FRIENDS OF
GOUCHER H LLEL SPRING 2013 SUMMER 2014
STAFF
FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
FROM THE STUDENT CO-PRESIDENTS
Sally Ross Davis DDS ’84
(L to R) Rachael Hollern ’16 and Zoe Summit ’16
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Rabbi Josh Snyder, Executive Director 410.337.6545 josh.snyder@goucher.edu Lola Hahn, Development Director 410.843.7450 lhahn@baltimorehillel.org
2013-14 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nancy Brandt Gertner ’72, Chair Sally Davis ’84, Vice Chair Dr. Amalia Honick, Secretary Merle Intner, Treasurer Ruth S. Lenrow ’74, Development Chair Rachael Hollern ’16, Student Co-president Zoe Summit ’16, Student Co-president Joey Fink ’15, Student Representative Dr. Patricia Attman ’74 Elana Cohen ’08 Judi Davidson-Wolf P ’14 Rachel Eidelman ’74 Aliza Epstein ’03 Maggi Greenberg Gaines ’71 Lee Gerstein ’07 Beth Goldsmith ’72 Bettina Heiman ’69, P ’04 Linda Goldmeier Katz ’70 Gail Shaivitz Oppel ’94 Barbie Prince ’85, P ’12 Barbara Roswell Carol Schulter P ’16 Tina Sheller ’74
GOUCHER HILLEL: INVEST IN A JEWISH FUTURE We would like to thank all of our donors who contributed this year. The past year has been a very exciting time to be involved with Goucher Hillel. As we enter our new fiscal year, please consider helping us out in the hopes of making Goucher Hillel an even stronger organization. Any donation made to Goucher College will result in full recognition from the college and Hillel. Simply make your check payable to Goucher College and write “Goucher Hillel” in the memo line. Donations are also accepted online at www.goucher.edu/hillel.
wish to thank Goucher College, Goucher Hillel, and the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore for giving me the opportunity to serve as the board chair for the next two years. I am very excited to be giving back to Goucher. Originally from Elkins Park, PA, I was attracted to Goucher because of its liberal arts education, dedicated professors, and strong science department. Even during my time, Goucher boasted a large Jewish presence for its size. Although Hillel was not on campus while I was a student here, the Jewish Students Association and Goucher Family Program gave me a “home away from home.” I am proud to be leading our newly accredited Hillel as we enter our 19th year at Goucher. The Hillel lounge is undergoing renovations this summer, in order to heighten the profile of Jewish life. We also say goodbye to our associate director, Yona Gorelick, and Adi Snir, our Israel engagement coordinator, and wish them both well. Both women provided our students with outstanding programming, mentoring, and friendship. We will be hiring a new Jewish student life coordinator and Israel fellow, and the college will welcome a dynamic and exciting president this July in José Bowen.
hroughout the course of this year, we have had an overwhelming number of reasons to be proud to be a part of Goucher Hillel. As we initiated a new leadership structure—including the addition of First-Year, Israel, and Tzedek (social justice) committees—we had the opportunity to engage dozens of Jewish leaders on campus. We have had the pleasure of not only working with but also getting to know these passionate classmates. Hillel’s Tzedek Committee raised both money and awareness for a men’s shelter through frequent Challah for Hunger baking sessions and sales. Israel Committee worked with Israel Engagement Coordinator Adi Snir to teach fellow students about Israeli culture at Israel fairs and Independence Day celebrations and through welcoming several off-campus speakers to Goucher. Our First-Year Committee truly welcomed new Gophers to Goucher with holiday events, such as the very popular “First Year Away From Home” Passover Seder.
Along with programming, we spent our year continuing to strive to make our Hillel a welcoming and inclusive environment, and we are looking forward to seeing how this summer’s renovation (pages 4-5) helps us make our dream of a welcoming space Hillel provides all students with many activities a reality. From planning social events like to bond in groups and to grow as individuals. ice skating with the Baltimore Hillels and Our Goucher Builds alternative spring break, making sushi in the sukkah to bringing Taglit-Birthright Israel, and Poland trip are panels, speakers, rabbinical students, and just a sampling of the many wonderful filmmakers to campus to traveling to Penn opportunities. Goucher Hillel continues to State for an Israel Shabbaton to volunteering thrive because of all the incredible support in at the Maryland Food Bank and walking all time, effort, and funds that you give. The next night at the Johns Hopkins Relay for Life, generation of Jewish leaders depends on you. we did it all this year. We could not be any If you have not yet donated to Goucher Hillel, more proud to call ourselves Goucher Hillel please do so. The students and I thank you for co-presidents. your continued support. Rachael Hollern ’16 Sally Ross Davis DDS ’84 Zoe Summit ’16
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CAMPUS BRIEFS
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1. Taglit-Birthright Israel trip – Jan 2014. 2. Volunteering at the Maryland Food Bank 3. Max Adelson ’17 hosts a Passover Seder 4. Goucher Builds with the Sandtown Habitat for Humanity
BRIDGE PROJECT Twenty-five Goucher seniors, young alumnae/i, campus partners, and community connectors attended the launch event at Goucher this spring for a new citywide initiative, the Bridge Project. The Bridge Project aims to bridge the gap between easily accessible Jewish life in college, where many students are campus leaders and creators of Jewish experiences, to Jewish life in the places where graduates take their next steps. Our kickoff event gave young alumnae/i the opportunity to give back to the Goucher Hillel community by sharing their personal and professional expertise with soon-to-be graduates. The evening’s topics included finding a first apartment, financial management and budgeting, cultivating wellness, the value and challenges of a year “off,” and Jewish life for adults in Charm City.
TAGLIT-BIRTHRIGHT ISRAEL In January, 12 Goucher students had their first peer-oriented Israel experience with Hillel during Taglit: Birthright Israel. Israel Engagement Coordinator Adi Snir
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accompanied our students along with students from Towson and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and eight Israeli mifgash participants. This year’s trip included a three-day extension, enabling a number of the participants to spend extra time volunteering in Baltimore’s sister city of Ashkelon.
GOUCHER BUILDS Hillel’s alternative spring break program focused on making a difference in the local community for a second year with Goucher Builds. In addition to working with the Sandtown Habitat for Humanity on a homebuild, our students learned about systemic issues in our nearby urban center and what organizations and efforts we can support to make a difference. Highlights included tours with United Workers and Healthcare for the Homeless, a tour of the Old Goucher neighborhood with Mr. Nate Tatum, Glenn Ross’ Toxic Tour, and a visit to the Patrick Allison House. The program was supported with a grant from the Krieger Foundation and with additional funding and staffing by local fellows from Repair the World.
PASSOVER SEDERS Students had the opportunity to customize their own Passover Seders this year. There was a communal seder, led by Rabbi Josh and Yona on Monday evening. The next night, different student-led seders took place all around campus. There was a First-Year Seder, a Post-Bacc Seder, a Hip-hop Seder, and a few more with fun themes. Seven seders were held, and close to 150 students attended.
TZEDEK VOLUNTEERING AND FUNDRAISING Goucher Hillel’s Tzedek (social justice) Committee hosted three challah bake sales this semester to benefit Earl’s Place, a transitional home for homeless men. The delicious challah came in many flavors and got students across campus eagerly anticipating sales. The committee raised more than $500 during the course of the semester. Hillel students also volunteered monthly at Maryland Food Bank, helping to box food and send out packages to those in need. GH
CHAI CAMPAIGN SUMMER RENOVATIONS BUILDING A WELCOMING HOME FOR JEWISH LIFE During the last 18 years, Goucher Hillel evolved from a place for Shabbat and holiday celebrations into a multifaceted gateway for engaging in Jewish culture. When Goucher students arrive on campus now, they find a rich tapestry of Jewish life. Close to 30 percent of students at this small liberal arts college are Jewish, and each year Hillel sponsors more than 250 events: celebrations, discussions, concerts, outings, lectures, community service, and much more. Hillel events now take place all over campus—in residence halls and classrooms, as well as the Hillel lounge and kosher dining hall—wherever a space will work for the purposes at hand. Goucher Hillel’s home on campus, located in Stimson Hall, was dedicated by the college in 1995. After almost two decades of use by thousands of Jewish students and friends—and doubling as the college’s kosher dining hall—the space is clearly ready for renewal. Students, staff, and Hillel’s lay leadership alike have realized that a few strategic changes to our lounge can make a dramatic and positive change for Jewish life on campus. Over the summer of 2014, the renovations to our space in Stimson Hall will enable Hillel to integrate Jewish life seamlessly into the fabric of campus life. By doing so, it will enable Goucher to become a true destination school for Jewish students.
Hillel will transform its dedicated area into a spacious, multifunctional lounge that will serve as • a comfortable place for students to meet and interact; • a space to host speakers, films, musical groups, discussions, prayer, and Jewish learning; • a home for communal meals on Shabbat and holidays that can accommodate up to 100; and • a campus location open to all students to drop in or to utilize as a place for meetings and events. Goucher Hillel is working with Whiting-Turner to refurbish the lounge. The lounge space will have new furniture, lighting, cabinetry, and window treatments, giving it the feel of a comfortable living room. The space will include amenities like a coffee corner, media center, and Wi-Fi. New soft furniture, tables, and chairs will enable the Hillel lounge to host either programs or meals, depending on need. These changes will provide Jewish life at Goucher with an attractive central address that also serves the needs of the larger student body.
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IF NOT NOW, WHEN?
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Our namesake, the first-century sage Hillel, famously taught, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, who am I? And if not now, when?” Our Hillel has an opportunity to make a strategic and far-reaching change not only for Jewish life, but for the whole campus and generations of future students. The time to act is now. All of this can only happen with your support. Your family’s contribution will make a deep impact. For specific information regarding giving opportunities and pledges, please call Rabbi Josh Snyder at 410.337.6545. GH
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1. Multiple informal seating areas will spark meaningful Jewish conversations. 2. A wide-open, attractive, and inviting space will make Hillel a great place to meet. 3. For the first time, the new lounge will be able to accomodate student audiences for speakers and films.
ENGAGING WITH ISRAEL A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE by Adi Snir
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uring the past nine months, I served as Goucher Hillel’s first Israel engagement coordinator. I had so many interesting experiences, and I want to share a few of the highlights with you.
able to share the range of opinions and help people realize that Israel is a dynamic and pluralistic state, not a monolithic position. This approach creates an environment of dialogue rather than argument.
Before I started my job on campus, I imagined that working with students would be interesting and meaningful but I didn’t really know what to expect. Having spent the previous year in Pittsburgh as a community shlicha (emissary), I had come into contact with college students and wanted more of those types of interactions.
Goucher Hillel has a strong personality; it is stable and deep. The students are intelligent, creative, and collaborative. Working with the student board and the Israel Committee was a pleasure. I got to know a group of superpassionate students with amazing leadership skills; these students can exceed even their own high expectations. The programs we planned had an unquestionable impact on the rest of the campus community as well.
I’ve discovered how fascinating and varied Jewish life can be on campus with so many different approaches and connections to Israel. Throughout the year, I used my personal experiences and education in Israel to be a source of shared inspiration with students and faculty at Goucher. This past January, I led a Taglit-Birthright trip with 15 Goucher students. After coming back, we started a series of discussions exploring different topics the students encountered in Israel. I let the students
choose the topics, and we covered everything from the women of the wall to African refugees to Israeli sports. Every Taglit-Birthright Israel follow-up program that we held on campus deepened the impact of the 10-day journey. Israel can be a controversial subject on campus. It was a challenge both for me and the students to face some difficult comments while leading an Israel-related event. In each case, I was able to change the conversation by listening and sharing the wider context. People asked questions, for example, about the settlements and the Israeli army. I was
I am excited for Goucher’s future Israel engagement coordinators to be able to build on my work, and for them to engage academic departments and students clubs to build partnerships. This will help create more awareness and honest conversations about Israel on campus. I thank all of the Goucher Hillel family for their care and love for Israel. I will always cherish this year’s experience. GH
GETTING INVOLVED by Yael Ben-Chaim ’17 school students, many of whom were my age, at a youth village in Haifa. Every night I would sit with students and teach them English, but many of these sessions turned into discussions filled with laughter and stories. These students came from Ethiopia, Russia, Brazil, and Sudan. It was really incredible to realize that we were all in Israel sharing the same experience with one another, although we had all come from different parents and different parts of the world.
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ast June, after returning from my year abroad in Israel, I found myself at a place I had never been before. I felt out of place at home, and I felt so far away from the year I had just experienced. I never expected that spending the summer in the town where I had lived my entire life would cause me so much confusion. I missed Israel and my life there. My year in Israel taught me so much. One of my favorite memories was tutoring high
When I got home, I felt as if I was still in the past, in the memories I had made during the previous year. It was very difficult for me to be content with the present and to think about returning to college a few months later. All I could think about was Israel and going back. Over the summer, I got an email from Goucher Hillel about a position on the Israel Committee for the next year. I immediately applied because I knew it would be helpful for me to have a group of people with which
to talk about Israel, as well as an opportunity to educate the campus about Israel through different events and programs. The first event of the year was the Hagit Yaso concert. Adi helped us plan it, and we primarily worked on bringing students to the event, which took place at Towson University. I was really excited about the concert because Hagit Yaso, who won the Israeli version of American Idol, was from Ethiopia, just like some of my students from the youth village in Haifa. During the first semester, the Israel Committee provided a place for me to feel grounded. It was a very difficult transition for me to return to Goucher after my year abroad, and the Israel Committee offered me a chance to express my love of Israel with other student leaders on campus. I am so thankful to have been a part of the committee this year and am excited to share the opportunity with the first-year students next semester. GH
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1 1. Zoe Summit ‘16 and Isabella Masucci ’17 visit the Western Wall at Taste of Israel Fair 2. Goucher Students attending the Israel Shabbaton at Penn State 3. Painting personal chamsa charms at Yom Ha’atzama’ut celebration
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THE RIGHT TRANSITION by Talya Stern ’17
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was born and raised in Israel, where joining the army after high school is a rite of passage for most Israeli teens. My older brother chose to serve in the Israel Defense Forces, but after attending the American Hebrew Academy in North Carolina during my high school years, my path was not as clear. I was torn; I wanted to give back to the country that had given me so much, but enlisting would not be my way. Instead, I decided to spend a gap year in Israel, participating in a leadership program that combined community service with intensive experiential learning about Judaism and Israel. I spent the year entirely immersed in where I was and what I was doing. Even though I grew up in Israel, I felt that most of my growing up happened in the United States. I now was making new memories, new ties to my beloved country. I had been there many times since I moved, but no longer was I touring those streets. I was walking down my path, down my streets. I began learning about Israel more in-depth and in a more mature manner. Needless to say, I fell in love with it all over again; this time, however, it didn’t feel like the love of a child, it felt like a profound and understanding love. I spent the first few weeks much like every other first-year student, taking in all that’s new and meeting other students. I knew that
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being a gap-year student guaranteed some sort of a challenge, but somehow it felt that my acclimation to college was much more difficult than the average first-year student. How could that be? I had already lived away from home, and I’ve never had much of a problem meeting new people. Why was it so tough? Something was missing from my college experience. At the beginning of the second month I met Adi Snir, Goucher’s Israel fellow. We met for coffee and began talking about my involvement in Hillel’s Israel Committee. Before I could even express if I wanted to join, she had given me several organizations to look up, activities potentially to run, conferences to go to, and a big smile assuring that I would be okay. I’d like to say I decided to join the committee, but there is a big chance I was hypnotized and enticed to do so. I began getting involved immediately. In early November, Adi and I attended a conference out west. This conference enriched my knowledge of Israel programming and student leadership in general. When we returned I was eager to raise awareness about Israel on campus. I began planning events and even writing grant applications, something I hadn’t done before. It was right around that time I finally felt comfortable at Goucher. Not only was I able to meet people who are as passionate
about Israel as I am, I was strategically and creatively able to express a huge part of my life: Israel. To me Israel is my childhood: It’s where I grew up, learned how to read, and visited family and friends. It’s where I spent three months of my junior year of high school learning about its fascinating history and riveting natural sights. It’s where I spent a year after high school learning its cultures and the complexity within its government and social systems. It’s where I saw the at-risk children beam after I gave them kindness, and how many other people were willing to do so. It’s where I saw the colorful stands at the shuk (Israeli market) and had interesting conversations with the man who made juice at the corner. It’s where I got my tough skin and feistiness, as well as a desire to be proactive and dedicated to causes I find virtuous. To me, Israel is not only my future, but my home. GH
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Goucher Hillel is a program of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, and is affiliated with Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
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MY JEWISH JOURNEY
Eli Kaufman ’15
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any journeys, people say, have a beginning and an end point. But a Jewish journey has no concrete stopping point, like a run through the Goucher woods. There are many different pathways that you could take, but they never really end. They curve, bend, and wind their way around the entire campus. There are beautiful things to see on these trails: flowers, blooming trees, and squirrels, lots and lots of squirrels. But along the trail there are also potential sticks, twigs, leaves, and more that could block the path. The trick to enjoying the trails in the Goucher woods is to watch your step, take in your surroundings, and just keep running. My Jewish journey has taken me to amazing places that I never thought I would be able to go and has taught me lessons that I never thought I would have the opportunity to learn. My Jewish journey has opened more doors for me than I ever imagined it could. Coming into Goucher, I was used to being involved in Jewish organizations: B’nei Tzedek, USY, and Ramah. Goucher Hillel has helped me continue these experiences and taken them to levels I never thought possible.
In my first year at Goucher, Hillel took me to places ranging from Towson to Nicaragua. Hillel helped me expand my knowledge of Jewish values and ethics. I am extremely grateful for the lessons that I have been taught. As a sophomore, I was co-president of Goucher Hillel. It was the first time I had ever had the term “president” in my job title. The responsibility taught me how to manage my time better, to work with different personalities, and to consider many hotbutton issues facing Goucher Hillel. My time as a Jewish leader on campus has helped me to feel more confident in other leadership roles around campus as well. Currently, I am studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, and my Jewish journey has continued here. In April, I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz with another Goucher student. In the moment, it was difficult to process what exactly I was seeing. Part of what makes my Jewish journey so special is that I have a desire to continue
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my learning. Auschwitz was a learning experience. Nicaragua was a learning experience. Volunteering in Baltimore continues to be a learning experience. Leadership roles in Hillel help elevate my learning experiences. My Jewish journey has been strengthened and enriched since I entered Goucher. Just like many love to run through the Goucher trails and explore more parts of the woods, I want to take in as much knowledge and experience as I possibly can during my time at Goucher. Hillel has made my Jewish journey very special. GH