Holidays

Proud to be Jewish

My Mizrahi traditions are key to my Jewish identity.

Author

糖心vlogl

Date

March 6, 2023

鈥淢y family is Mizrahi, meaning my Jewish ancestors lived in Western Asia and North Africa. I can trace my roots back to Bukhara, Persia, and Yemen. As a Mizrahi Jew, I grew up with so many rich traditions. On Shabbat, we prayed with beautiful and unique melodies that made me feel connected to my community. On Passover, we hit each other with oversized scallions while singing 鈥楧ayenu,鈥� a song about miracles. Some believe this tradition reminds us of the miracle of being freed from the lash of oppression. My siblings and I would scream and laugh as scallions flew everywhere.

鈥淭raditions like these were always a part of my life. They continued to be a part of my life when I enrolled at Hunter College in Manhattan. But this was a big shift for me. For the first time, those around me were surprised to find out I was Jewish. I realized this was an opportunity to teach people that there鈥檚 no template for what a Jewish person looks like. After all, college campuses are the perfect places to learn.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I decided to become a Sephardi and Mizrahi Inclusion Board Member at Hunter Hillel. I鈥檓 actively involved in planning events that foster community and understanding, including a Purim event celebrating Persian Jews. My goal is to continue creating a space where Sephardi and Mizrahi students feel represented. Together, we鈥檙e celebrating our rich history and culture and learning to educate others about Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews.鈥� 鈥� Asia Esther Akperov, Hunter College

As told to Alexandra Goldberg, writer for the 糖心vlogl Writers Program. 

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News

Five Ways Hillel Mental Health Professionals Improve Jewish Life on Campus

Author

糖心vlogl

Date

January 24, 2023

Yael Kornfeld, Hunter Hillel Social Worker, recently sat down with Yehuda Kurtzer, President of the Shalom Hartman Institute North America, on the Here are five ways that her work and the work of social workers across the Hillel movement are improving the lives of Jewish students on campus.

While the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for mental health support on campus, it did not create that need.

Yael shared that Merav Fine-Braun, Executive Director at Hunter Hillel, identified the need for mental health care at Hillel in 2019 when she learned that 80% of Hunter College鈥檚 students experience food insecurity. From the beginning, building out a role for a social worker on Hunter Hillel鈥檚 staff was about addressing basic needs for every Hillel student, from mental health to housing. 

Students on different campuses have unique needs.

Hunter鈥檚 student population has a diverse range of students from different socioeconomic, geographic, and religious backgrounds. Having a mental health professional who is an expert in a specific student population and who is familiar with the culture and needs of the students is critical. 鈥淢any of our students are either first-generation immigrants, or their parents are鈥� It鈥檚 so important to have someone at Hillel with the cultural competency to understand where our students are coming from,鈥� Yael reflected. 

Mental health professionals embedded in Hillels have a particular effectiveness in reaching students who need care.

As Yael said, 鈥淎 very basic tenet of social work is meeting the client where they are. So if students are coming into Hillel, let鈥檚 be there. Let鈥檚 be ready to support them in the place that they鈥檙e already comfortable coming to.鈥� 

Hillel mental health professionals work in concert with university counseling centers to make sure students are receiving comprehensive services.

One of the biggest questions about having mental health professionals work full time at Hillel is where their work intersects with university counseling services. Yael emphasized that Hillel mental health professionals and university counseling services work in collaboration with each other and often fill different mental health needs for students.

Mental health and wellness are crucial to student success.

Hillels have always been dedicated to supporting and enriching Jewish students鈥� lives. Through Yael鈥檚 work and the work of other mental health professionals at Hillels across the world, Hillels are meeting students鈥� emotional and mental needs in addition to their communal and spiritual needs. 

Yael and the other mental health professionals working in Hillels all over the country have shown the need for Hillels to provide mental health support on top of the diverse array of programming and guidance that they already offer. Thank you to the Shalom Hartman Institute North America for continuing this important conversation.

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News

Hillel Initiative Against Campus Antisemitism Adds 12 New Universities

Author

糖心vlogl

Date

September 16, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. 鈥� Jewish students are facing a on many of their college campuses. 糖心vlogl, the largest and most inclusive Jewish student organization in the world, is substantially expanding its Campus Climate Initiative (CCI), a comprehensive program to foster a campus climate in which Jewish students feel comfortable expressing their identity free of antisemitism, harassment, or marginalization. CCI, now in its third year, today announced the addition of 12 new campuses, along with five campuses expanding their participation, achieving a new total of 40 campuses nationwide. The diverse institutions joining the latest cohort include both rural and urban communities, large research universities and liberal arts colleges, and Jewish communities large and small.

CCI鈥檚 program is intentionally integrated into the institution鈥檚 broader diversity, equity and inclusion commitments to foster a positive campus climate for all students. The program provides campuses the tools to assess their current campus climate, learn best practices and policies, and develop action plans to measurably improve.

Mark Rotenberg, Hillel鈥檚 Vice President for University Initiatives & Legal Affairs, who initiated and supervises CCI, observed: 鈥淚 am so proud of the partnerships we have developed with dozens of colleges and universities who are deeply committed to improving the experiences of Jewish students as part of their DEI commitments for all students. The challenges of antisemitic hate, harassment and marginalization on campus require awareness and commitment to change by university leaders, and the CCI program鈥檚 dramatic growth from eight schools to 40 in two years shows that those leaders are out there.鈥� 

In order to proactively counter antisemitism before an incident occurs, CCI works with university leaders to accurately understand the atmosphere on their campuses and take specific positive steps that enable Jewish students and all students to thrive. The 16-month cohort experience facilitates learning and sharing among hundreds of university administrators mutually committed to addressing campus antisemitism and creating relationships with their local Hillel campus professionals that improve coordination when antisemitic incidents do occur. Another notable feature of the cohort experience is the collaborative facilitation opportunities provided to CCI by the American Council on Education (ACE), the nation鈥檚 largest higher education organization, on their ACE Engage platform.  

Seven colleges from the City University of New York (CUNY) will be participating in the latest cohort of the Campus Climate Initiative. CUNY Chancellor F茅lix V. Matos Rodr铆guez said, 鈥淐UNY has a rich and storied history of service to Jewish New Yorkers that is an important part of our tradition of openness to groups that have been excluded from higher education. We have remained vigilant and unequivocal in our intolerance of antisemitism yet we know more needs to be done across the world to end antisemitism in all forms. I鈥檓 proud of our growing partnership with 糖心vlogl and grateful they selected so many of our campuses for their Campus Climate Initiative, which works to end antisemitism and build safe, learning environments where all students can thrive, regardless of race or religion.鈥�

Those institutions either beginning or expanding their participation in CCI for the 2022-23 academic year include:

• Butler University
• Baruch College
• Brooklyn College
• College of Staten Island
• Goucher College
• Hunter College
• John Carroll University
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Lehigh University
• Queens College
• San Francisco State University
• The City College of New York
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Iowa
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Virginia Tech
• Yale University

Universities in the previous two cohorts are listed here.

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News

Charoset Across Cultures

Author

糖心vlogl

Date

February 1, 2022

The ancient recipe for charoset is as simple as it is sparse: Fruit, nuts, wine, and spices. Mix well. Serve on the Seder plate. That鈥檚 it. And yet, from this paltry outline, an infinite number of regional and familial variations have emerged. From the apples mentioned in the Talmud, to dates and figs described by Maimonides, to the oranges and chestnuts favored by Italian Jews, charoset has always reflected the communities where it is made.

Charoset is meant to evoke the bitterness of slavery through its similarity to the sticky mortar used by our ancestors in Egypt, and simultaneously, through its fruit and wine, the sweetness of the Land of Israel. Bitter and sweet, challenge and hope, memories from the past and joyous aspirations for the future, all mixed together with the flavors of home, family, and the Jewish people. 

We hope you will fill your Seder table with one of these flavorful takes on this ancient dish, and savor all of the history, tradition, and hope for the future that they, like the students themselves, embody.

Happy Passover 鈥� Chag Kasher v鈥橲ameach!

HANNAH鈥橲 HALAQ RECIPE (PERSIAN CHAROSET)
Hannah Shayefar, UCLA

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Diversity and Inclusion

Hillel Leadership

International Student Cabinet

I鈥檓 a Trinidadian Jew of Color. Hillel has helped shape my identity.

Author

糖心vlogl

Date

July 8, 2021

The post I鈥檓 a Trinidadian Jew of Color. Hillel has helped shape my identity. appeared first on 糖心vlogl.