This year, many Purim festivities were held throughout the University of Judaism. On Sunday, March 4, Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Rabbi Bradley Artson held a Megillah reading, seudah and shpiel at his house in honor of the holiday. The event began at 9:00am. Many Ziegler School students and faculty members were present, with a small number of undergraduates.
There was enough food to go around and the morning prayers went along smoothly. Emily Hausman was one of the undergraduate students in attendance and told CampusJ “It was great to see my friends and my peers read a megillah and fulfill the mitzvot.”
The shpiel involved a lot of comedic skits and musical performances. “The Purim shpiel was amazing — the second years [rabbinical students] tend to be not so humorous usually, but after a few drinks on Purim they were pretty good,” Hausman said.
Also in honor of Purim, Hillel and the Peer Mentoring Program joined together to put on the well-attended “Mix-Up Masquerade” event, which began at 8:00pm in the Auerbach Student Union. Many participants came in costume, with a good amount dressing as the opposite sex. A lot of students brought tzedaka to the event, which was all donated to The Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan.
Upon entering the Student Union, guests were told to write their name on a piece of paper and pick up a name from the pile. The guests were then told to decorate a plastic cup and fill it with candy in order to make mishloach manot for the name they picked. Carole Buchanan, one of the main planners of the event, was very happy with the outcome of the evening. “I thought it was awesome how people got into decorating their cups, and making them really nice to give to their peers,” she said. Junior Blythe Briggs also enjoyed the cup decorating activity. “It’s nice to get something and feel like you’re a part of a community,” she said.
A fashion show was also held to see who had the best mixed-up costume. Participants lined up outside and entered the room one by one. They walked down the line as if they were models in a real fashion show. The winners received gift certificates. “The fashion show was hilarious, it was interesting to see what people came up with,” Briggs said.
After the fashion show, guests were asked to bob for apples. This became an all-out war, with many participants getting soaked in the process. Food was served throughout the evening, including pretzels, chips, sparkling cider and of course, hamentashen. The event ended at 9:45pm and was followed by a celebration for those over 21. These students were allowed to enter the Lizard Lounge and drink alcohol. Overall, many students were present and the entire event was a huge achievement. “I thought [the event] was a lot of fun. We had some interesting costumes and there was fun music,” said Briggs.

A huge turnout for “My Big Fat Greek Shabbat” last Friday night once again proved that Hillel’s themed Shabbats are some of its most succesful events. More than 25 guests were present, a huge number for any UJ event. After services, participants gathered in the Auerbach Student Union for a a traditional Greek feast. In the spirit of the cult classic film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding Windex bottles were used as table center pieces. Greek flags and other decorations covered the room. A game of trivia was also played to test the participant’s knowledge of the film. The themed Shabbat ended with a powerful singing session of the Birkat Hamazon.

Composers censored during the Holocause will be the subject of a special event at The University of Judaism’s Sigi Ziering Institute tomorrow, Sunday, February 4.
“Recovered Voices: A Lost Generation’s Long Forgotten Masterpieces,” produced in conjunction with the Los A ngeles Opera, will be held in the Gindi Auditorium. It will serve as an introduction to the larger “Recovered Voices” project which will showcase the work of composers who were censored by the Holocaust.
Some of the composers were sentenced to death for their “un-German” music. James Colon, LA Opera’s Music Director, will be present to speak about his involvement with the multi-year LA Opera recovery project. OperaToday.com calls Colon “a major force in the modern revival of works banned by the Nazi Regime.”
He will be speaking with a panel about the composers’ lives and music. The panel will also include Dr. Nick Strimple (USC), Dr. Steven Lowenstein (UJ), Dr. Amy Wlodarski (Dickinson College) and will be moderated by Neal Brostoff, founder of the Jewish Music Foundation. The musicians to be discussed include Ervin Schuloff, Ernest Toch, Gideon Klein and Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Following the discussion, the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity’s Synergy Ensemble will perform a small chamber music concert. The event is free of charge and will take place from 11:30am-4:00pm.
Those interested in hearing LA Opera’s full revival of lost masterpieces can do so on March 7 and 10 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Both shows will begin at 7:30pm and tickets sell for $15.

Former Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, made a special appearance at the University of Judaism on Friday, January 26, in which he was publicly interviewed by Rob Eshman, Editor and Chief of the Jewish Journal. The event took place in the Gindi Auditorium at 8:45pm, after Shabbat dinner. Barak was questioned about the Middle East conflict, US politics, and a variety of Jewish-related issues.
Only four UJ students were in attendance at this event. Saving some face for the school, members from the nearby community attended, so that the auditorium was still nearly filled.

The Sigi Ziering Institute presented the film Forgiving Dr. Mengele to eight undergraduates on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the Gindi Auditorium.
The film focuses on Eva Kor, one of many twins who were experimented on during the Holocaust by Dr. Mengele. Kor decides to forgive the Nazis for their acts, sending shockwaves of controversy throughout the world.
This surprising turn of events began when Kor met Dr. Hans Munch, an SS doctor also involved with different types of experimentation. Munch and Kor took a trip to Auschwitz together on the fiftieth anniversary of its liberation. This trip did not sit well with other survivors, especially some of the other Mengele twins. During this trip, Munch publicly announced and testified that gas chambers were in use during the Holocaust. Kor decided to forgive not only Munch but all the Nazis for their crimes. She made it clear that she was able to forgive but not forget.
Many Mengele twins were unhappy with Kor’s decision. Those interviewed for the film made it perfectly clear that they could never forgive the Nazis for what they did even if they wanted to. Still, Kor insists that her act of forgiveness gave her power and strength, allowing her to finally be set free.
Kor works diligently as a realtor, works out in the gym, travels the world and visits middle schools to teach kids about her experience. She even managed to open her own Holocaust museum — which was set on fire in a hate crime, but rebuilt 15 months later.
“Getting even has never healed a single person,�? said Kor.
After the film was screened, the evening continued with a question and answer session with the film’s director, Bob Hercules, and Holocaust expert Michael Berenbaum. Hercules stated that he made the film to encourage debate and to explore different ideas, and said he is aware that not all will agree with the opinions expressed in the film.
One woman in the audience said forgiveness is highly personal and highly individual. According to Judaism, Berenbaum said, forgiveness must be requested and a willingness to act differently must be indicated. Berenbaum clearly does not agree with Kor but stated, “This does not mean that we should not see the film, it means we have to damn well wrestle with the film.�?