Judy Meisel

Last night, eleven organizations came together to hear the story of Judy Meisel, a Holocaust survivor and civil rights activist. I was fortunate enough to go to dinner with her and many of the other sponsors before the event. She is a very sweet woman. We talked about where she's from (Lithuania but lives now in Santa Barbara, CA after previously living in Philadelphia, PA), what she does now (she has worked on the Hillel Board at UCSB for 26 years working to get them out of a small room that barely fit a minyan to a brand new building) and some of her life experiences (she met Martin Luther King Jr and worked to help plan the March on Washington).

After dinner, we made our way down to the auditorium for the event. She has a documentary made about her life experiences. It shows her reaction when a black family moved into her all white neighborhood--how this experience made her start talking about her own experiences in the Holocaust. She had not talked about it because she did not want to traumatize her children. But now that racism was apparent in her world, she no longer felt safe as a Jew in this neighborhood and spoke up for those who were being discriminated against. The movie then goes to show Judy revisiting the places she lived during her childhood: the house she was removed from when the Kovno Ghetto was formed, the house she lived in within the Kovno Ghetto, the rubber factory she worked at making boots for German soldiers, pictures of the round-up and deportation to the Stutthof Concentration camp, the gas chamber she was half into but managed to get away from, the farmhouse she ran to when the bombs were being dropped on Stutthof, the river she crossed to get from occupied Denmark to safe Sweden, and the Danish family that took her and her sister Rachel in when the war was over and nursed them back to health.

Judy used the movie to tell her story and when she spoke afterwards, it was not about what happened to her, but what she has done since then. She is a remarkable woman. Not many people could have gone through what she went through and lived, let alone talk about it. But Judy has done more. She has taken her experiences and worked hard to ensure that what happened to her never happens again. When it was happening to African Americans in the 1960, she no longer felt safe as a Jew thinking, "if they're being discriminated against, it's the same as if I'm being discriminated against."

She advocated for the end of bullying saying that "the Holocaust started with name-calling." Those simple actions then escalated into what we know as World War II. With the recent cyberbullying and suicides on college campuses, she urged us to think about what we say and the effect our words and actions have on others. If we do not stand up for what we know is right and stop someone from doing the bad action, it is as if we ourselves have done those bad actions. Her second appeal was for us to vote. We have the freedom to choose our government, and it is our responsibility to choose a government that will keep this country moving in the direction we want it to go. So many Americans take that right for granted while there are still so many people who do not have the right to choose who governs them.

Thank you so much to Judy Meisel, Bill Wallen, The Presidential Leadership Academy, The Jewish Studies Program, The Liberal Arts Undergraduate Council, Penn State Chapter of NAACP, MLK, Jr. Commemoration Committee, Schreyer Honors College, SPA Distinguished Speaker Series, Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs, University Park Undergraduate Association, and Students for Justice in Palestine for a truly remarkable program.

Israeli Dancing

Here is an example of the type of Israeli Dancing we did last night with Penn State Hillel. Led by student Dana R., we learned three traditional Israeli folk dances in just over an hour. The group was small, but it made the learning go a little easier. Dana did a great job of breaking down the steps, being patient with us as we learned the new moves and teaching us some pretty cool dances!

Tonight we host Holocaust Survivor and Civil Rights Activist Judy Meisel, check back for details!!

Pumpkin Painting and LDSSA

Monday night, Penn State Hillel hosted a Pumpkin Painting event. In the spirit of Halloween, we decorated pumpkins that would later be donated to the local preschool. Themes of pumpkins ranged from Penn State Spirit, to traditional jack-o-lanterns, to a very cool pumpkin couple with sunglasses and all! The event was very relaxed, we played ping-pong games while waiting for the paint to dry :)

I, however, was not there for most of this event. I was off at a LDSSA meeting (Latter Day Saints Student Association). Members of LDSSA had contacted our Director of Development Lizzy, for a few students who would be able to present to LDSSA students about the Jewish faith and what Hillel does on campus. I along with Ryan, another student board member, were chosen to go. We had a Penn State Hillel presentation and a Judaism in America presentation--both with general facts about Judaism in the United States and here at Penn State.

At the church, there were about 15 or so LDSSA members, so the setting was pretty informal. Ryan and I started our presentation and were quickly asked some very interesting questions. "What is the Jewish take on the after life?" "What is the relationship between prophets and G-d?" "What is Taglit-Birthright like?" "How do you deal with being a minority religion in the United States?" These questions were very interesting and showed their curiosity in the connection between Mormonism and Judaism. The questions about prophecy relate to the idea that Mormons believe in modern day prophets--the president of the Church is the current prophet. The afterlife questions reflect the Mormon belief in the afterlife in addition to the previous and current life.

I had a really enjoyable time explaining my religion--sharing what I had learned in my Jewish studies classes and my personal experiences growing up Jewish in America. We talked about the different sects of Judaism, how to become a rabbi, the transition from prophetic to rabbinic Judaism, prophecy, issues in modern day Israel and what Hillel does around campus. Not only did I feel like the LDSSA students learned a lot, but I learned a lot about a religion I had never really learned about. It was a great experience!

Alternative Shabbat

Hello Everyone,

Between three tests, a paper in Hebrew and a day long trip to Gettysburg, it has been one very crazy week. One of the good parts about this week (besides doing pretty well on my exams) was the first Alternative Shabbat Discussion. A few people on the student board (myself included) have been trying to find ways to provide Jewish students on campus with opportunities to have meaningful Jewish experiences. One thing we have noticed is that not everyone seems to connect or participate during Shabbat services. Maybe some people like going to services and hearing everyone else pray. But we thought it would be good to offer those who do not connect to Judaism through prayer the opportunity to do so on a Friday night.

A few students along with the Director of Engagement worked to plan a "what does it mean to be Jewish" discussion. We had created a sort of bingo board and participants marked off the top three activities that connected them with Judaism. Some of the topics were "cooking Shabbat dinner," "eating Chinese food on Christmas," "wearing Jewish jewelry," "supporting Israel," "belonging to a Jewish organization (Hillel, youth group, camp)," and "being outdoors." We each went around and shared what we connected with--what we most associated with our Judaism. For someone it was "participating in Passover Seder," "fasting on Yom Kippur," and "eating Chinese food on Christmas." All food related but each related to very different holidays with very different meanings.

Discussion ranged from talking about what topics were missing from the sheet to "can you be Jewish while being agnostic?" I thought that the discussion and the experience was amazing--people came to this service who came specifically for this discussion! We had students who usually attended other services join us and talk about what Judaism meant to them and how they express their Judaism. One topic I thought was interesting was when we were talking about what topics we didn't think belonged. Someone mentioned that they couldn't see how "being outdoors" related to Judaism. This caused one of my friends to explain the experience of Shabbat on Chapel on the Hill at Jewish summer camp and someone else to describe what it is like to hike Mt. Masada in Israel to see the sunrise. Those are very much Jewish experiences--but unless you went to Israel or Jewish summer camp, you might not have had them. This discussion gave everyone the opportunity to connect to Judaism in a new way, but also to learn about how others connect to Judaism. I thought it was very meaningful and cannot wait for the next one!!

Torah and Science

Dr. Steven Feldman, meteorology professor at Penn State and member of the Jewish community in State College, spoke to six students Monday night on the connection between science and Judaism. Being a biochemistry and Jewish studies double major, this topic was of great interest to me. What is, if there is any, connection between science and religion? Can the two go hand in hand? In the talk, Dr. Feldman brought up the point that the Jewish belief on creation is the one that most mimics what scientists believe actually happened--the order of the animals created during the first 6 days of creation match the order of evolution, suggesting a connection between science and Judaism. Other creation stories of the time, like the Mesopotamian story where Marduk cut his grandmother, another god into pieces and those pieces became the different part of the world for more information, click here. This culture's creation story reflects nothing that could be explained by science. Dr. Feldman also went into an explanation about how the complexity of science can lead to a greater belief in G-d, how there has to be a Creator who could have made everything the way that it is.

The one point that I questioned was when Dr. Feldman explained that either everything had to be created by G-d or that nothing was created by G-d, but by randomness. And I wonder whether there can be somethings that G-d created and somethings created by randomness, or human decisions. I personally think that G-d created the world and humans and stopped there. Humans have the ability to master sin, to decide whether to follow the inclination to do evil or the inclination to do good. We have the ability to make our own decisions; life is not predetermined. But what do you think? Comment on this post to share your opinions on the relationship between Torah and science, the connection between G-d and randomness.