First-Class Mail US Postage PAID Geneva, NY Permit No. 69
ABBE CENTER FOR JEWISH LIFE
2010 Hanukkah Schedule
Mark your schedules! All are welcome to attend. Each night will begin with the lighting of the Menorah. All events at Abbe Center for Jewish Life unless otherwise noted. Wed., December 1, 7:30 p.m. Soofganiyot (jelly donuts), Dreidles and Gelt Thurs., December 2, 7:30 p.m. Cookie Decorating and Rugrats Hanukkah Special Fri., December 3, 6 p.m. Shabbanukkah! Shabbat dinner with latkes Please RSVP for Shabbat Dinner to shabbat@hws.edu Sat., December 4, 6 p.m. Fried Food Fest
Mon., December 6, 6 p.m. Kosher Hot Dogs Tues., December 7, 6:30 p.m. Hirshson Ballroom Israeli Dancing
Jenna Lohre ’12 Hillel Co-President JL3176@HWS.EDU
Hunter LaCroix ’12 Hillel Co-President HL3584@HWS.EDU
RSVP for Shabbat dinners SHABBAT@HWS.EDU
FOR JEWISH LIFE
Lorinda Weinstock Abbe Center Director and Hillel Adviser LWEINSTOCK@HWS.EDU
ABBE CENTER
Contacts:
Wed., December 8, 5:30 p.m. Pizza Party and Games
HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES 764 South Main Street Geneva, NY 14456
Sun., December 5, 5 p.m. Bagels and Lox and a Hanukkah Movie
Winter 2010-2011
• • • • •
2010 Hanukkah Schedule Meet Rabbi Reiner Rosh Hashanah Revisited Lunch and Learn Fall Photos and Events
HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES
Abbe Center for Jewish Life
Winter 2010-2011
Meet Rabbi Reiner
Rosh Hashanah Revisited
“
There is such warmth and energy in the Geneva Jewish community. Everyone knows everyone, and they’re all very excited to explore Judaism.
”
—Rabbi David L. Reiner, M.A.H.L., who commenced duties as spiritual leader for Temple Beth-El in August of 2010
This past September, the Geneva community celebrated Rosh Hashanah on campus and throughout the local area, observing the Jewish New Year 5771. “While I live in Rochester and could theoretically go home for the holidays, I chose to remain on campus,” says Samantha Lesser ’11. “The activities in the Abbe Center are great and make me feel like a part of the Jewish family here on campus. After four years here, it wouldn’t be a celebration without my friends.”
Fall Photos and Events
Throughout the fall semester, Hillel organized several campus-wide events:
Students fill their plates with homemade tomato sauce during “Pasta Night in the Sukkah’’ at the Abbe Center for Jewish Life.
The High Holy Days kicked off with a festive Rosh Hashanah dinner at the Abbe Center for Jewish Life on Wednesday, Sept. 8, followed by services at Temple Beth-El. The Rosh Hashanah observances continued the following morning with services at the Temple, followed by Tashlich, a traditional New Years ritual, which was practiced at the Geneva Lakefront Park. On Friday, Sept. 10, celebrants gathered for Shabbat dinner before Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat Shuvah services. The Jewish High Holidays concluded with the observance of Yom Kippur, as students joined together for a pre-fast dinner on Friday, Sept. 17, before Kol Nidre services. The following day, the Geneva Jewish community attended a full day of Yom Kippur services and programs at Temple Beth-El before the Break Fast in the synagogue.
Since replacing Cantor Richard Rosenfield, who retired after serving the congregation for 15 years, Reiner has led interfaith discussions on campus and, during a trip to a local vineyard, taught HWS students about gleaning as social justice—the practice of leaving the corners of your fields un-harvested for the less fortunate. “There’s such a unique relationship between the Temple and the Abbe Center, and I really want to strengthen that connection,” says Reiner, who regularly attends Shabbat at the Abbe Center. “We are thrilled to have Rabbi Reiner as an addition to the community,” says Hunter LaCroix ’12, Hillel co-president. “He really has a lot of the students talking and taking a more active role in religious life here on campus. We have had several students go to events or services and all have commented on how much they can engage with him as a spiritual leader in the community.” Ordained in 2009 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, Reiner served as a student rabbi and intern for congregations in Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, North Carolina and Massachusetts. He also spent two summers at the Religious Action Center, a Reform Jewish lobby for social justice in Washington, D.C., and was invited to speak before a gathering of congressional staffers at the United States Capitol. Reiner also has significant experience ministering to communities in crisis. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he played an integral role in the distribution of relief aid in rural Louisiana. He has also trained as a hospital chaplain, specializing in trauma/critical care ministry, and as a community organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation.
Make a Gift:
Prior to his rabbinical studies, Reiner, whose father is also a rabbi, graduated cum laude from the University of Rochester earning highest distinction in religious studies. He also explored musical development in the African American cultural context at the Eastman School of Music.
Gifts to support the Abbe Center for Jewish Life at HWS may be directed either to the Abbe Center Program Fund or the Abbe Center Endowment by visiting www.hws.edu/studentlife/abbecenter or contacting Bill Greer P’11 at greer@hws.edu or (315)781-3779.
Lunch and Learn
Last fall, Abbe Center for Jewish Life Director Lorinda Weinstock established the informal Lunch and Learn program to help students explore both the past and present state of the Jewish community. “This space seems to promote making connections,” says Weinstock. “Like any good home, the Abbe Center for Jewish Life is a place where people can relax, share ideas and connect with each other.” The program provides students with an opportunity to take time out of their hectic lives to relax, eat and talk with friends. “Part of being a diverse campus is reaching out to those who are different from us, teaching them about our traditions and learning about theirs,” says Samantha Lesser ’11. Meetings are held in the Abbe Center for Jewish Life at noon on Wednesdays, and lunch generally consists of leftovers from kosher Shabbat dinners. The group is open to all, no matter what cultural or religious background, and Weinstock encourages those outside the Jewish faith to come and explore. “It is a good way to learn and share in an informal setting, yet with a sense of respect for one another. We all come from different places, but we all create one story,” says Andrea Rocchio ’11, one of the early participants in the program.
Author, food columnist, chef and award-winning cooking instructor Tina Wasserman signs copies of her cookbook, “Entree to Judaism: A Culinary Exploration of the Jewish Diaspora” in The Abbe Center for Jewish Life.
The Abbe Center for Jewish Life hosts a Lox and Bagel Hillel Brunch during Parents and Family Weekend.
• Labor Day Cookout: Students ate kosher hot dogs and kosher s’mores in the Garden of Quiet Repose at the Abbe Center.
be making grape jelly with the concord grapes picked by the HWS students. Following the event, Hillel and the Abbe Center hosted a Bagel Brunch, where they ate many of the local seedless varieties picked.
• Reader’s College: Each week, Abbe Center for Jewish Life Director Lorinda Weinstock and Professor of Religious Studies Michael Dobkowski led a Reader’s College, “Jewish Literacy - What Hebrew School Didn’t Teach You,” at the Abbe Center for Jewish Life. • Lox and Bagel Brunches: The Abbe Center hosted three Lox and Bagel Hillel Brunches: one in September during Parents and Family Weekend, one in October following the Grape Picking adventure and one in November.
• Interfaith Dialogue: Rabbi Reiner moderated an interfaith dialogue with students from Hillel and Project Nur, a Muslim student group. • Being Jewish in the Secular World: Paul and Nancy Hamburger P’13 hosted lunch at the Abbe Center in early November. Nancy prepared cholent, and Paul led a discussion, “Being Jewish in the Secular World.”
• Kristallnacht Remembrance: Professor of Religious Studies Michael Dobkowski and • Pasta Night in the Sukkah: Students filled students who attended ‘The March: Bearing their plates with homemade tomato sauce and Witness to Hope’ trip in May 2010 spoke about fresh garlic bread and ate in the Sukkah when Chaplain Lesley Adams, with Lorinda Weinstock, their experiences in Germany and Poland. hosted Pasta Night at the Abbe Center in late • Tzedakah: Students continue to sell Hillel September. T-shirts to raise money for Haiti earthquake and cholera relief and Pakistani flood relief through • Sustainable Saturday on Sunday Grape American Jewish World Service. They also Picking with the Temple Beth-El community: participated in the Phi Sig Turkey Trot for the During Chaplain Adams’ Sustainable Saturday, American Red Cross and the Hobart Football held on Sunday, students toured a local table Team’s Tackles and Touchdowns fundraiser for grape vineyard with Rabbi Reiner and his Happiness House. Sunday school students. Chaplain Adams will