Birthright Alumnae Stories, Laugh In Peace, & Exciting Upcoming Events

An Interview with Marissa Lehrman, Birthright Alum

Like any other Birthright alum, I thought my trip was fantastic. So fantastic that one of my goals for this academic year was to make a Birthright reunion event so that everyone from all different trips could come together to reminisce about our experiences.

I went on Birthright last summer, with Sharon and Rafi and about 30 other UVMers. Also with us were students from other schools who had friends on our trip or just wanted to come along with us. It was a very eclectic group of people with diverse personalities and many stories to tell. Together, on bus 354 (Tre’ Fi’ Fo’), we visited beautiful cities like Tzfat and Jerusalem while going on some breathtakingly beautiful adventures down mountains, up mountains, along waterfalls, and down rivers. 

Returning back to school this year as a Peer Network Engagement Intern for Hillel, I knew that part of my job would be to organize a Community Building Event of some sorts, I immediately new that it would be a lot of fun to get my trip back together to eat some falafel and talk about our favorites parts of the trip, and what has impacted us the most. It was also clear to me that there were five other trips that might want to get together to talk too.

In the end, participants from all of the prior trips (that still had participants at and around UVM) were invited and four trips were represented at the reunion at Thursday evening. It was a blast talking about the best moments from each trip.  I think we all realized how much each trip had in common and how different they were at the same time.

I hope for many other reunions in the future!

Laugh In Peace

Last Wednesday, we were fortunate to have comedians Bob Alper (a rabbi) and Mo Amer (a Muslim) come and perform. They were so so funny--I almost never laugh out loud but I did many times during their routines. Their message is very powerful, proving that different cultures can come together and join in happiness over laughter. Check out their site here. 

Sign Up For Upcoming Events!

• It's crazy that we're already at the time of year for Passover. Hillel is hosting a special seder for the first night with delicious food catered by Vermont Kosher--check out event details here. 
• We also have a very exciting opportunity to visit the Holocaust Memorial Center in Montreal and explore the city. If you're interested, sign up here. 

Meet Hillel's President, Making Sushi, & Giving Back to the Community

An interview with Miles Schoenberg, who has been involved with Hillel for all 4 years at UVM and is this year's student board president.

Why did you get involved in Hillel? I got involved with Hillel because I wanted to be part of a larger Jewish community here at UVM. I also wanted a way to put my own mark on the way people view Jewish life on campus. How have you seen Hillel grow? Hillel has grown tremendously over my time here. We have not only been able to reach out to more students on campus but we are now a recognizable name throughout the entire university. What experiences from Hillel will stay with you? There have been a multitude of experiences that have really made an impact on my college career but I would have to say my time on the student board has been really special. It has been an opportunity for me to grow as a leader, a way for me to give back to the community, and a chance to form strong bonds with my fellow board members. Why should someone new get involved with Hillel? You should get involved with Hillel to become part of a very special community here at UVM and to be able to learn more about the Jewish culture and what it has to offer. What's your most memorable experience? My most memorable experience was my freshman year when I was in charge of coordinating Holocaust Remembrance Week. It was my first time taking on such a project and it was very important to me. We were able to put on a series of events throughout the week to remember those who perished. But we also had the opportunity to hear from a survivor who recently passed away and that is something that I will never forget.

Sushi Making and Upcoming Events

Students came to the Hillel House last Thursday for a chance to make homemade sushi, led by Raina and MJ. We have a lot more exciting events coming up, like a Passover Seder, trip to Montreal, Backpacking Trip, and more. Make sure you check our Facebook page for more info on these events.

Winner of the Week!

We've begun an exciting new initiative where every Monday, we post a picture and question. Anyone can comment and share the post for a chance to win a prize related to the question. Last Monday, we asked "If you could have Shabbat catered by anywhere in Burlington, where would it be?". Our winner was Sam Lee with her answer of Duino Duende. Make sure you check out this week's question for another chance to win!

Giving Back to the Community

Becca Friedlander organized the amazing event for Good Deeds Day. "Gift of Life was very successful this week. We collected 100 kits of DNA and sent it to be put in a registry and potentially save lives. We also were recognized as one of the hundreds of hillels participating in the 2015 Good Deeds Day. I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by or helped out."
The Monthly Mitzvah project also cooked dinner at the Ronald McDonald House.

Apres Ski, A Personal Birthright Story, & Shabbat Cooking!

Welcome back from Spring Break! Whether it was just staying home doing nothing (*cough* me) or an exciting trip to Berlin with Hillel, we are back in the homestretch of the semester. There are still a lot of fun things happening in our community. For starters, each week a personal story will be featured on our blog. This week is brought to you by Brett Gershkowitz, a member of the #Hilllel team who works with me to post fun stuff on our social media. He's going on an LGBT Taglight-Birthright Israel trip this summer, so I asked him what Taglight-Birthright Israel means to him and what he's looking forward to.

"I am really looking forward to going on birthright this summer. I am really excited to see Israel’s history come to life. I have attended Jewish day school and Jewish overnight camp where we not only learned about the Jewish religion, but also the land of Israel. Birthright not only offers traditional trips that go with college campuses, but they also have numerous niche trips. I chose to go on the LGBTQ Original Rainbow trip. I am really looking forward to seeing Israel through the perspective as a member of not only the Jewish community but also the LGBTQ community.  I leave for Israel June 1 and return June 12; I am so excited that I will be in Israel during the pride parade in Tel Aviv! Birthright is such a great opportunity and I am so grateful that I am able to go on it!"

Apres Ski Event at Stowe

Our Engagement Associate MJ worked super hard to bring together an awesome event at Stowe. There were discounted rentals and lift tickets, and the highlight was an array of delicious treats and a performance by Binger. 

Cooking for Shabbat

Shabbat dinners have been incredibly successful--so many members of the community are coming that we actually run out of food! The awesome MJ hosted a cooking class in the kosher kitchen the night before, where students cooked a shakshuka that was served at the meal.

Make sure you check out our Facebook every Monday morning to answer the question of the week to win an awesome prize!