Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Seasons Are Changing!
Hey Everyone,
I hope your Passover has been great; I know mine has. But let me tell you I am happy that it has finally reached its end. As a student who grew up attending a Jewish Day School: Solomon Schechter Day School, Passover has always been about spending time with your family.
Each year our spring break would fall during the festival of Passover. This made it easier on the families and allowed for those who had family travelling in from out of town for seder the ability to spend time together.
During passover it was about srengthining relationships ,reconnecting with those you no longer spoke frequently with, remembering the struggles of the Israelites and the freedom we are so lucky to have today.
The phenomenon that relationships and the festival of Passover are directly connected is an interesting point of view to look at. During the time of slavery, the Israelites were there for one another when they needed it. They become closer to one another as they spent years in Egypt as slaves, saw the ups and downs of life and tasted the bittersweet joys of freedom together.
Each year we remember this bond that all Jewish people and the people of the world share. Although, Passover is a time of remembering, it also is a time about reaffirming our support systems and realizing how lucky we are to be free today.
At Hillel every year I am provided with the opportunity to do exactly this. Here at Miami, on Walnut St., a few blocks from campus, I have found a second home; a place where those relationships formulated on and off campus have a place to thrive. Every year during the 8 days of Passover I have the chance to do what I have done all of my life; reconnect, reaffirm,and reestablish connections to my past and present.
The future of the world is within each and everyone of us and in order to find it, we must search within one another.
I wish everyone a great rest of the week,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagement Intern
Albertds@muohio.edu
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Passover Is Only A Day Away!
Hey everyone,
Things are really busy here at Hillel this week. We are preparing for Passover which begins this Wendsday Evening with Seder #1 at the Oxford Community Arts Center. This Thursday the second seder is occuring at The Hillel Beerman Center.
Passover is a bittersweet time of year. We remember the time that the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt under Pharoahs rule and our release from Slavery.
Passover is a special time here at Miami University. We are able to gather together at Jewish students on this campus and remember a time in Jewish history of much importance.
As a junior at Miami University I have had many Passover experiences. My freshman year I travelled with my roomate to his home in Indiana and celebrated Passover with him and his family. For many years I have joined Miami Students in celebrating at Hillel, allowing me to meet many new faces and enjoy a home cooked meal.
Looking forward to sharing my Passover experience with everyone,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagment Intern
Albertds@muohio.eu
Things are really busy here at Hillel this week. We are preparing for Passover which begins this Wendsday Evening with Seder #1 at the Oxford Community Arts Center. This Thursday the second seder is occuring at The Hillel Beerman Center.
Passover is a bittersweet time of year. We remember the time that the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt under Pharoahs rule and our release from Slavery.
Passover is a special time here at Miami University. We are able to gather together at Jewish students on this campus and remember a time in Jewish history of much importance.
As a junior at Miami University I have had many Passover experiences. My freshman year I travelled with my roomate to his home in Indiana and celebrated Passover with him and his family. For many years I have joined Miami Students in celebrating at Hillel, allowing me to meet many new faces and enjoy a home cooked meal.
Looking forward to sharing my Passover experience with everyone,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagment Intern
Albertds@muohio.eu
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Happenings At Hillel!
Welcome Back Students,
It has been a while since we have provided you with an update in regards to the happpenings at Hillel and trust me their are many exciting ones coming up as we near the end of this semester.
Passover is right around the corner and begins April 8th and continues with our annual yeast feast on April 16th.
Take a look at the schedule below:
Passover Sedars and Meals
Sedars:
First Sedar: April 8, 2009 at 6 pm at Oxford Community Arts Center (10 S. College)
Second Sedar: April 9, 2009 at 6 pm at Hillel (11 E. Walnut)
Meals: April 10-16 at Hillel (11 E. Walnut St.)
Brunch: 10:30 am - 1 pm
Dinner: 5pm-7pm
April 10th: Free Shabbat Dinner (services at 6 pm, dinner at 7 pm)
April 16th: Free "Yeast Feast" 8 pm
This years first passover seder will be held at the Oxford Community Arts Center and will be a night of great food, great people, but most imoortantly a chance to reflect back on a time period so importnat in the history of the Jewish people.
ASB: Alternative Spring Break
Several of our Miami Students have just returned from a different type of spring break experience. During the week of March 9th, students traveled down to New Orleans where they spent their break rebuilding the infrastructe that was destroyed by Hurricain Katrina. In the coming days we will have some personal journal entries and photos to share with you about this amazing experience.
JNF Israel Trip:
Others from Miami spent their spring break in Israel helping to rebuild areas destroyed by hamas rockets and warfare within the middle east region. These students has a great oppurtunity to make a difference in the world and again in the coming days pictures and personal experiences will posted for all to see.
I hope that everyone has a meaningful break and is ready to get back in the swing of things here on campus. We hope to see you out at some of the exciting programming that is being offered and feel free to contact us with anything you would like to see within the MIAMI JEWISH STUDENT blog; afterall it is about you.
Best of luck in the coming weeks,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagement Intern
Albertds@muohio.edu
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Hillel Featured In The Cleveland Jewish News!
It has been a while since our last update. Those of us at Hillel have been busy carrying out exciting new programs and continuing old favorites.
This past friday we held our annual Ethiopian Shabbat and this coming weekend we have our first ever Murder Mystery Night and Havdallah Service. We will be sure and let everyone know how this program turns out but in the meantime be sure and check out the article below that features Hillel.
Special thanks to Amy Newman Smith
Jewish involvement on campus: what students want
By Amy Newman Smith
Published: Friday, February 13, 2009 1:10 AM EST
College students are preparing for careers, but they are also preparing for life ... sorting out who they are and who they want to be. For Jewish students, that often means deciding what ties they want tothe Jewish community.
Luckily, even on campuses with smaller Jewish populations, they have choices. From services to social events, from social justice to Israel programs (which took on added significance as Operation Cast Lead began late last year) and everything in between, Hillel, Jewish fraternities and sororities and other groups offer programs designed to meet the needs of a diverse student population.
What sells?
Students looking for a religious connection on campus often find their way to Hillel. Mariessa Shein, a sophomore at Ohio University (OU) in Athens and a Hillel intern, says the biggest turnout is always for High Holiday services. But Hillel and other groups go beyond Shabbat and holiday services, offering social programming, cultural events, Jewish learning opportunities, and social action projects.
Tal Rosen, Hillel’s executive director at Miami University, says diverse events attract different kinds of students. Shein agrees, noting that students who wouldn’t come to a religious service will attend social programs like speed dating, an event that has produced a few matches. Dan Albert, a junior at Miami University, finds the same to be true on his campus. On a recent bus trip to see Jewish rap singer Mattisyahu in Cincinnati, he met several people he had never seen at a Hillel event. And Shein, who lives in an off-campus Jewish housing co-op, says people who never come to Hillel events can often be found hanging out at the co-op house.
Jonathan Lopatin, a junior studying economics at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), says the Jewish Student Group, an organization that plans social activities, often schedules events around Jewish holidays like Purim, but without the religious component a Hillel event might include. As a result, these events often draw a different crowd.
A broad spectrum of students gets involved in community service projects. Rabbi Danielle Leshaw, Hillel’s executive director at Ohio University, says students work at a food bank in nearby rural Appalachia. Hillel is also sponsoring a bone marrow registration drive in late February in partnership with the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, with a goal of collecting 1,000 swabs that could lead to life-saving transplants. Jewish fraternities and sororities offer another center for Jewish students to make connections.
Involvement with Jewish groups offers other benefits. Intern programs build resumes. Raphael Bendriem, a senior studying biochemistry at CWRU, appreciates the career skills he’s acquired through Hillel. (He met his girlfriend there too.) Opportunities to explore leadership, planning and delegation skills taught him the importance of isolating what makes an idea work. The key to any successful on-campus event, he says: “Free food.”
Israel
Support for Israel is one of the centers of Jewish life at CWRU, observes Lopatin. That appears to be true on other campuses as well. Rabbi Leshaw, at OU, says Israel-focused events, whether a film or speaker, draw consistent crowds.
Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s move into Gaza, was very much on student’s minds when they resumed classes in January, after winter break.
Returning to OU, Shein says the friends she’s made provided support as she watched news coverage and worried about her fellow Jews. While she’s spoken to friends on campuses where protests have turned acrimonious or even violent, she hasn’t experienced that at OU.
Tal Rosen reports a pro-Israel rally at Miami was attended by Jewish students he called very aware and well informed. Dan Albert notes that Miami Students for Israel works to educate students on campus about the issues. The group recently “held a vigil for victims on both sides of the conflict.”
At CWRU, both Lopatin and Bendriem say on-campus conflict has stayed under control. Lopatin says while strongly worded letters to the editor bounce back and forth on the issue, it doesn’t get explosive. The students who feel strongly about the issue, he says, aren’t “entrenched” and want to do more than just “yelling across barriers.” Like other students, he knows his situation is somewhat unique. Friends in schools back east label their campuses “very angry.”
In contrast, Bendriem observes that even groups as far apart on the issues as Hillel and Students for Justice in Palestine were able to gather together for a moment of silence for victims on both sides of the conflict. Both sides have worked to make it that way, creating opportunities for people to share strong opinions in a way that doesn’t foster increased conflict.
Gary Coleman, executive director of Hillel of Northeast Ohio, calls the Jewish-Muslim dialogues lessons in “learning how to agree to disagree” and how to walk the fine line between free speech and intimidating speech.
Moving … on and off campus
Coleman says on the campuses his organizations oversees-including Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, and Oberlin College-affiliation numbers are rising slightly. Organizations are sprouting in some unlikely places. A Jewish club recently started at Jesuit-run John Carroll University and Notre Dame College approached Coleman about its own Jewish student group.
In addition to increasing numbers and branching out, Coleman says Hillel of Northeast Ohio is working hard to get students off campus to strengthen their ties with the Jewish community of Cleveland. Students are matched with synagogues and families for Shabbat and holiday meals. There are also professional mentoring programs for graduate students and summer intern programs for undergrads in conjunction with the Jewish Federation and the Cleveland Foundation.
Dan Albert says even the changes brought by slimmed down organizational budgets have led to positive outcomes. They’ve begun partnering with other campus organizations they’ve never worked with before. Led by professional staff and student leaders, Jewish life on campus is staying vibrant and varied.
Feel Free to read the article at the following link:http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2009/02/13/education/doc49945522b7c7c020978175.txt
Have a great week,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagment Intern
Albertds@muohio.edu
This past friday we held our annual Ethiopian Shabbat and this coming weekend we have our first ever Murder Mystery Night and Havdallah Service. We will be sure and let everyone know how this program turns out but in the meantime be sure and check out the article below that features Hillel.
Special thanks to Amy Newman Smith
Jewish involvement on campus: what students want
By Amy Newman Smith
Published: Friday, February 13, 2009 1:10 AM EST
College students are preparing for careers, but they are also preparing for life ... sorting out who they are and who they want to be. For Jewish students, that often means deciding what ties they want tothe Jewish community.
Luckily, even on campuses with smaller Jewish populations, they have choices. From services to social events, from social justice to Israel programs (which took on added significance as Operation Cast Lead began late last year) and everything in between, Hillel, Jewish fraternities and sororities and other groups offer programs designed to meet the needs of a diverse student population.
What sells?
Students looking for a religious connection on campus often find their way to Hillel. Mariessa Shein, a sophomore at Ohio University (OU) in Athens and a Hillel intern, says the biggest turnout is always for High Holiday services. But Hillel and other groups go beyond Shabbat and holiday services, offering social programming, cultural events, Jewish learning opportunities, and social action projects.
Tal Rosen, Hillel’s executive director at Miami University, says diverse events attract different kinds of students. Shein agrees, noting that students who wouldn’t come to a religious service will attend social programs like speed dating, an event that has produced a few matches. Dan Albert, a junior at Miami University, finds the same to be true on his campus. On a recent bus trip to see Jewish rap singer Mattisyahu in Cincinnati, he met several people he had never seen at a Hillel event. And Shein, who lives in an off-campus Jewish housing co-op, says people who never come to Hillel events can often be found hanging out at the co-op house.
Jonathan Lopatin, a junior studying economics at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), says the Jewish Student Group, an organization that plans social activities, often schedules events around Jewish holidays like Purim, but without the religious component a Hillel event might include. As a result, these events often draw a different crowd.
A broad spectrum of students gets involved in community service projects. Rabbi Danielle Leshaw, Hillel’s executive director at Ohio University, says students work at a food bank in nearby rural Appalachia. Hillel is also sponsoring a bone marrow registration drive in late February in partnership with the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, with a goal of collecting 1,000 swabs that could lead to life-saving transplants. Jewish fraternities and sororities offer another center for Jewish students to make connections.
Involvement with Jewish groups offers other benefits. Intern programs build resumes. Raphael Bendriem, a senior studying biochemistry at CWRU, appreciates the career skills he’s acquired through Hillel. (He met his girlfriend there too.) Opportunities to explore leadership, planning and delegation skills taught him the importance of isolating what makes an idea work. The key to any successful on-campus event, he says: “Free food.”
Israel
Support for Israel is one of the centers of Jewish life at CWRU, observes Lopatin. That appears to be true on other campuses as well. Rabbi Leshaw, at OU, says Israel-focused events, whether a film or speaker, draw consistent crowds.
Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s move into Gaza, was very much on student’s minds when they resumed classes in January, after winter break.
Returning to OU, Shein says the friends she’s made provided support as she watched news coverage and worried about her fellow Jews. While she’s spoken to friends on campuses where protests have turned acrimonious or even violent, she hasn’t experienced that at OU.
Tal Rosen reports a pro-Israel rally at Miami was attended by Jewish students he called very aware and well informed. Dan Albert notes that Miami Students for Israel works to educate students on campus about the issues. The group recently “held a vigil for victims on both sides of the conflict.”
At CWRU, both Lopatin and Bendriem say on-campus conflict has stayed under control. Lopatin says while strongly worded letters to the editor bounce back and forth on the issue, it doesn’t get explosive. The students who feel strongly about the issue, he says, aren’t “entrenched” and want to do more than just “yelling across barriers.” Like other students, he knows his situation is somewhat unique. Friends in schools back east label their campuses “very angry.”
In contrast, Bendriem observes that even groups as far apart on the issues as Hillel and Students for Justice in Palestine were able to gather together for a moment of silence for victims on both sides of the conflict. Both sides have worked to make it that way, creating opportunities for people to share strong opinions in a way that doesn’t foster increased conflict.
Gary Coleman, executive director of Hillel of Northeast Ohio, calls the Jewish-Muslim dialogues lessons in “learning how to agree to disagree” and how to walk the fine line between free speech and intimidating speech.
Moving … on and off campus
Coleman says on the campuses his organizations oversees-including Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, and Oberlin College-affiliation numbers are rising slightly. Organizations are sprouting in some unlikely places. A Jewish club recently started at Jesuit-run John Carroll University and Notre Dame College approached Coleman about its own Jewish student group.
In addition to increasing numbers and branching out, Coleman says Hillel of Northeast Ohio is working hard to get students off campus to strengthen their ties with the Jewish community of Cleveland. Students are matched with synagogues and families for Shabbat and holiday meals. There are also professional mentoring programs for graduate students and summer intern programs for undergrads in conjunction with the Jewish Federation and the Cleveland Foundation.
Dan Albert says even the changes brought by slimmed down organizational budgets have led to positive outcomes. They’ve begun partnering with other campus organizations they’ve never worked with before. Led by professional staff and student leaders, Jewish life on campus is staying vibrant and varied.
Feel Free to read the article at the following link:http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2009/02/13/education/doc49945522b7c7c020978175.txt
Have a great week,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagment Intern
Albertds@muohio.edu
Thursday, February 5, 2009
From the metro to the Mall, one student's experience By: Adam Hainsfurther
I would like to thank Adam for allowing us to share with you his personal experience of travelling to Washington, DC for this years innaguration of Barak Obama.
Adam is a sophmore at Miami University and has written many articles and columns for the Miami Student. I hope you enjoy what he has written below.
There's a reason they say going to an inauguration is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, there are a few reasons actually.
First off, getting tickets is incredibly difficult. I found out I was going to D.C. less than a week after President Barack Obama (go a head, say it again, it feels awesome) was elected. I didn't find out I had a ticket until about two weeks before I left. I had to write to almost every politician in Ohio, Sen. Dick Durbin, soon-to-be former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and my home district's representative Rep. Mark Kirk. In the end House Minority Leader, Rep. John Boehner was able to secure me a ticket.
Not only was getting a ticket hard to do, but I lucked out by having a place to stay. My cousin Jenni was able to take me in during the week at her apartment in D.C.'s Penn Quarter neighborhood. I had heard stories of people renting out their dorm rooms to strangers for $400 a night as well as stories of people paying $5,000 to sleep on a couch. Not a sofa bed, not a futon, just a plain old couch.
Along with finding a place to stay, tickets to D.C. were at all-time highs. I was able to use my dad's sky-miles to knock my ticket price down to $5 (the best $5 I've ever spent). When I was looking at first though, the cheapest flight was $300 and the most expensive coach ticket was more than $1,000.
Not only is it an expensive trip, but it's definitely an exhausting one. Let's take a look at my inauguration day. I woke up a 6:00 a.m. to people partying on D Street, right outside Jenni's building. From there, I dressed, talked with Jenni and Craig about our plans for the day (their seats were in a different section than mine) and headed to the Metro, Washington's subway system, to quickly get to the security lines for the Blue ticket section.
Right away I ran into trouble. First, the streets were so jam-packed, I had to go through an ally just to get to the street I needed to take to the Gallery Place Metro station.
Once I got into the station, things seemed to calm down for a bit. I only had to go one stop before changing lines, but the train was empty enough for me to get a seat (a rarity on busy days). Once I got to the Metro Center stop though, reality hit-hard. You could barely move without coming close to getting pushed into the tracks (something that happened at least once on inauguration day). People were packed into cars like sardines. One woman with at the inauguration told me that at one time, people were putting so much pressure on the train's doors, the doors wouldn't close.
I boarded a train quickly and headed off to my planned destination. I had to adjust my route and get off at Capitol South due to overcrowding at other stops.
Unfortunately, Capitol South isn't exactly close to where those of us with Blue tickets needed to get in. I got off the train, moved my way through an incredibly crowded station, up an over-crowded, and stalled, escalator and toward what I thought would be multiple entrances for the Blue tickets. Boy, was I wrong.
Instead I walked about a block and was halted by the biggest line I've ever waited in. Everyone in this line (as well as a few other lines) needed to get through ONE entrance to the security checkpoint. That's right, 10,000 people and one entrance. Ridiculous.
After waiting in line for three hours, I was ready to call it quits and head back, but instead I walked toward the front of the line and joined a group of line jumpers (shame on me, I know). After hopping a guardrail I was promptly squished against a series of other guardrails until I was able to file through the entrance and into the security checkpoint.
From there I looked for a place to stand. As I was looking for a ledge to stand on, I was led to a broken fence that separated the Blue and Orange sections. I quickly went over the downed fence and settled in amongst the masses just as Vice President Joe Biden was about to be sworn in.
As President Obama was sworn in, the crowd went nuts. The inauguration became the country's biggest block-party. People were dancing, singing, crying and shouting. Everyone knew they were witnessing history.
Getting out of Capitol Hill, though, was a bit of a problem. I was led the wrong way on my way out and was forced to go through a huge crowd of people (in which I was barely able to move) not once, but twice. People were going down left and right due to leg cramps, fainting or merely being pushed to the ground by those around them. The Metro was pretty much shut down, cops had no idea where to send people and the parade route trapped huge groups of people in the Mall (myself included). It took me nearly four hours, but I finally made it back to the apartment.
Compared to others though, I had it easy. Miami sophomore Ben Lockshin, who came to D.C. with a group of the College Democrats, was turned back at the gate even though he had a valid ticket for the Purple section.
"We got to the gate around 7 in the morning, and cop told us to go to the Third Street tunnel," Lockshin told me later while he was making the drive back to Oxford from D.C. "At that point, (the line) was two-thirds of the way into the tunnel and it snaked all the way around. We waited in line there for hours and it was moving very slowly. We thought we'd just wait it out in there. At about 9:45, my friend said he'd go check it out outside. He gave me a call saying there was a mob at First and D streets. He eventually pushed his way through. Another friend and I stayed in line, but once we got out of the tunnel it was just chaos. We got the gate a little bit after 11, there were a couple thousand people just standing there en masse, but no one was being let in. Eventually we talked to a police officer, who told us that they stopped letting people in. From there we just decided to go to a hotel and watch his speech on TV."
David Miller, who also traveled to the inauguration with the College Democrats, had a bit of a better experience than Lockshin.
"I was just walking around," Miller said. "I had an Orange section ticket, and was walking around the section. Jessica Alba was sitting in the front row in a group of chairs in front of us. There wasn't anyone around her, so I walked up to her and said hi. I had six or seven Obama buttons on, and she said something about it. I asked her if she wanted one and she said sure so I gave her one, took a picture with her and left."
While I didn't have quite the same experiences as either Lockshin or Miller, I can definitely say that my inauguration experience was one that will probably never be topped. Besides bumping elbows with Tony Dungy, seeing someone who looked a lot like the Daily Show's John Oliver (I never did have the courage to ask him), and getting on Japanese TV while waiting in line for my ticket, I witnessed history. And while others were willing to pay $5,000 to do the same, I have to say that my trip to D.C. this past week was truly priceless.
Adam is a sophmore at Miami University and has written many articles and columns for the Miami Student. I hope you enjoy what he has written below.
There's a reason they say going to an inauguration is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, there are a few reasons actually.
First off, getting tickets is incredibly difficult. I found out I was going to D.C. less than a week after President Barack Obama (go a head, say it again, it feels awesome) was elected. I didn't find out I had a ticket until about two weeks before I left. I had to write to almost every politician in Ohio, Sen. Dick Durbin, soon-to-be former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and my home district's representative Rep. Mark Kirk. In the end House Minority Leader, Rep. John Boehner was able to secure me a ticket.
Not only was getting a ticket hard to do, but I lucked out by having a place to stay. My cousin Jenni was able to take me in during the week at her apartment in D.C.'s Penn Quarter neighborhood. I had heard stories of people renting out their dorm rooms to strangers for $400 a night as well as stories of people paying $5,000 to sleep on a couch. Not a sofa bed, not a futon, just a plain old couch.
Along with finding a place to stay, tickets to D.C. were at all-time highs. I was able to use my dad's sky-miles to knock my ticket price down to $5 (the best $5 I've ever spent). When I was looking at first though, the cheapest flight was $300 and the most expensive coach ticket was more than $1,000.
Not only is it an expensive trip, but it's definitely an exhausting one. Let's take a look at my inauguration day. I woke up a 6:00 a.m. to people partying on D Street, right outside Jenni's building. From there, I dressed, talked with Jenni and Craig about our plans for the day (their seats were in a different section than mine) and headed to the Metro, Washington's subway system, to quickly get to the security lines for the Blue ticket section.
Right away I ran into trouble. First, the streets were so jam-packed, I had to go through an ally just to get to the street I needed to take to the Gallery Place Metro station.
Once I got into the station, things seemed to calm down for a bit. I only had to go one stop before changing lines, but the train was empty enough for me to get a seat (a rarity on busy days). Once I got to the Metro Center stop though, reality hit-hard. You could barely move without coming close to getting pushed into the tracks (something that happened at least once on inauguration day). People were packed into cars like sardines. One woman with at the inauguration told me that at one time, people were putting so much pressure on the train's doors, the doors wouldn't close.
I boarded a train quickly and headed off to my planned destination. I had to adjust my route and get off at Capitol South due to overcrowding at other stops.
Unfortunately, Capitol South isn't exactly close to where those of us with Blue tickets needed to get in. I got off the train, moved my way through an incredibly crowded station, up an over-crowded, and stalled, escalator and toward what I thought would be multiple entrances for the Blue tickets. Boy, was I wrong.
Instead I walked about a block and was halted by the biggest line I've ever waited in. Everyone in this line (as well as a few other lines) needed to get through ONE entrance to the security checkpoint. That's right, 10,000 people and one entrance. Ridiculous.
After waiting in line for three hours, I was ready to call it quits and head back, but instead I walked toward the front of the line and joined a group of line jumpers (shame on me, I know). After hopping a guardrail I was promptly squished against a series of other guardrails until I was able to file through the entrance and into the security checkpoint.
From there I looked for a place to stand. As I was looking for a ledge to stand on, I was led to a broken fence that separated the Blue and Orange sections. I quickly went over the downed fence and settled in amongst the masses just as Vice President Joe Biden was about to be sworn in.
As President Obama was sworn in, the crowd went nuts. The inauguration became the country's biggest block-party. People were dancing, singing, crying and shouting. Everyone knew they were witnessing history.
Getting out of Capitol Hill, though, was a bit of a problem. I was led the wrong way on my way out and was forced to go through a huge crowd of people (in which I was barely able to move) not once, but twice. People were going down left and right due to leg cramps, fainting or merely being pushed to the ground by those around them. The Metro was pretty much shut down, cops had no idea where to send people and the parade route trapped huge groups of people in the Mall (myself included). It took me nearly four hours, but I finally made it back to the apartment.
Compared to others though, I had it easy. Miami sophomore Ben Lockshin, who came to D.C. with a group of the College Democrats, was turned back at the gate even though he had a valid ticket for the Purple section.
"We got to the gate around 7 in the morning, and cop told us to go to the Third Street tunnel," Lockshin told me later while he was making the drive back to Oxford from D.C. "At that point, (the line) was two-thirds of the way into the tunnel and it snaked all the way around. We waited in line there for hours and it was moving very slowly. We thought we'd just wait it out in there. At about 9:45, my friend said he'd go check it out outside. He gave me a call saying there was a mob at First and D streets. He eventually pushed his way through. Another friend and I stayed in line, but once we got out of the tunnel it was just chaos. We got the gate a little bit after 11, there were a couple thousand people just standing there en masse, but no one was being let in. Eventually we talked to a police officer, who told us that they stopped letting people in. From there we just decided to go to a hotel and watch his speech on TV."
David Miller, who also traveled to the inauguration with the College Democrats, had a bit of a better experience than Lockshin.
"I was just walking around," Miller said. "I had an Orange section ticket, and was walking around the section. Jessica Alba was sitting in the front row in a group of chairs in front of us. There wasn't anyone around her, so I walked up to her and said hi. I had six or seven Obama buttons on, and she said something about it. I asked her if she wanted one and she said sure so I gave her one, took a picture with her and left."
While I didn't have quite the same experiences as either Lockshin or Miller, I can definitely say that my inauguration experience was one that will probably never be topped. Besides bumping elbows with Tony Dungy, seeing someone who looked a lot like the Daily Show's John Oliver (I never did have the courage to ask him), and getting on Japanese TV while waiting in line for my ticket, I witnessed history. And while others were willing to pay $5,000 to do the same, I have to say that my trip to D.C. this past week was truly priceless.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
It Is You're Right to Know About Birthright!
Good Morning Everyone,
It been a crazy week here in Oxford as far as weather goes. We went from forty degree weather into a winter wonderland with snow and ice on the ground everywhere. Last blog entry we promised to bring you some personal memoirs and experiences of some of the Miami Students who were privileged to travel to Israel on a Birthright trip this winter. Please enjoy some writing supplements by Miami students, Seth Vander and Jason Roden below.
My Israel Experience
By Jason Roden
I finally got to go! After all these years of learning about it in Jewish school, hearing about it on the news, praying for it, celebrating it, I finally got to go to Israel. Rather than give a summary of the places I visited, (It’s a beautiful country!) I thought I would share with you my overall learning experience. The president of Hillel, Avraham Infeld, spoke in front of all of us who went to Israel with Hillel. One of the topics he discussed was the idea that Judaism is not a religion…That’s right…He said and I quote, “Judaism is not a religion!” He then went on to explain that rather than a religion, we are a family. Now initially, I did not agree with what he was saying and even now, I don’t agree 100%. However, I think what he was trying to say was that we don’t have to pray 3 times a day and keep strict Shabbos in order to identify as being Jewish. He went on to explain how there are all different types of Jews (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, etc.) who are all Jewish all the same. Now, I personally do not like to associate myself with any distinct movement. I like to think of myself as “just Jewish.” In reality though, the Jewish people are divided and do not quite see eye to eye on all issues. Infeld proposed a solution to this problem. He compared the values of the Jewish people to a 5 legged table. Each leg represents a characteristic of the ideal Jewish people. The first leg is Jewish memory, which he explained is basically the classic idea that we apply the past experiences of the Jewish people to our lives in the present. The second leg is the idea that the Jewish people are a family. The third is the Hebrew language. The fourth is the Land of Israel and the State of Israel. He made a distinction between the two in the sense that the Land of Israel is what connects us via Jewish memory and the State of Israel is what gives us a Jewish homeland. And the fifth is the Jewish Law. He basically explained that the Jewish Law was given to us at Mount Sinai and it is an essential part of our family’s Jewish memory. Now obviously, not every Jew these days is going to possess all 5 legs. So Infeld suggested that we at least try to incorporate 3 of the 5 legs because as long as there are at least 3, the table will still be able to stand. I feel that this is a very important idea to incorporate into our lives. We, the Jewish people, have managed to prevail against all odds throughout history. Half the Jewish holidays are about people trying to destroy us. But here we are…celebrating them today. Passover, Purim, Chanukah…All of these holidays required us to unite as a people in order to prevail. Even in the last century we have defied the odds. While in Israel, we went to a movie theater and watched a movie about the Yom Kippur War. It specifically focused on the Syrian invasion of Golan Heights. According to the movie, Israel had less than 200 tanks and Syria had nearly 700, not to mention superior infrared technology. Syria also had the element of surprise in its favor. After all, it was Yom Kippur. To make a long story short, the Israelis held off the Syrians in Golan Heights. This, to me, was a miracle just as much as the story of Chanukah. How did we do it? How are we still here? Well if there’s one thing our tour guide tried to drill into our head it was the idea that the Jewish people do not give up. No matter how bad the odds are against us, we will persevere as a people. This is why Israel exists today and it will continue to exist if we continue to unify. And If you haven’t taken advantage of Birthright yet I would definitely suggest doing so. We really didn’t feel any effects of the war in Gaza. (Yet, another modern day example of the unity and perseverance of the Jewish people.) I’ll end with a Jewish quote that my mother always tells me. “G-d helps those who help themselves.” May G-d help the Jewish people unify and bring peace to the world.
The Holy Land
By: Seth Vander
Going over to Israel was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Being over there alone fulfilled a dream, even with all of the chaos, I felt safe because I was surrounded by people who cared. I was able to meet many new people and soldiers who shared the same faith as I did. Alone with these people, I was able learn more about myself as a person and define my Jewish identity. I was able to see many historical sights, such as, Masada, The Western Wall, and The Dead Sea. All of these events will remain in my memory forever. I suggest to any Jewish boy or girl, to take advantage of this opportunity. You seriously do not know what you are missing out on until you have seen it in person. The experience consists of gaining lifetime friendships with people from America and Israel, traveling to the holiest place on Earth, and allows you to recognize your home away from home. The trip to Israel made me extremely happy and brightened my future. For me, the journey has just begun.
Thanks
Seth
Thank you to Seth and Jason for sharing your personal experiences with us. If you are interested in travelling to Israel on this Springs Birthright trip or even the summer session, please don't hesitate to contact Miami's Hillel.
We look forward to seeing you around Hillel soon.
Best,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagement Intern
Miamihillel@gmail.com
It been a crazy week here in Oxford as far as weather goes. We went from forty degree weather into a winter wonderland with snow and ice on the ground everywhere. Last blog entry we promised to bring you some personal memoirs and experiences of some of the Miami Students who were privileged to travel to Israel on a Birthright trip this winter. Please enjoy some writing supplements by Miami students, Seth Vander and Jason Roden below.
My Israel Experience
By Jason Roden
I finally got to go! After all these years of learning about it in Jewish school, hearing about it on the news, praying for it, celebrating it, I finally got to go to Israel. Rather than give a summary of the places I visited, (It’s a beautiful country!) I thought I would share with you my overall learning experience. The president of Hillel, Avraham Infeld, spoke in front of all of us who went to Israel with Hillel. One of the topics he discussed was the idea that Judaism is not a religion…That’s right…He said and I quote, “Judaism is not a religion!” He then went on to explain that rather than a religion, we are a family. Now initially, I did not agree with what he was saying and even now, I don’t agree 100%. However, I think what he was trying to say was that we don’t have to pray 3 times a day and keep strict Shabbos in order to identify as being Jewish. He went on to explain how there are all different types of Jews (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, etc.) who are all Jewish all the same. Now, I personally do not like to associate myself with any distinct movement. I like to think of myself as “just Jewish.” In reality though, the Jewish people are divided and do not quite see eye to eye on all issues. Infeld proposed a solution to this problem. He compared the values of the Jewish people to a 5 legged table. Each leg represents a characteristic of the ideal Jewish people. The first leg is Jewish memory, which he explained is basically the classic idea that we apply the past experiences of the Jewish people to our lives in the present. The second leg is the idea that the Jewish people are a family. The third is the Hebrew language. The fourth is the Land of Israel and the State of Israel. He made a distinction between the two in the sense that the Land of Israel is what connects us via Jewish memory and the State of Israel is what gives us a Jewish homeland. And the fifth is the Jewish Law. He basically explained that the Jewish Law was given to us at Mount Sinai and it is an essential part of our family’s Jewish memory. Now obviously, not every Jew these days is going to possess all 5 legs. So Infeld suggested that we at least try to incorporate 3 of the 5 legs because as long as there are at least 3, the table will still be able to stand. I feel that this is a very important idea to incorporate into our lives. We, the Jewish people, have managed to prevail against all odds throughout history. Half the Jewish holidays are about people trying to destroy us. But here we are…celebrating them today. Passover, Purim, Chanukah…All of these holidays required us to unite as a people in order to prevail. Even in the last century we have defied the odds. While in Israel, we went to a movie theater and watched a movie about the Yom Kippur War. It specifically focused on the Syrian invasion of Golan Heights. According to the movie, Israel had less than 200 tanks and Syria had nearly 700, not to mention superior infrared technology. Syria also had the element of surprise in its favor. After all, it was Yom Kippur. To make a long story short, the Israelis held off the Syrians in Golan Heights. This, to me, was a miracle just as much as the story of Chanukah. How did we do it? How are we still here? Well if there’s one thing our tour guide tried to drill into our head it was the idea that the Jewish people do not give up. No matter how bad the odds are against us, we will persevere as a people. This is why Israel exists today and it will continue to exist if we continue to unify. And If you haven’t taken advantage of Birthright yet I would definitely suggest doing so. We really didn’t feel any effects of the war in Gaza. (Yet, another modern day example of the unity and perseverance of the Jewish people.) I’ll end with a Jewish quote that my mother always tells me. “G-d helps those who help themselves.” May G-d help the Jewish people unify and bring peace to the world.
The Holy Land
By: Seth Vander
Going over to Israel was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Being over there alone fulfilled a dream, even with all of the chaos, I felt safe because I was surrounded by people who cared. I was able to meet many new people and soldiers who shared the same faith as I did. Alone with these people, I was able learn more about myself as a person and define my Jewish identity. I was able to see many historical sights, such as, Masada, The Western Wall, and The Dead Sea. All of these events will remain in my memory forever. I suggest to any Jewish boy or girl, to take advantage of this opportunity. You seriously do not know what you are missing out on until you have seen it in person. The experience consists of gaining lifetime friendships with people from America and Israel, traveling to the holiest place on Earth, and allows you to recognize your home away from home. The trip to Israel made me extremely happy and brightened my future. For me, the journey has just begun.
Thanks
Seth
Thank you to Seth and Jason for sharing your personal experiences with us. If you are interested in travelling to Israel on this Springs Birthright trip or even the summer session, please don't hesitate to contact Miami's Hillel.
We look forward to seeing you around Hillel soon.
Best,
Dan Albert
Hillel Engagement Intern
Miamihillel@gmail.com
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