Brown RISD Hillel Newsletter
Sivan 5774June 2014
In This Issue
By the Numbers
In the News
Support Us
AmazonSmile
Arts & Culture
Jewish Life and Learning
Israel
Tzedek (Social Justice)
By the Numbers
7...Passover seders offered at Brown RISD Hillel with over 350
participants  
735...Likes for 'Jews of Brown' Facebook page
600...Cookies donated during a Senior Week service event co-sponsored by Hillel's Cookies for a Cause
70...Students who traveled on our Taglit-Birthright Israel trips this January and June

 

Summer Taglit-Birthright Israel participants
In The News
Former Hillel Welcoming Chair and Engagement Intern Josh Block '14 gave an inspiring speech at Commencement as one of two student orators.

Jews of Brown seeks to "define Jewish identity through vignettes," and was featured in a front page article in the Brown Daily Herald.

The Blog Daily Herald covered the annual "Surviving the Unthinkable" panel organized for Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Support Our Community!

If you have already made a donation this year, thank you for your support!

 

If you haven't, please consider making a donation prior to the end of our fiscal year on June 30 to support all of the great opportunities that Brown RISD Hillel provides for Jewish students on College Hill.

 

New this year: donors to Hillel can now receive credit with Brown University for their support. Click here for more information. 

AmazonSmile

Do you shop at Amazon?  Good news: Brown RISD Hillel is participating in AmazonSmile! For every purchase made through a special link, Amazon will donate 5% of the purchase price to Brown RISD Hillel. Click here to start shopping in support of Brown RISD Hillel! 

Help us reach out to Jewish college students!

If you know a Jewish student who is graduating from high school or who is already in college, but not involved with Hillel, visit www.jcollegebound.com
 
Just enter the first and last name of the student, her or his email address and the school where the student will be attending in the fall. When you hit the "submit" button, a message will automatically be sent to the Hillel staff on that campus and they will reach out to the student. 

Please share this link on your Facebook page or forward it to anyone you know who has a Jewish student going to college.  
Brown RISD Hillel
In addition to this latest edition of the Brown RISD Hillel newsletter, we invite you to check out our website, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter to learn more about Jewish life at Brown and RISD.
Enjoying the annual Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) BBQ
 
Arts and Culture
  • 'Jews of Brown' wrapped up a successful first year by expanding their Facebook page to include a physical gallery exhibit in Hillel and hiring new photojournalists for the coming year. Check out the Humans of New York-inspired page here. 
  • The Alef Beats performed with other a capella groups as part of Brown's 250th "acaversary" concert.
  • The Hillel Gallery Project hosted "Reflections" with over 50 student photos from Taglit-Birthright Israel and other Israel trips.

Courtesy of Jews of Brown 

 

Jewish Life and Learning
  • Our semester-long "Eat Pray Love" learning series included a sessions by Hillel Rabbi Michelle Dardashti and visiting educators, including Providence's Rabbi Barry Dolinger teaching about "Love and Law" - the developing views about same-sex relations and marriage in Judaism.
  • The Holocaust Initiative at Brown University (HIBU) and Hillel organized "Surviving the Unthinkable," an event presenting the personal testimony of a Holocaust survivor and the child of Holocaust survivors. Following the panel, an interfaith commemoration ceremony was held in commemoration of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
Community Lunch participants

 

Israel

 

  • Students ate and shmoozed on a sun-drenched, blue-and-white terrace at the Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) BBQ.
  • Yom HaZikaron, or Day of Remembrance for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, is Israel's Memorial Day. The Brown RISD Hillel Community held a ceremony to commemorate the day, featuring readings by students and a video of the siren in Israel honoring the fallen.
  • Over 30 students traveled on our Birthright trip this summer, spending both Shabbat and the holiday of Shavuot in Israel. Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni have been very engaged in Jewish life on campus, with 25 attending our Birthright alumni Passover seder and 8 alumni out of 10 Engagement Interns this year. 

 Students on our winter Birthright trip

Tzedek (Social Justice)

 

  • Challah for Hunger increased its weekly output this semester to 48 fresh baked loaves of challah, with the group now providing challah for Hillel Friday night dinners in addition to its weekly Friday sale in the Blue Room. For the semester, Challah for Hunger donated over $1000 to American Jewish World Service and the Rhode Island Food Bank. 
  • Moral Voices co-sponsored a candlelight vigil to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Its "Race for Rwanda" on the Main Green raised over $3,500 for the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.