present, however most were withholding judgment until they could read the tshuvot for themselves.
Aaron Weininger, a gay student who plans to apply to a Conservative rabbinical school and went to New York to be there for the decision, told CampusJ that “The committee’s work embodies a first step on a sacred journey toward full inclusion,” adding that “I am hopeful that with swift implementation of the CJLS decision, gay and lesbian Jews will be embraced as whole human beings created in the image of God.” Weininger asserted that “full inclusion will strengthen the Conservative movement with a clarified vision and philosophy.”
Weininger (pictured, third from left) continued, “I pray that the voices of gay and lesbian Jews, previously excluded, can help the Conservative movement recognize the importance of full equality.”
The Conservative Minyan Committee is currently forming an official consensus response to the decision.
“A Toast on the Coast”: Penn Hillel’s Formal-turned-Charity Ball
Published by Laura Birnbaum December 12th, 2006 in University of Pennsylvania. 0 CommentsOver 110 Jewish Penn students paid $25 to support NATAL — a non-partisan organization that aids Israeli victims of terror — chug alcohol at an open bar, feast on Oreos and Twizzlers and grind to Shakira last Thursday night.
The annual Hillel Formal was transformed into the Hillel Charity Ball, allowing students to justify splurging on a dance through the fact that it represented a good cause. The Charity Ball ran from 10:30-2:00 at the chic club Positano Coast in downtown Philadelphia, and raised more than $1,000 enough to cover expenses and still donate a substantial amount to the charity, according to a Social Committee official. The precise amount of the surplus has not yet been determined.
The range of Judaic affiliation of those present spanned the gamut, from Orthodox to Reconstructionist to non-affiliated. Most of the students present were those who play a visible role in the Penn Hillel, but a considerable amount were Jewish students who just went to have a good time. Penn’s Conservative Rabbi Michael Uram attended the beginning of the ball.
Although some students expressed reservations about the political character of the charity involved, the majority seemed wholly supportive of it.
The first few hours primarily consisted of taking advantage of the open bar — the Social Committee covered the first $400 worth of drinks — and schmoozing. The dancing picked up at around midnight and didn’t wane until the club closed at 2:00, at which point the partiers picked up their shoes and headed out for an early breakfast at Lorrenzo’s, a nearby pizza shop.
Changes in the Conservative Movement—Allowing Homosexuality
Published by Jordan Magaziner December 12th, 2006 in American University. 0 CommentsConservative Judaism’s recent decision to allow greater inclusion of gays and lesbians has produced mixed feelings in American University’s Jewish community.
Hillary Blank, president of the AU Jewish Student Association, told CampusJ, “As a Conservative Jew who has been involved in the movement since I was born, and am very active in it, I also plan on attending the seminary, the JTS, which is kind of where the opinion came out of,” explaining “I am very moderate politically but on issues in Judaism, I consider myself very liberal, as on the issue of homosexuality from the religious perspective, so I was very happy to see that this was accepted.”
“From my view, I really see it as a careful testing balance to see how many congregations step to one side or the other,” Blank said, adding “I think it was a very, very smart move on behalf of the movement because it guarantees keeping in a lot of congregations.”
Freshman Alex Prescott said that “coming from a ‘Conservadox’ background, I have always respected the beliefs and unions of gays and lesbians,” and that “where the Torah does not condemn homosexuality but rather homosexual acts, I do not find a problem with homosexuals being part of the clergy.” Prescott added, though, “I also respect the beliefs of rabbis who do not wish to hold a union within their synagogue and wish to keep that separation intact.”
Evan Schwarz, a freshman who is Conservative, asserted, “I have no issues with gay marriage,” though he noted that “But one of Judaism’s main teachings is to be fruitful and multiply, which requires a man and a woman, so there is kind of a dilemma there.” Ultimately, Schwarz concluded, “I guess it wouldn’t really have any effect because Judaism is a pretty understanding and adaptive religion.”
The decision could also have repercussions for those outside the Jewish community. Matt Valduvia is a gay freshman who is not Jewish, but is interested in Judaism, occasionally attending Conservative services on campus. Asked about the movement’s decision, he said, “I think it’s awesome, mainly because the Reform movement has allowed it for so long and it has not been recognized by the Israeli State.” He suggested that “Now, they will be forced to confront the issue, and that “Those who are for it have brought up a good point—that they allow Jews who do not keep Kosher to be in the Conservative sect even though they are supposed to, so why should they discriminate against gays?”
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