Hillel Community Newsletter
Weekly Events & Announcements
March 7 - March 13
Midterms are approaching but there's always plenty going on at Hillel for a study break!: 

- This weekend 20 prospective students will be joining us to experience Shabbat with our campus community. Current students are encouraged to attend events throughout the weekend and to introduce themselves and make our visitors feel welcome! For a full schedule, see below.

- Jewishly Inspired Meditation is back! Join us at 3:30 pm on Mondays and 11am on Thursdays!

- We are putting together a brand new Graphic Design Team to create posters for various Hillel events. See below for details.

- This is the last week to ensure your spot on Birthright Summer 2016! Read below to learn more about how you can sign up for a trip of a lifetime!

Jump to:
weekThis Week's Events
Monday, March 7
2pm: Hebrew Conversation Hour (Hillel Commons)
Join Israelis and Hebrew speakers for Hebrew Conversation Hour. Contact Elan Cohen with questions.

3:30pm: Jewishly Inspired Meditation (JIM) (Beit Midrash)
The words mysticism or contemplative most commonly bring to mind Eastern contemplative traditions - but Judaism, too, possesses ancient and profound teaching in these realms.  Please join Rabbi Dardashti and student leader Evan Chernov for our Jewishly Inspired Meditations on Monday at 3:30-4:30pm and Thursday from 11am-12pm at Brown RISD Hillel.  Seekers and "sitters" of all stripes, faiths, and non-faiths warmly welcomed - no prior experience necessary! 


6:30pm: Brown Students for Israel (BSI) Weekly Meeting (Hillel Meeting Room)

bookclub9pm: HIRAJ (Hillel Initiative on Racial Awareness and Justice) Book Club Meeting #1 (Address provided upon RSVP)
This semester we will be reading "This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color". Contact Natalia for information on joining HIRAJ's book club. 

Tuesday, March 8
9pm: J Street U Brown (JSUB) Weekly Meeting (JWW 202)

Wednesday, March 9
6pm: Cookies and Conversation: Grad Event (Hillel Library)
Join us Wednesday for casual conversation with fellow grad students and med students over delicious Meeting Street Cookies. Feel free to stop by for twenty minutes, an hour or anything in between and spread the word to others who might be interested.
Thursday, March 10
11am: Jewishly Inspired Meditation (JIM) (Beit Midrash)
The words mysticism or contemplative most commonly bring to mind Eastern contemplative traditions - but Judaism, too, possesses ancient and profound teaching in these realms.  Please join Rabbi Dardashti and student leader Evan Chernov for our Jewishly Inspired Meditations on Monday at 3:30-4:30pm and Thursday from 11am-12pm in the Brown RISD Hillel.  Seekers and "sitters" of all stripes, faiths, and non-faiths warmly welcomed - no prior experience necessary! 

4pm: Challah for Hunger Baking and Braiding (Hillel Kitchen)
Join Brown's Challah for Hunger chapter for weekly challah bakes in three shifts (baking, braiding, and packaging) featuring returning flavors and weekly specials. The challah is sold in the Blue Room on Fridays, with all proceeds going towards social justice awareness.

We're kicking off Tzedek Committee this semester and hope you'll join us! All are welcome, email Talia with any questions.

6:30pm: 
Women's Rosh Hodesh Group: Esther, Vashti, and Breaking Out of Boxes (Student Lounge)
Join women at Brown RISD Hillel in welcoming this month with a mix of song, texts, discussion, and meditation. As we usher in new month/moon of Adar II, the month which brings us the holiday of Purim, we explore the concepts and feelings of joy, responsibility, and identity: How do we focus on bringing joy into our lives, and how do we navigate feeling boxed in and expanding into our true selves? We welcome all women, including those feminine of center and/or genderqueer, to participate in and create this space with us. Dinner will be provided, so please RSVP through the Facebook event or to Rachel Leiken!

8pm: J-MI (Jews of Mixed Identity) Weekly Meeting (Student Lounge)
If you consider yourself to be a Jew and... (multiracial, from an interfaith household, or anything else!), then this is a group for you!  We will be holding weekly Thursday night discussions to plan events to talk about how these other identities inform our Judaism and how being a 'Jew of mixed identity' informs our lives.  If you are interested in participating in or facilitating discussion, planning events, and chatting with other people who have similar life experiences as you, come check out a meeting. E-mail Hannah for more information. 
Friday, March 11
11am: Arabic Conversation Hour (Hillel Commons)
Come learn/speak Arabic! Contact Elan Cohen with questions.

11am-1pm: Challah for Hunger Sale (Blue Room)
50% of the funds raised by our delicious go the Challah for Hunger's national cause - the American Jewish World Service's Sudan Relief and Advocacy Fund. The other 50% go to our chapter's local cause of choice - the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Thank you for your support!

3:15pm: Pre-Shabbat Yoga (Chapel) 
Usher in Shabbat with mindfulness of body and spirit. Carly's gentle yoga class is a perfect way to wind-down from the week and start Shabbat. 
prospectiveShabbat Services and Dinner
This week we welcome 20 prospective students to spend Shabbat with our community and get a taste of Jewish life at Brown and RISD. We hope you'll introduce yourself and tell your stories. 

6:15pm: Havurah* (Chapel - this week only), Reform** (Student Lounge) Services 
Some background on our two service options.
*Havurah Services: Based on the Hebrew word for "friend," Havurah service at Brown RISD Hillel is a moving, melodic way to welcome the Sabbath. Though our liturgy follows the Conservative movement and our tunes are usually Carlebach, Havurah is pluralistic and open to everyone. This service focuses on creating a room full of ruach, meaning spirit or energy. Please feel free to join us in the Beit Midrash (Study Room) on the second floor. Sit on chairs or comfy cushions; whatever makes you comfortable! 

**Reform Minyan is an open, inclusive service that draws from the music and traditions of the Reform movement. We welcome participants of all backgrounds to sing, pray, and discuss.This week is a Contemplative Shabbat service which will engage our bodies and minds with silent meditation, periodic discussions, and in-service activities to bring livable meanings to the text and to develop or deepen our relationships with the written prayers. 

7:30pm: Kiddush (Lobby) and Dinner (Social Hall) 
All are welcome to join us for dinner.

Saturday, March 12
10:30 am: Morning Services (Beit Midrash)
Join us for egalitarian morning services, preceded by bagels and followed by Shabbat lunch. 

12:30pm: Shabbat Lunch (Social Hall)

5pm: Third Meal and Havdalah (Social Hall)
Enjoy the third meal of Shabbat before concluding with Havdalah, the short weekly musical ceremony marking the end of Shabbat.

5:45pm: Cafe Night at Hillel (Commons)
Come warm up with cider and cocoa at Cafe Night at Hillel. Join friends and meet new ones as Shabbat ends and we move into the new week. 
generalGeneral Hillel Announcements


birthrightRegistration for Birthright Summer 2016 is NOW OPEN!
Spend 10 days with the people, who know Israel best, Israelis, on a Birthright Israel: Shorashim trip. Our Summer Trip is May 30-June 10 and your spot is waiting, so don't delay! Apply now 
HERE. For more info, contact Shorashim or Elan Cohen.


graphicBe a Part of Hillel's New Graphic Design Team
Do you have design skills that you'd like to use? Are you interested in helping Hillel advertise for all our great events? We're looking for students with design experience to join the new graphics team. This committee will be responsible for creating posters for all Hillel events and will get paid to do so. Experience with and knowledge of graphic design programs is required. Interested students should     e-mail Abby Kaye-Phillips with a short paragraph describing previous design experience.

Save the Date! Keynote Moral Voices with Janet Mock, March 21st
Join Moral Voices for a very special keynote event, featuring TV host, New York Times bestselling author and nationally known advocate for trans women's rights Janet Mock. Janet will share her raw and honest experiences growing up young, multiracial, poor and trans in America. Her book, "Redefining Realness", published last year is "is a powerful vision of possibility and self-realization, pushing us all toward greater acceptance of one another-and of ourselves-showing as never before how to be unapologetic and real." Her memorable talk will be followed by a book signing.

What Does A Jewish Woman Look Like? Calling all artists:
Submit portraits of Jewish women to be featured in "This is What a Jewish Woman Looks Like." This art show will feature portraits of Jewish women of all media, including paintings, drawings and photographs. Submissions can be self-portraits, portraits of friends, portraits of family members, portraits of famous female Jewish leaders and celebrities, etc. You do not have to be a woman, or Jewish to submit--only the subject matter does! Through this exhibition we aim to celebrate the Jewish woman's face and challenge the often-negative cultural portrayal of Jewish femininity both by embracing the beauty of stereotypically "Jewish" features and highlighting the diversity of Jewish faces that exist in the world and our community. The deadline for submissions is March 10. Send all questions and submissions to artexhibit@brownrisdhillel.org

reformNew Reform Minyan Service Rotation 
This week is the fourth week of our new rotating service plan! Through the course of the semester, the Reform Community will be rotating between five different kinds of services, all detailed below, that feature new amazing leaders and fascinating and engaging methods of gathering for prayer or discussion on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons!  Four of these service styles will be new: Musical, Contemplative, Science, and Learning. We hope that you join us every week and/or come to the weeks that you feel will be most meaningful to you, and either way, bring a friend!  If you want to know more about each service than what is included in the flyers, feel free to contact the leaders of that service listed here!
 
"Traditional" Reform: Hannah Liu and Rachel Leiken 
Shir L'Shabbat (Musical): AJ Whitman and Sienna Lotenberg 
Contemplative: Brian Solomon and Shira Buchsbaum 
Science: Eliott Rosenberg and Jason Nadboy 
Guest Rabbi/Learning: Claire FIshman


Join the Shabbat Cooking Team 
Whether you're a seasoned chef or the only thing you're comfortable making in the kitchen is cereal, there's always room for more! Join us in the kitchen on Thursdays and Fridays to help cook delicious meals for any students to enjoy on Saturdays/Shabbat. You can just stop by, volunteer or become a regular. Guaranteed friendship and snacking privileges! E-mail Sienna with questions. 

Submit to Mahberet Magazine
Mahberet Magazine, the literary magazine of Brown RISD Hillel, is looking for submissions! We publish art, poems, essays, photos, and more related to Jewish life. Did you write a great essay for your Judaic Studies class? Did you write a great poem or reflection about a Jewish holiday? Did you take an awesome photo of an event at Hillel? If so, we would love to consider your work in our first round of submissions! Submit your work by emailing it to mahberet@brownrisdhillel.org. Deadline for submissions is March 1st!

Jewish Penicillin Hotline Up and Ready to Deliver Soup to Sick Students 
It's freezing outside and cold season is well underway. But don't worry, Hillel's Jewish Penicillin Hotline has you covered if you, a friend or a family member is sick on campus and in need of some TLC! If you're a parent, grandparent or caring adult and want to order soup for your sick student, fill out this form. If you're a student and want to order soup for a friend on campus, e-mail Allison Rosenbaum. Orders must be made by 4:00PM in order to have the soup delivered that evening. Deliveries will be made during the academic year by our student volunteers Monday through Thursday, between 5:30PM and 7:30PM.  

Want to get involved in a Hillel group? Contact the Hillel Leadership!
Executive Board - President: Noah Fitzgerel | VP of Religious & Spiritual Life: Sam Hainbach | VP of Social Engagement: Dorit Rein | VP of Justice & the Arts: Alyssa Baum | VP of Community Groups:  Tamara Upfal
 
Student Committees - First Year Students at Hillel (FYSH): Jack Glaser and Julia Kirschenbaum
Holidays: Daniel Youkilis and Sarah Lettes | Learning: Abby Skerker | Shabbat: Annie Prusky | Social: Shosh Rosenzweig | Tzedek: Talia Rueschemeyer-Bailey | Welcoming: Ben Shteinfeld and Eitan Boiarsky

Student Groups - Alef Beats: Jeremy Joachim/Christine Baltazar | Brown Students for Israel: Adam Bennett | Challah for Hunger: Kat Boorstein/Roy Chen | Hillel Gallery Project: gallery@brownrisdhillel.org | Hillel Initiative on Racial Awareness and Justice: Natalia Ginsburg | Holocaust Initiative at Brown University (HIBU): Jason Nadboy | Israel Cultural Committee: Dorit Rein/Tamara Upfal | Jewish Athletes Group: Rosanna Lederhausen | Jewish Cooking Club: Emma Margulies/Veronica Sadler | Jews of Color: Amani Hayes-Messenger | Jews of Mixed Identity: Hannah Liu | J Street U Brown: Sam Hainbach | Mahberet Magazine: Maxine Joselow | Moral Voices: Natalie Cutler/Rachel Levy | Jew Q: jewq@brownrisdhillel.org
| Yarmulkazi: Klezmer.Brown@gmail.com

OtherOther Announcements
Judaic Studies DUG Movie Night

Music Festival featuring the Alef Beats!

OCRL Thursday Night Interfaith Supper Program (TNS) 
TNS dinners are a weekly gathering of students, faculty, and staff over dinner and conversation with invited speakers who discuss how the life of the spirit guides their professional and personal lives. Attendees represent the full breadth of the Brown community as well as a wide range of religious, faith, spiritual, and ethical perspectives. TNS is free and open to the community, kosher meals are available upon request and a vegetarian option is always available. E-mail Sana Parvaiz_Siddiq, Diego Arene-Morley or thursdaynightinterfaith@gmail.com to sign-up for the TNS listserv. Suppers begin at 5:30 p.m. and end by 7:00 p.m at the home of the Chaplain of the University, the Reverend Janet M. Cooper Nelson. Directions: 58 Keene Street, Providence. Walk through the Faunce Arch on Waterman Street (walking north). Go straight for 8 blocks. Turn right. The house is on the left. 

OCRL Bereavement Group
Established nearly 30 years ago, this informal gathering is for students who have suffered the loss of a loved one and are struggling with grief. Neither clinical nor religious, the group offers time with others who truly understand. Bereavement Group will meet each Monday in J. Walter Wilson, Room 411. Attend regularly or occasionally; tea and goodies will be served. Call the Office of the Chaplains at 401-863-2344 for more information.

CAPS & LETS Groups at Brown
All groups open to Brown undergraduate, graduate and medical students.

OpportunitiesOpportunities Blog
Be sure to follow us on Tumblr at http://brownrisdhillel.tumblr.com for all the latest updates! We'll post job and internship listings, as well as opportunities for volunteer work, travel, and study abroad!

INTRODUCING: a specific job board directed at seniors! If you are looking for work/opportunities after graduation, like our  BRH Post-Graudate Opportunities facebook page and keep checking back for more postings, we get them often!
80 Brown Street | 401-863-2805 | info@brownrisdhillel.org | www.brownrisdhillel.org
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