Remembering Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Sacks the Bridge Builder
Dr. Scott Lasensky
@scottlasensky
As the Jewish world mourns the passing of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former U.K. Chief Rabbi, my thoughts have lingered on his extraordinary legacy of bridge-building.
I cannot claim familiarity with his most cited teachings on Jewish texts, and I do not count ...
Ruach’s Social Justice Series tackles racial injustice
By Derek Ohringer
For Mitzpeh
@ohringahh
Ruach, the Reform Judaism student group at this university’s Hillel, is focusing on racism in America during their Social Justice Series by learning about, discussing and planning ways to act on racial injustice.
The idea started this summer when Abigail Landesman, a junior government and ...
Students celebrate a socially distant Sukkot
By: Sarah Dilworth
@worthsomedills
For Mitzpeh
Students and campus groups at this university found inventive ways to continue celebratory traditions despite the limits on in-person campus events.
Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the protection God provided for Jews in the desert when they left Egypt. Part ...
Professor from Israel leads discussion of “The Rabbi and the Sufi Sheikh”
By Laina Sara Miller
For Mitzpeh
@Mitzpeh
A Sephardic law and ethics professor from Bar-Ilan University came to this university last Monday to discuss his discovery and translation of an 18th-century story about a Rabbi and a Sheikh, transcribed by Rabbi Yitzchak Farhi of Jerusalem in his 19th-century text, “Sweeter than Honey.”
Dr. ...
HRCT party brings Jewish students together around food, friends
By Mohan Xu
For Mitzpeh
@XuMohan1
Hillel’s Reshaping Community Togetherness initiative (HRCT), a Jewish organization founded last semester by students Talya Gordon and Jesse Vaknin, held its debut party of the semester last Saturday night in Terrapin Row.
HRCT, which is under the umbrella of Maryland Hillel but also operates indepen...
Students share stories of 10-day journey to last a lifetime
By Matt Levine
For Mitzpeh
@_MattSLevine
Spencer Dobkin, a junior journalism major, has dreamed of going on Birthright Israel ever since he heard about the program at a young age.
“Who doesn’t want to go on a free trip to see meaningful places, meet new people, and learn things about Israel,” he said.
Birthright, a free 10-day ...
Professor discusses covenant differences, influence among Abrahamic religions
By Chinonso Maduforo
For Mitzpeh
@Mitzpeh
The concept of communal identity among religions is partly dependent on an analysis of how each one recognizes covenants, said a professor last Wednesday.
Carol Bakhos, a professor of Jewish studies and the study of religion at the University of California, Los Angeles, spoke at the ...
New program, Challah and Chassidut, takes Thursday nights by storm
By Lexi Sugar
For Mitzpeh
@lexisugarmedia
Avital Hirschhorn, one of Maryland Hillel’s OU-JLIC Torah educators, struggled to find a way to create a weekly event that is both fun and educational.
After extensive brainstorming, Hirschhorn discovered that the best way to incorporate both elements was to set up a weekly event called ...