Abbe Center Newsletter Fall 2015

Environmental Shabbat Friday, January 29

First-Class Mail US Postage PAID Geneva, NY Permit No. 69

Upcoming Event Calendar

Jewish Cooking Class – Bab-kallah!

January 31 Shabbat 250 Friday, March 4 First Night of Passover Friday, April 22

We Invite You to Support the Abbe Center for Jewish Life

Contacts:

or this issue, Valerie Riback P’18 was invited to share why she and her husband, Norman, support the Abbe Center for Jewish Life.

“We wanted our youngest daughter Dana to have access to this important home away from home. For my boys, Hillel played an important role when they went off to college, and they continue to be active with it today. We feel that for as much or as little as Dana chooses to use the Abbe Center, we can help it be there for her We feel that for as and others. We hope more parents will follow our lead.” much or as little as our

Valerie adds that during a campus daughter, Dana, chooses tour she was told by a student guide, to use the Abbe Center, “Oh you have to go to Hillel on Friday night – it’s your only home cooked we can help it be there for meal!” “I thought that was precious. her and others. We hope Dana is very happy at William Smith more parents will follow and that’s what matters to us!”

Gifts of any amount to support our lead. the Abbe Center for Jewish Life are welcome and appreciated. We invite you to make a gift today using the envelope enclosed. Your gift to the Abbe Center can be made in honor of, or in memory of, anyone you choose. The Colleges will send a lovely card to the individual/family you designate.

We would also be pleased to speak with you about gifts to the Abbe Center Endowment, which will help ensure the Center’s sustainability for generations to come. While all gifts to the endowment are deeply appreciated, gifts of $25,000 or more are acknowledged on a special display inside the Center.

Finally, there are several naming-gift opportunities we would be happy to share with you. For more, see www.hws.edu/studentlife/abbecenter/ naming_opps.aspx. For each, donors have the opportunity to place their name or the name of a loved one on a facet of the Center that has special meaning to them.

For more information, contact Ruth Benedict at benedict@hws.edu or (315) 781-3779. Thank you!

Abbe Center for Jewish Life abbecenter@hws.edu (315) 679-6924

Julianne H. Miller Director, Abbe Center for Jewish Life and Hillel Adviser jhmiller@hws.edu / (315) 781-3385

Hillel President Jessica Lohre ’16

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES 764 South Main Street Geneva, NY 14456

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Students gather in the Abbe Center for Jewish Life to light the candles on the first night of Hanukkah.

Fall 2015

Because of your support…

• More than 50 students enjoyed an Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner • 30 students gathered for a pre-fast meal on Erev Yom Kippur • Over 20 students attended pasta night during Sukkot • 18 students baked challah from scratch

Abbe Center for Jewish Life

Building Community

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his semester, holiday programs for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah were well attended and provided students with a chance to get reacquainted with each other while participating in traditional holiday events that furthered their relationship Students gather for conversation, fellowship and a simple, home-cooked with the Jewish community meal during pasta night at the Chaplain’s residence. in Geneva.

“The fall holidays – especially Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – are such an important time for the Abbe Center,” says Director of the Abbe Center for Jewish Life and Hillel Adviser Julianne Miller. “They are when we get to introduce ourselves to many of the students, so we do everything we can to make sure our programs are open, accessible, meaningful and haimish [homey].

It is also a hard time for all students – especially first years – to be away from their families and their communities. The Abbe Center becomes their Jewish ‘home away from home’ – the place they can go for familiar sights, sounds and tastes – in the context of their new community.”

This semester’s events helped provide students with a new community on campus and in Geneva as events expanded beyond the Abbe Center to include local offerings. More than 50 students gathered to welcome the New Year (or celebrate the New Year) with a festive Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner that featured a traditional spread of round challahs, apple-raisin noodle kugel, roasted turkey and butternut squash soup. Students joined in the shehecheyanu and other blessings before heading across the street to Temple Beth-El for the Erev Rosh Hoshanah service. Many students also returned to Temple BethEl for services on Monday morning, after which Hillel board members joined Temple Beth-El for the annual Rosh Hashanah luncheon at the Ramada Geneva Lakefront.

“It was a wonderful chance for our students to participate in the broader Jewish community and for the members of Temple Beth-El to get to know some of our most committed Jewish students,” Miller says.

Students gathered for a similar lineup of events celebrating Yom Kippur, beginning with a pre-fast meal at the Abbe Center on Erev Yom Kippur that was followed by Kol Nidrei services at Temple Beth-El. At the end of Yom Kippur, many students joined Temple Beth-El for their community break fast where they sampled an array of kugels made by Temple members.

For Sukkot, students built a Sukkah on the first night and enjoyed “Pizza in the Hut” after the shelter was constructed. On the Wednesday of Sukkot, the Abbe Center collaborated with HWS Chaplain Maurice Charles to host a weekly Pasta Night, which brought together Pasta Night participants and Hillel members to share a meal and discuss the traditions and meaning of Sukkot.

Rounding out the celebrations was Simchat Torah, where students indulged in candy sushi rolling to coincide with a discussion of the unrolling and rerolling of the Torah often performed as part of the holiday.

“The events at the Abbe Center provide a place to meet new people and make new friends,” says Matthew Fox ’19. “Hillel works hard to ensure that not only the Jewish community on campus has events to celebrate Jewish holidays but to further a community of including everyone. This just expands the community feel at HWS.” ● Share the

Good News

If you know anyone who might like to be included on the Abbe Center mailing list, please contact Ruth Benedict at benedict@hws.edu

Fall 2015

Giving Tzedakah After the Great Challah Bake event, each student left with two loaves of freshly-baked, made-from-scratch challah bread, but more importantly with a heightened sense of the role food plays in shaping and preserving Jewish culture and identity. Through a discussion on food and Judaism, students collectively identified Tzedakah, or assistance to those in need, as a core value of Judaism, inspiring many students to donate their second loaf of challah to the Center of Concern to help fight hunger in Geneva.

“My favorite part about the event was being able to share challahs with people who struggle to have food on the table in the Geneva community,” says Hillel Board Member Sammi Hurwitz ’16, who organized the event.

“A big part of Judaism is giving Tzedakah, and since everyone made two challahs, we each were able to donate a challah and make someone’s day.”

The Nov. 1 event, which kicked-off the new “Jewish Cooking 101” series, drew 18 students to

Students gather at the Abbe Center for Jewish Life with Director of the the Abbe Center dining Abbe Center for Jewish Life and Hillel Adviser Julianne H. Miller to learn room where each student how to bake a six-strand braided challah bread. had his or her own baking station complete with ingredients, utensils and recipe. After mixing and kneading the dough, students gathered for conversation while waiting for the challah to rise.

Using the theme of food as a focal point, students shared personal memories and family traditions while drawing connections between food and Judaism. Conversation also revolved around three food-themed readings selected by Director of the Abbe Center for Jewish Life and Hillel Adviser Julianne Miller. The readings covered topics including food as an important outlet for women’s creativity and control in Judaism, combining Sephardic food traditions into Israeli cuisine to create a unique hybrid cuisine, and the importance of food in creating and preserving identity.

After the dough had risen, students returned to their cooking stations to braid the challah and then bake their finished product. Miller says the success of the program resulted in consensus among students to continue with more Abbe Center cooking events. The “Jewish Cooking 101” series will resume in the spring semester, when students will try their hand at more Jewish classics and favorite family recipes.

“I love being able to share my love for Judaism through events like these,” says Hurwitz.

“It’s great to be able to come together and connect with others who share a common interest – and with the Challah Bake in particular, there is no better way to bring a group together than with food.” ● Students show off their six-strand braided challah before baking the dough at the Great Challah Bake event.

Abbe Center Expands Spring Programming

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hrough an exciting new lineup of events, the Abbe Center for Jewish Life’s spring calendar will increase opportunities for students to explore their Jewish identity and connect to Judaism. From environmental clubs to the Muslim and Christian communities on campus, the Abbe Center will collaborate with a number of student-run organizations and faith-based groups to diversify its offerings while creating a more inclusive environment within the Jewish community and across campus.

“We are hoping to have a semester full of new and collaborative events. With such a large number of clubs and organizations at HWS, collaboration allows for many new perspectives and ideas, which is what we are constantly striving for with our events,” says Hillel President Jessica Lohre ’16.

Some highlights of the upcoming spring events include: • Environmental Shabbat – Hillel is inviting the Campus Greens Club and the Eco Reps to join us for a celebration of Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year for the trees. During dinner, students will explore issues and concerns the groups have in common, including the responsibility to care for the environment and the Jewish mitzvah of Bal Tashchit – the commandment not to waste.

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Kosher Deli Night – Students will discuss the history of the Jewish deli while enjoying a variety of kosher deli, knishes, pickles and more.

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Tree Planting – Students will plant trees in the Geneva community as part of Hillel’s effort to do more tikkun olam, community service and social justice work.

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Jewish Cooking 101 – In upcoming installments of the Abbe Center’s Jewish cooking series, students will try their hand at Jewish classics and family favorite recipes ranging from kugel to rugelach and Babkallah, a combination of challah and babka.

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Shabbat 250 – The Hillel Board will expand its annual event, which aims to gather 250 students, faculty and staff to celebrate Shabbat. New entertainment, such as Israeli dance and a cappella music, and a new menu including Sephardic cuisine to reflect students’ Jewish heritage are in the works.

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Interfaith Series – Hillel will Members from the Hillel Board pose for a photo during last year’s collaborate with Project Nur, the Shabbat 250 in the Vandervort Room.

Muslim community on campus, and the Christian community on campus represented by HWS Chaplain Maurice Charles, to hold a series of monthly interfaith discussions on belief, ethics and spirituality.

“Something that the Abbe Center makes clear is that it is not just a place for students of Jewish faith to gather, but a welcoming environment for any student interested in expanding his or her knowledge of Jewish traditions and customs and connecting with students of other religions,” says Charles.

Many of Hillel’s time-tested favorites will continue throughout the spring semester as well, including: weekly Shabbat dinners, monthly bagel brunches, the Purim Celebration, Passover Seder, Matzah Brei Brunch, and Matzah Pizza Night.

“We hope the spring calendar helps students explore their own Judaism and the way their Jewish identity connects to and enhances other interests,” Director of the Abbe Center and Hillel Adviser Julianne Miller says. ●

Students enjoy a Shabbat dinner together in the Abbe Center.