Passover

Tuesday night, around 70 students gathered at Brother's Pizza on College Avenue to celebrate the end of Passover. It was a great (although late) night to catch up with friends and enjoy some much loved chametz.

Eight days earlier, Penn State Hillel hosted close to 500 students for the largest first night seder ever. No, 500 people were not sitting in one room. Instead, we had three different seders going. There was a large traditional seder downstairs, a smaller traditional seder upstairs and a women's seder upstairs. The week leading up to Monday night, Hillel students kashered three kitchens and cooked enough kugel and chicken and stuffing and dessert for 500 people. The work paid off because the first night was amazing.

I'm going to share a little more about the women's seder for a few reasons: it's new to Penn State this year, I compiled the haggadah, and led the seder. When posed with the idea of having multiple seders this year, I immediately knew I wanted to lead a women's seder. My mom had introduced the tradition at our synagogue back home and now the sisterhood holds one every year. Using her resources, I compiled a haggadah over spring break, using stories, explanations and interpretations with a women's twist. I really enjoyed reading all of the different commentaries, and picked a few to incorporate into the haggadah.

The seder itself was also different. I wanted everyone to be involved in the leading of the seder. Our evening started out with participants introducing themselves to the others sitting around their table while also getting to know a little more about the women that came before us. During the seder, each table was responsible for reading part of the hagaddah. Everyone had a role, everyone participated. This wasn't just my seder. It was our seder. I loved the communal aspect this evening highlighted--an aspect that is essential to the holiday of Passover and the idea that we are a Jewish people celebrating our freedom after experiencing our suffering.

I had a lot of fun and was really excited about Passover this year because of the new traditions that were being started. I hope everyone had a lovely Passover and is enjoying chametz once again :)

Artists 4 Israel

Jayne, student board member and coordinator for the Artists for Israel event held at University Park on Thursday April 21 reflects on the event as a whole. Check out the articles in the Daily Collegian from April 21, 2011 and April 22, 2011

The event may have been advertised to start at 11, but by 7 a.m. the artists and I were up preparing for the day ahead of us. After figuring out how to get all of the supplies onto the HUB lawn, the artists started building the temporary wall while I spread the remaining flyers, lugged the t-shirts across campus, and collected as many copies of The Daily Collegian as I could to prove that our event was a big deal on campus.

By 10:30, we were all ready to go, anxious for people to start showing up. The event may have started slowly, but it gradually built up to a fantastic afternoon. By noon the event was in full swing, with music playing and students crowding around the tent to meet the artists and see their mural. The graffiti artists were greatly received, and visitors seemed genuinely interested in learning about their cause. The event was definitely a new experience for Penn State’s campus, being both its first spray paint mural creation as well as one of it’s only outdoor educational programs accompanied by rap music. Throughout the day 200-300 students stopped by to see what was going on, and with each person that showed up, the artists used their outgoing enthusiastic characters to interact and get students excited about their piece. They got students so involved, that by mid-event they spontaneously built another wall (separate from their mural) for students to test their hand at graffiti art and voice their own passion for Israel.

Looking back on last Thursday, I can’t imagine the event going any better. I have had countless people contact me to learn more about the artists and find out how we can bring them back to campus, and I couldn’t be happier. I am so glad I was able to coordinate an event that combined two of my passions – art and Israel. This campus could definitely benefit from more public cultural events, and I hope to be involved in many more artistic and Israeli events within the next 2 years.

Relay for Life

The achievement that the Tikkun Olam/Hillel team made this year was nothing less than incredible in the 3 weeks the team was together. Creating a team, with only 23 days until Relay for Life, Nicole Wasilus, and Justin Taylor were highly motivated to get people involved in this amazing event. Participating in online and downtown fund-raisers, the team gave it their all in the few weeks they had to reach their team goal of 1,000 dollars. With a team of only 15, the outcome was truly remarkable.

Rain didn’t stop the Tikkun Olam/Hillel team at Relay for Life 2011. On Day one of Relay the team arrived at the AG fields excited and ready. Even with difficulties setting up the tent and keeping it dry, the team was enthusiastic with high spirits. The rain subsided Friday evening late, but the amount of mud was tremendous. With cars getting stuck, mud covered shoes, and drenched clothes, walkers kept going to continue in the fight against cancer. Mud overtook the site, making walking for 24 hours even more difficult, but nothing could stop the supporters. Friday night went off with a bang, with bands playing late into the evening, teams grilling warm food by their campsites, endless amounts of purple cupcakes being eaten, getting beads every 4 laps (to make bracelets) and people donating their hair to cancer patients. The Overall for Relay for Life Nicole Leo, shaved her head in honor of her mother who has cancer. She said she would do it, if she raised 1,000 dollars, and she did. The Luminaria ceremony took place last Friday evening. Speakers and a slide show in honor, memory, and support of loved ones, brought tears to the crowd. The word “HOPE” was lit up bright at the stage, and “Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back” was the motto of the weekend. Following the emotional ceremony, there was a glow stick rave to keep the energy high. Late into the night, events such as “Relay Idol” and a viewing of Finding Nemo had the participates excited in the 30 degree weather.

Saturday morning, you could tell people were in it for the long run. Participating in raffles, Car Smash fundraisers, a volleyball tournament, and a numerous amount of activities. Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts arrived early in the morning with coffee, breakfast sandwiches and donuts. Walking the Mud covered track, was no easy
task, but during every hour, there were always people walking. The Tikkun Olam/Hillel team, walking in their matching red bandannas found excitement from games like Bop-It and Catch Phrase while they walked. The team was overjoyed and was excited to see how much their team raised by the end of the weekend. Finding out that it was 3,500 dollars!!!! brought such happiness to our team. This amount was all thanks to the hard work of the members, and of generous family and friends. Throughout Relay weekend, the overall committees made sure that everyone was having a good time, and had everything they needed. An amazing DJ kept the music going, the entire time, so that walkers always had some tunes. Over 15,000 people participated in Relay for Life this year, and the total amount raised surpassed last year, with 97,880.95 dollars!!! All the money raised goes to the American Cancer Society. Although the weekend was rainy, very muddy, and a bit chilly, that didn’t stop The Tikkun Olam team or anyone else from supporting the fight against cancer.

Overall, it was a great experience and we hope to do it again next year! Thanks to everybody on the team, and to all the committees for making it such a memorable event!