We Hate Yom Kippur

Our parents host an annual Chanukkah party. When we were kids, our dad would write a Chanukkah play every year for the kiddies to perform. The plays always included great song parodies. When the kids grew up, the plays ended, but the song parodies kept coming. Now for their parties, mom and dad invite their friends to write and perform parodies of their own. This year's contest: write a parody that describes your favorite or least-favorite Jewish holiday. Below, the Reiser kids's response.

Redefining the Hillel Portfolio

I was surprised to learn that NFTY regional boards do not have a VP of Israel. There are board positions for other Jewish content areas, like Religion, Culture, and Social Action, but not one for Israel. Surely there are Jewish experiences to be had outside the realm of Religion, Culture, and Social Action. While I considered the gaps in the NFTY portfolio, I wondered what areas of Jewish life might be missing from Hillel.

Hillel at Emory has VPs of the following: programming, religious life, Israel culture and advocacy, social justice, multi-cultural outreach, Muslim-Jewish relations, freshmen engagement, Greek engagement, marketing and communications, finance, and program evaluation.

This spring, we’re launching a new board position for public policy—someone to offer Jewish perspectives on political, social, and economic affairs. We just hosted an expert panel on Jewish perspectives on healthcare reform. I would love to see a similar forum on climate change or the global south.

Hillel at Emory has JBiz and JHealth, for Jewish pre-professional students. I would love to add JLaw.

Many campuses have Jewish GLBTQ groups. And women’s groups. And men’s groups. And environmental groups. And a capella groups. Michigan has a Jewish Engineering Association. UF just founded the JAM Network for Jewish Artists and Musicians. Yale hosts an annual Klezmerpalooza. Emory just started a Jewish yoga program, and is now home of the world's only Yiddish collegiate a capella group.

As a writer, I would be interested to see a Jewish student newspaper or literary magazine—with coverage of campus events, travel writing, editorials, fiction, poetry, and cartoons. I would also be interested in a Jewish scholarly journal, with the best student essays from across the Jewish studies department.

Hilarious in the New Yorker

Hilarious short Hanukkah stories in the New Yorker

Shouts & Murmurs: Hanukkah Stories

Israel ed at day schools, camps, and campuses

I'm currently reading an article by Alex Pomson and Howard Deitcher evaluating Israel education in Jewish day schools. I'm hoping to shed light on how to improve Israel education at URJ Camp Coleman. The similarities between school and camp programs are surprising. Particularly, Pomson and Deitcher note that in day schools the key stone of Israel education is not formal classroom curriculum. More impactful are Israel travel programs and meeting Israelis face-to-face (having an Israeli basketball coach or exchange student, for example.)

When it comes to cultivating a love for Israel, the value of human interaction cannot be underestimated. As a younger camper at Coleman, I remember that it was never cool to have an Israeli counselor. Finally my last summer, I had an Israeli counselor who won the Coleman talent show by rapping Shaggy and Outkast. He became an overnight camp sensation. The power of a Birthright trip is well established, but the impact of meeting Israeli peers is still largely underappreciated. I've led teen and college trips to Israel, and consistently hear participants say that they liked the place but they loved the people.

How might human interaction strengthen Israel awareness on the university campus? Universities, although they are unlike the real world, are not as constructed as the camp "bubble." Students should work to create Israel programs that are more widely attractive than your typical advocacy speaker. Bring an Israeli musician to campus, or an athelete, or a fashion designer. I'd love if a student asked me to help him find a grant to bring Omri Casspi or Yael Naim to campus.