For the third time, Ball State University’s Hillel is sponsoring a Jewish Heritage Week to educate the predominantly Christian campus about Jewish life and culture. The event began on Monday and continues through the rest of the week.

Senior Jessica Kerman said she wants students to gain a better understanding and appreciation for Judaism by participating in Ball State Hillel’s third annual Jewish Heritage Week, which begins today.

“Judaism is not just a religion,” she said. “It’s a culture and a heritage that’s deeply rooted in ancient ideas, but it’s modern ideas too.”

Kerman, president of Ball State’s Hillel chapter and a reporter for the Daily News, said she wanted this week’s events to raise awareness for the relatively small, and sometimes forgotten, Jewish population on campus.

“I’ve been the president of Hillel for two years now, and I wanted to do something to help out the group that I’ve been with for so long,” she said. “I wanted to help them do something big to show them that a small group of people can do a big thing on campus.”

Thursday is “Israeli Culture Day,” and will feature the keynote speaker of the week. LaVon Mercer, head basketball coach at Spelman College, will give a speech about his experiences in Israel as a black man and the state of Israel itself. According to his Spelman profile, Mercer was drafted into the NBA as a member of the San Antonio Spurs before beginning his international career in Israel where he played for the Israeli national basketball team. He also served two years as a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces. Mercer spent 14 years in Israel and gained citizenship before returning to the United States. His visit is co-sponsored by the Black Student Association and the Jewish Studies program, Kerman said. Mercer will also be at the Multicultural Center for a “Perspectives” discussion at 3 p.m.

“This if the first time we’ll bring someone out to talk about Israel from a black perspective,” she said. “There are a lot of things that Jews and blacks have in common. You have an immediate bond with someone in same minority as you. He’s gonna be talking about the similarities that come from being a minority in general.”

Hookah night will be Thursday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on LaFollette Field. Students will have the opportunity to try 10 flavors of tobacco as many times as they want to, Kerman said. Most of the flavors will be fruit, like apple, orange and mango, she said. Participants must pay $1 for a plastic mouthpiece for sanitary reasons, Kerman said. WCRD will broadcast from the event.

“I get the feeling that the most students are going to be interested in hookah night based on the response we’ve been getting from our Facebook advertising and flyers,” Brent Blackwell, Hillel advisor said. “It was a huge success last year… It’s the least academic of all the events. Students can just get together and relax.”

Hillel’s biggest fundraiser, an annual Israeli dinner, is Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Or on Jackson Street. Kerman said she expected about 70 to 100 people.

Ben Goldenberg, junior and Hillel secretary is in charge of cooking for the dinner and said they will serve authentic Israeli food, like chicken shwarma, which is chicken in a pita with sauces and fresh vegetables, hummus with roasted pita bread and Israeli salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and dressing. He said he hoped students would come to the events to expand their knowledge of Judaism.

“They can see another culture and another way that people celebrate life,” Goldenberg said.

The dinner is $6 for students, $10 for adults and free for children under five years old, Kerman said.

Jewish Heritage Week is Kerman’s thesis project for the Honors College. She said she has been working on preparations since October, and she is anxious to see how everything turns out.

“We’re really thankful to everyone that’s helping out this week,” Kerman said. “Volunteers, co-sponsors, [those who gave] grant money. It’s a really worthwhile experience.”