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Holidays
& National Initiatives
Holidays & National Initiatives
There are many holidays and national Jewish initiatives that are celebrated on campus. For background information on the major Jewish holidays visit the UAHC’s Jewish holidays page. Read on for a brief description of how these events were celebrated on campus this year.
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur * Sukkot * Halloween * Thanksgiving * Hanukkah * Birthright Israel * Tu B’Shevat * Valentine’s Day * Purim * Shabbat Across Stony Brook * Passover * Israel Rally in DC * Yom Ha’Atzmaut * Lag Ba'Omer
2001-2002 Holidays
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur – Stony Brook Hillel holds High Holiday services on campus for several hundred community members. All staff members are expected to be on-hand for set up and to attend services. Prior to Rosh Hashanah itself, I tabled with apple and honey-related foods for people to sample, and info on the holiday.
Sukkot – Hillel holds Sukkot services on campus as well and we build a Sukkah in Roth Quad next to the Kosher Cafeteria. I held several events in either this Sukkah or Rabbi Joe’s Sukkah, such as the FYSH Pizza in the Hut and the GAP Sukkot Lunch.
Halloween – While not a Jewish holiday, many JCSC Fellows adapt Halloween to be celebrated in a Hillel/engagement manner. I did a “Hilleloween” table in the Union Lobby and passed out candy & information to publicize the UJC Campus Campaign.
Thanksgiving – There is generally an Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner sponsored by the entire Interfaith Center every year during the month of October.
Hanukkah – I sent out Hanukkah kits to all on-campus FYSH with a menorah, candles, event info and a little note. I kept extras on-hand for tabling and people dropping by the office. Hanukkah candlelighting takes place every night in the SAC and sometimes each night is themed. I did a Hanukkah Festival in the HSC and latke making (LatkePalooza) in the dorms, which you can read about in Hillel.org’s Program Exchange here. December is also Diversity of Religions month in the Res Halls so many RA’s will probably be contacting you to come represent Judaism this month.
Birthright Israel – This free trip to Israel for Jewish students between the ages of 18 and 26 generally has a trip during Winter Break. Stony Brook Hillel has sent between 8 and 40 students in the past to participate, along with several staff members.
Tu B’Shevat – This holiday of the trees is usually very fun for JCSC’s because there are so many tabling ideas for it. I had people make mud out of chocolate pudding, Oreo crumbs, frosting and gummi worms, and handed out information on the holiday and Judaism & the Environment. Another idea is to have people decorate pots and give them a small plant to plant inside.
Valentine’s Day – Another non-Jewish holiday, Valentine’s Day can be adapted to teach about the Jewish Day of Love (Tu B’Av). I tabled with an arts and crafts project of making Valentines, along with info and love texts for Tu B’Av.
Purim – Hillel Purim Parties are always lots of fun, and Mishloach Manot (Purim gift bags) are usually sent out by the JCSC Fellow. I filled them with candy, hamantaschen, graggers, event info and background information on the holiday. Just as with Hanukkah, I tabled with the boxes around campus. In addition, we had an HSC Latke vs. Hamantaschen Symposium that you can read about here in my article for Shelanu.
Shabbat Across Stony Brook – Shabbat Across America is an event sponsored by the National Jewish Outreach Program where synagogues, schools and Hillels all across the country celebrate Shabbat “together” on one certain night. Shabbat Across Stony Brook is generally quite large here on campus, with services and a nice dinner in the Union Ballroom. Several students and I tabled with challah, grape juice, candlesticks and all the rest during the week prior to “SASB” in order to maximize registration.
Passover – Most of this holiday fell during spring break this year but we had the FYSH Chocolate Seder a week before that (program exchange entry). This event was led by FYSH but open to everyone who wanted to learn about Passover. Once we returned to campus, I tabled with Kosher for Pesach foods in the HSC and the Union.
Israel Rally in Washington DC – This enormous Israel solidarity rally on Capitol Hill attracted hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country. Stony Brook Hillel sent a bus of about 50 people to the rally.
Yom Ha’Atzmaut – In honor of Israel’s Independence Day, we had the Israeli-born Moshav Band come to campus for Rock & Ruach: A Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration. Read the Program Exchange entry here.
Lag Ba’Omer – This holiday usually falls after the semester is over but luckily this year we were able to plan a barbeque. Due to the rain we had to move the bbq inside and the bonfire couldn’t take place at all because of campus regulations, but it was still a fun event! Follow this link for pictures.