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By the Numbers
73...students traveled to Israel this January on our Taglit-Birthright Israel trip.
20 ...Hebrew lunches during the fall semester.
300...attendees at the opening of Salvador Dali's "Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel".
62 ...challahs sold to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank this semester.
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Reunion 2012
Mazel tov to all alumni who have reunions this May! Whether it has been five years or 50 years, we hope to see you back on campus so we can re-introduce you to Jewish life on College Hill. For a complete list of Hillel events during Reunion Weekend, click here.
Additionally, our doors will be open throughout the weekend and we hope you will stop by to explore the building or simply enjoy a cool drink.
 | | Hillel at WaterFire during Reunion Weekend 2011 |
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Welcome to our Winter Break Alumni Newsletter! We hope this newsletter gives you a taste of what's been happening in and around the Glenn and Darcy Weiner Center so far this school year. From Congressional visits to Salvador Dali exhibits, we've had a little something for everyone. In addition to this newsletter, we invite you to check out our website or sign up for our twitter feed to learn more about Jewish life at Brown and RISD.
 | | Students on our Taglit-Birthright Israel trip |
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Israel
- Seventy three students - the most ever from Brown and RISD! - traveled to Israel on Brown RISD Hillel's Taglit-Birthright Israel trip this month. To read more about their experiences in Israel, please visit our blog.
- In partnership with the Brown Democrats, Brown Students for Israel brought Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to campus to speak about the peace process. Four hundred students filled Salomon 101, followed by a VIP reception with Rep. Frank in the new Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center.
- Student groups also hosted talks by Ishamel Khaldi (Israel's first Bedouin diplomat), Herb Keinon (an editor of The Jerusalem Post), Colonel Richard Kemp (former commander of British troops in Afghanistan), and Oded Naaman (a former Israeli soldier).
- Other highlights included twice weekly Hebrew learning lunches with our local Israeli shlicha (cultural emissary), a new Israel hevruta (partner learning) about Israeli culture, history, and politics, and a new Israeli folk dancing group, Rikudei Am.
 | | Student leaders with Rep. Barney Frank |
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Arts and Culture
- We were thrilled to be the second stop on a nationwide tour of Salvador Dali's "Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel" collection, which portrays the history of the Jewish people's return to their homeland on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in 1968. Over 1000 people took in the exhibit while it graced the walls of Hillel's year-round gallery. The exhibit was featured in Brown's first-ever ArtsWalk, a study break tour of five Brown galleries.
- At December's Hanukkah Bash, Hillel's two musical groups, the Alef Beats (a capella) and Yarmulkazi (klezmer) joined 13 other performing groups from across campus to entertain over 250 students over the course of the three-hour show.
 | | Students check out the Dali exhibit on opening night |
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Tzedek (Social Justice)
- Students collected over 260 pounds of food for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank during a campus-wide High Holiday food drive.
- The connection to the Food Bank has continued over the course of the semester with weekly challah sales, a cupcake wars bake-off, and other fundraisers that all raised money to help the Food Bank feed those in need in Providence.
- Brown RISD Hillel became the permanent host of the Brown Market Shares Program, with over 300 students and community members picking up their locally grown produce every Thursday afternoon.
- Students headed to New York City for an alternative winter break trip, where they worked in a food bank, learned about organizations, such as Picturing the Homeless, and explored how their Jewish identity intersects with social justice.
 | | Picking up local produce from Market Shares |
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Religious Life and Learning
During the fall semester, Brown RISD Hillel has hosted a variety of learning opportunities on a range of exciting topics.
- Holiday-based learning opportunities led by Rabbi Rackover and student teachers provided important contextual meaning prior to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, and Sukkot. Additionally, Brown alum Shira Wolosky provided her own twist with a lecture entitled, "Harry Potter and Tshuva: Remorse and Renewal."
- Weekly learning sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays gave students the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of speakers, from Professor Maud Mandel in Brown's Judaic Studies department to Judy Klitsner, a faculty member at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.
- Along with 300 other Jewish communities worldwide, Hillel participated in the Global Day of Jewish Learning in November. Hillel hosted students, staff, faculty, and community members as they learned about "The Unity of the Jewish People and Shema."
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Student Engagement
- In November, Brown RISD Hillel hosted its third annual Speed Dating and Friend Finding event. Over 50 students gathered in the social hall for the opportunity to meet new friends (and maybe their beshert!).
- The Glenn and Darcy Weiner Center has also become a hotbed of meditation this year, hosting six of eight weekly yoga classes offered by Brown's Yoga and Mindfulness organization.
- Over 600 students came through Brown RISD Hillel's doors for the annual Orientation BBQ. An activities fair showcased the different student groups under Hillel's umbrella.
 | | The brothers of AEPi grilling at the annual Orientation BBQ |
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