Hey Everyone

I hope that everyone a great week. Hillel is filled with exciting programs this week including Challah Baking and a special Apples and Honey Study Break. Café Ivrit starts on Monday and Hillel is a part of the Passport to Columbia this weekend. Also, don’t forget to sign up for Birthright! Time is running out!

Shabbat Shalom

Marnina Cherkin

Program Coordinator

Highlights:

1) Free Trip to Israel! Register now! Time is Running Out!

2) High Holidays Are Almost Here!

3) Yum! Challah Baking Class

4) Free Gayava Shabbat Dinner THIS FRIDAY

5) Hillel to Participate in Passport to Columbia this Saturday night!

6) Café Ivrit Start on Monday!

7) Super Special Study Break on Tuesday!

8) Are you Registered to Vote?

9) New Class Offerings at Hillel!

10) Join the MSA "Fast-a-thon."

11) "Free the Slaves." A Presentation on Modern Slavery at the CSSR

Calendar:

See this week's events

Registration is now open! Register before October!! Go to http://www.hillel.org/israel/travel/bri_hillel/trip_options/explore_trip.htm and select “Campus Explore Israel Trip” to sign up. Spots are limited!

Send any questions/comments to benjamin@hillel.columbia.edu – and check out the facebook group for reminders and updates: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25981919038

2) High Holidays are almost here!

Rosh Hashana:  begins at sundown on Monday, September 29th.

Yom Kippur:  begins at sundown on Wednesday, October 8th.

Let us know what kind of services you are looking for, and we'll help you find them!  Here at Columbia/Barnard Hillel, we're offering Reform services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, as well as an alternative service option.  For free Conservative services, please check out the Jewish Theological Seminary (www.jtsa.edu).  We also have courtesy student tickets for some local synagogues, so stop by the 3rd floor of the Kraft Center for that info.

Columbia/Barnard Hillel will be hosting a FREE Rosh Hashana meal on the evening of September 29th as well as a pre-fast meal on October 8th.  Be on the lookout for another announcement soon about how to sign up!

Questions?  Email rabbi@hillel.columbia.edu. 

3) Yum! Challah Baking Class!

Challah Baking Classes start this Friday! Learn how to bake challah from scratch on this Friday, September 19th at 11 AM. Join us as we start off our weekend on a wonderful note! The class will be held on the 3rd floor of Hillel on the terrace. It is BYOB, bring your own bowl, so just bring yourself and your big bowl, and you will be set to go! Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP to Sarah at culted@hillel.columbia.edu. See you all you bakers on Friday!

4) Free Gayava Shabbat Dinner this Friday!

Gayava's annual kick-off Shabbat dinner is this Friday, September 19th at 8:00pm! Dine Under the September Stars on the 3rd Floor Terrace of the Kraft Center!

Enjoy Kosher Indian food, drinks, and dessert with new and old friends and stick around for a panel discussion on being out in the Jewish community, with LGBT and allied professionals and rabbinical students connected to the Columbia community. ALL ARE WELCOME!!

To RSVP for the free dinner, please check out the facebook page:

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=35415754&id=110469#/event.php?eid=38705960090&ref=share

Please RSVP --Yes-- only if you will actually attend! We need accurate numbers!

The event is co-sponsored by the Office of the University Chaplain

5) Hillel to Participate in Passport to Columbia this Saturday Night!

This Saturday, September 20th in Roone Arlegde take a tour of Columbia's multicultural student community with your tongue, ears and eyes! The CCSC Campus Life Committee invites you to the first big event of the year with food, music & performances from over 20 campus cultural organizations. Hillel will showcase our community with delicious kosher food and a performance by one of our award winning a cappella groups, Pizmon! Also featuring a musical performance by Stone Forest Ensemble! Everything is free, how can you possibly miss out?

6) Café Ivrit Starts on Monday!

Cafe Ivrit is a great opportunity to practice your Hebrew! Come to the second floor of Hillel on Monday nights to speak Hebrew, whether you're a beginner, experienced, or fluent. Join us for a cup of coffee or some dinner in Cafe Nana's tents, and practice Hebrew conversation!

Starts THIS MONDAY! Sept. 22 at 7:00 pm in Cafe Nana's tents. We'll meet every Monday after that. No commitment necessary - just drop in any time!

7) Super Special Study Break on Tuesday!!

Come hang out and do some good at the same time: we're making gift packages of apples and honey to get ready for the holidays!! Tuesday night from 9-11pm on the 5th floor of Hillel (115th St btwn Broadway and Riverside, across from Schapiro)

8) Are you Registered to Vote?

Election Day is around the corner – are you registered to vote? If you live in NY State or would like to vote in NY State, voter registration cards are available in the Kraft Center lobby. Please take one! If you’re from another state and plan to vote there, please check out http://www.declareyourself.com/voting_faq/voting_faq_449.html#how for information on how to get your absentee ballot, find your state’s deadlines, and more. Deadlines are soon for both registering and getting absentee ballots!

9) New Class Offerings at Hillel!

Check out the new classes offered at Hillel! Free and fascinating! http://www.hillel.columbia.edu/template.php?name=classes#Jewish_Literacy.

Spotlight on a Class: Love the outdoors? Come to Divine Encounters in Nature. It is starts this Monday, and meets four consecutive Mondays in Room 403 on the 4th floor of Hillel. Portions of the class will be held outdoors. Read the blurb below for more information:

Do you feel closer to God in the woods than you do in buildings? What does Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) have to teach about the relationship between God and the natural world? The class will explore topics like: 
"Evolution and Kabbalah," "Hearing the Song of Nature," "Gaia (the Living Earth) and God," "Creation in Every Moment," and "the Great Circle of Life."

Aaron Philmus is a 5th year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is currently doing research for his Masters in Jewish Philosophy on Nature in Kabbalah and Chassidic Thought. He has been teaching Jewish Nature Education for over eight years.

10) Join the MSA "Fast-a-thon."

Join the MSA (Muslim Student Association) for its new and exciting event, "Fast-a-thon," which invites people outside the Muslim Community to "pledge" to fast with MSA for a day in order to provide participants with a greater understanding of Ramadan, the act of fasting and to raise awareness about the global issue of hunger.  In the evening, there is a large Iftar (breaking of the fast), to which all participants are invited and which will include speeches by community members as well as reflections from participants and a presentation from the non-profit organization Action Against Hunger. The event will be held on Thursday, September 25th, at 7:00PM in Roone Arledge Auditorium.

11) "Free the Slaves." A Presentation on Modern Slavery at the CSSR.

Hillel is cosponsoring a great event at the Center for the Study of Science and Religion. "Free the Slaves": A Presentation on Modern Slavery by Two African, Templeton Foundation Freedom Award Winners. Both James Kofi Annan and Ricky Richard were enslaved as children, one in Ghana and one in Uganda, and both have gone on to be active in the movement against slavery. Their analysis is as razor sharp as their stories are inspiring. Jolene Smith, Executive Director of Free the Slaves in Washington, D.C., will join Mr. Annan and Mr. Richard in a panel discussion on modern slavery. There will be an opportunity for Q. and A. following the presentation. Tuesday, September 23 at 7:30 in Davis Auditorium.

09/18/2008

No public events scheduled

09/19/2008

Time and place	Title	Sponsoring group
11:00 AM-1:00 PM Gottlieb Terrace	Challah Baking class	Cultural/Education Va'ad
8:00 PM-11:00 PM Room 404	Shabbat Dinner	Garin Lavi

09/20/2008

Time and place	Title	Sponsoring group
7:00 PM-10:00 PM Roone Arledge Hall	Passport to Columbia	VPI

09/21/2008

Time and place	Title	Sponsoring group
11:00 AM-12:30 PM Room 400	Impact Aliyah info session	Garin Lavi
2:30 PM-4:00 PM 5th Floor Auditorium	Rabbi Leibtag Guest Lecture	Beit Midrash Program

09/22/2008

Time and place	Title	Sponsoring group
7:00 PM-8:00 PM Cafe Nana (2nd Floor)	Cafe Ivrit	Israel Va'ad

09/23/2008

Time and place	Title	Sponsoring group
9:00 PM-10:00 PM Bishop Library (2nd Floor)	Social Justice meeting	Tzedek/Social Action Va'ad

09/24/2008

Time and place	Title	Sponsoring group
8:00 PM-10:00 PM Room 400	Pizmon Rehearsal	Pizmon
9:00 PM-10:00 PM 5th Floor Auditorium	In Session	Wednesday Night Learning Program
7:00 PM-8:30 PM Bishop Library (2nd Floor)	Call your mother! Call your father! Call bubbe and zeidi!	Progressive Jewish Alliance

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