In what they call, “Kosher for Passover Meals,” Hillel invites students to observe Passover with them, and come enjoy their kosher meal at Temple Hillel, through April 10th. They invite students to pay with cash, a check, or even using their meal plan from Temple. There will also be a Shabbat dinner this Friday with services starting at five p.m., and dinner lasting from six to eight.

Before Jessica Sibelman came to Temple this Fall as a junior, she went to school in Boston at the New England Conservatory, studying clarinet. She’s been playing the instrument for seven years, and transferred to Temple to learn in the studio of Ricardo Morales , principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and lecturer on the instrument at Temple. Sibelman especially enjoys playing the romantic music from 19th century composer/musician Johannes Brahms, and after she graduates wants to either play in an orchestra or chamber. But the clarinet isn’t the only thing Jessica does. Even though she’s only in her second semester at Temple, Jessica is a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, and a delegate in the Panhellenic Association, which has one delegate from each of the three sororities: Alpha Epsilon Phi, Delta Zeta, and Phi Sigma Sigma. Silberman participated in an interview by e-mail this week with CampusJ.

What do you do as delegate? How did you get involved?
We all have individual positions, so right now I’m Philanthropy Chair, so I’m planning on doing a clothing drive or visiting a hospital. Just something where all the sororities can get together and do some community service together.
I was nominated for the position and I decided it would be really nice to get involved on campus. And, you know, meeting 70 girls is awesome, but meeting 200 new girls is awesome too.
What do you like most about being a delegate?
I like being the philanthropy chair, because it really got me on the computer researching all the different organizations in Philadelphia, and what we could do. I just found the Purple Heart Foundation, where they can just pick up your stuff, and donate to homeless people and stuff like that, so we’re going to do a clothing drive.
What challenges have you faced?
Really no major challenges, I guess just maybe to figure out how all of us can get involved together. There’s so many girls and we want to get as many girls involved as we can around the campus, so just scheduling I guess.
What sticks out in your mind about your experiences as a delegate?
You know I think it’s really just meeting all these girls, because I’ve always been like kind of a tomboy, and you know I play clarinet, so I used to just like completely go that way, and practice all day long. And, this really got me outside of he box; it really got to meet new people, do things I never thought I would do, so it was really nice.
How do you incorporate Judaism in your life?
Well, I’m actually working with Rabbi Lynn from UPenn right now, and he wants to bring a new program to Temple that’s a little bit different than Hillel or the Jewish Heritage Programs. He wants it to be a mix of both where it’s like a social event, but more learning about the customs and traditions of Judaism. We kind of met while I was working in the SAC, and starting talking about it, and I’ll kind of help him launch this program in the fall semester. I’m not terribly, terribly religious, but I do care about the values and traditions of Judaism, so I just think it’s good to have it on campus, where we can get more people involved, Because he told me there was 2,000 Jews on campus and personally, I think I met maybe 40. There just so many of us, and if we can find a really good program to get us all together, I think we can find a lot more Jewish people and build it into something stronger.

The Jewish Heritage Program is hosting its annual mentoring event this Wednesday. The event drew over 100 people last year, according to JHP Assistant Fellow Eugene Shevertalov, and is meant to to introduce students to mentors who can help them gain experience in their respective fields, point them toward internships, or even help them get post-graduation employment.
“It sounded like a great program and I was impressed by the names of other participants, many of whom I know and admire,” explained Sharon Pinkenson, the Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, in an e-mail. Pinkenson started as a JHP mentor in 2002, and participated through last year.
According to the JHP page on the event, some others involved include:

Pinkenson had only good things to say about her experience in the program, “I’ve met dozens of exceptional and interesting Jewish students and have been able to talk to them about my experiences and to help them make local connections.”
With her position in the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, Pinkenson helps students trying to break into the film industry, a notoriously-difficult field to break into. “We can really help them to get into the industry and I tell them how,” she said of the students that come to her.
Explaining what she gains out of being a mentor, Pinkenson wrote, “New Interns!!! And a warm fuzzy feeling.”
Providing advice for all students trying to make it, Pinkenson added, “Always have a positive attitude and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Expect to work hard to achieve your goals.”

Nearly 20 people gathered for the opening of Hillel’s Leadership and Education through Alumni Partnerships with Students. The program, new to Temple, took its first step by introducing current students to their alumni mentors for the semester.
The program, according to a Hillel announcement, “will provide great networking for students to learn about their fields of interest, will guide with practical job advice and nurture valuable leadership skills.” In addition, the announcement said, “mentors will help shape the career of a student, support their alma mater and contribute to the vitality of the Jewish community.”
Sam Levin, a sophomore Public Relations major, was assigned to Temple graduate Rachel Salis-Silverman, who works in the public relations-marketing department at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Explaining why she joined the program, Levin told CampusJ “I just saw it in an email and I was was thinking about maybe trying to get a mentor, and it was perfect timing so I signed up, just from that.”
Junior Ariel Weissburg, a Marketing and Public Health major, who plans on pursing Public Health in grad school was paired up with Dr. Howard Greenburg. Greenburg, who was educated at Cornell, the University of Pennsylvannia, Drexel, and finally Thomas Jefferson Medical College, currently works in the Clinical Pharmacology Unit in a New Jersey branch of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Greenberg is also active in the non-profit community, performing volunteer work.
Weissburg explained that she’s looking for guidance in the program. “I have a lot of ideas and a very broad end goal, and I don’t know how to achieve these goals and develop a concrete plan,” she told CampusJ.
Both students told CampusJ they were pleased with the results of the program. And while Weissburg offered a short “It went very well,” Levin had a little more to say on the subject:

It was much smaller than I expected. We had some people make speeches. Lorraine Cohen led the presentation. She had us all get up and network, (basically go around and speak with people we didn’t know, and make “small talk.” We learned a lot about building and maintaining relationships. Everyone was very nice including my mentor Rachel. She is eager to help and interested in getting to know me. I actually excused myself a little early because I was sick. But, I was impressed with the whole night. Candy Emerson ran the event and she did a beautiful job. I was also inspired by a young student who was obviously severely handicapped and determined to go to law school.

This was the first of many meetings between the students and their mentors, as the students will be spending the rest of the semester under the wing of their mentors, learning about their fields.