[Jewish] ...and another thing

[dmd02 at hampshire.edu]

Shalom again!  Sorry for bomarding your inbox...

Here is the first draft of the JSU article I wrote for the school paper.  It's 
going to Austen this evening, but it won't be printed until Friday, so if you 
find anything amiss, I can take care of it before it circulates.  In addition 
to the text I am also going to try to include sidebars explaining what the 
different Hebrew terms in the article mean.  If you have any questions or 
comments or can tell me what Alizah's last name is or would like to yell at me 
for misquoting and/or misrepresenting you, my contact info again is dmd02 or 
617-840-4277 or 978-744-6137 until this evening.  Thanks!

~Diana
 
              

               Jewish Student Union Seeks to Promote Openness, Acceptance
                                  By Diana M. Dukhanova

         When a first-year student comes to Hampshire, the last thing he or she 
expects is to be judged and made to feel uncomfortable based on a personal 
belief.  With Hampshire’s reputation of openness and liberalism, new students 
expect to be accepted regardless of their creed.  However, when first-year 
student Raquelli Greenberg arrived at Hampshire in the fall and began 
discussing her religious observance with the new people she was meeting, she 
felt a tacit form of discrimination take place.
	“During the Jewish holidays, I would tell people about going to 
services, and it didn’t seem like they were open to that,” says 
Greenberg.  “Although they didn’t actually say anything, I felt judged.”
	This concern is not new at Hampshire or at American colleges in 
general, and was compounded this September when gruesome Anti-Semitic postings 
were made on the Daily Jolt, a web-based campus news source.  The occurrence 
forced people to come to terms with discrimination and hate at Hampshire and, 
says Greenberg, it lead to an open discussion at the subsequent peace vigil 
that was planned in response.
	“The Jolt postings and the vigil inspired people to talk about not 
being accepted as a religious person,” she asserts.  At the vigil, she wrote 
and read aloud an introduction encouraging a personal conversation about 
personal experiences with religion, culture, and discrimination.
	Greenberg’s concern about a need for openness and comfort regarding 
religious leanings is shared by the Jewish Student Union, a campus organization 
that has been renewed this year by a more active membership and a more wide-
spread participation in events.  Clearly, more students than ever are feeling 
the need to express their Judaism and celebrate their faith-free from 
judgment.  
         The JSU seeks to provide a forum for that by celebrating Jewish 
holidays and holding Shabbat dinners in Prescott’s Kosher Mod every Friday.  
Since the beginning of the school year, JSU students have participated in a 
Sukkah decorating party, a Simchat Torah celebration at the UMASS Hillel, and 
Shabbat dinners with turnouts of over twenty people.  “We want to have a place 
for everyone Jewish on campus to congregate together and celebrate their 
religion in a common space,” says Jesse Weinberg, a Division 3 student and a 
resident of the Kosher Mod, “and we want to keep religion separate from 
politics.”
         This emphasis on a celebration of religion rather than the political 
beliefs so commonly associated with Judaism addresses another common concern 
that is amplified due to the political climate in the Middle East and the 
diverse political beliefs of Hampshire students.  The labels “Pro-Israel” 
or “Pro-Palestine”, though unable to address people’s varied opinions on the 
subject, often lead people to associate the Jewish Student Union with a set of 
political beliefs and to thus avoid it despite any personal desires to observe 
their religion.  The JSU wants to emphasize that it is indeed an open forum for 
all Jews.
        “We are an apolitical cultural and religious group,” says Beth Deal, a 
Division 2 student and a signer for the JSU along with Jill Podell and Alizah 
LastName.  ”The Student Alliance for Israel is a separate organization and we 
don’t want people to associate the two.”
        When the students are together practicing Jewish rituals, they seek to 
address yet another concern: members’ personal traditions and levels of 
observance.  Under the umbrella term of “Judaism” lie a multitude of different 
practices.  Besides the basic divisions of observance level into Ultra-
Orthodox, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist, many families 
and synagogues have their own unique ways of performing rituals or their own 
melodies for songs and prayers.  When a diverse group of Jews comes together 
for Shabbat or for a holiday, this variance presents an interesting challenge—
but also an exciting educational opportunity.  While the Jewish Student Union 
has tended to lean towards the Conservative level of observance in the past due 
to the background of the members, this year’s new members bring their own 
customs and experiences to the group.  “People are connecting there,” says 
Raquelli Greenberg, “and teaching everyone their own traditions.”
         The JSU also has more practical concerns: organizing events and 
reaching a broad number of people.  At the second official planning meeting of 
the JSU on Thursday, October 3, task divisions were created, with different 
students signing up to plan and cook for Shabbat each week.  Also, advertising 
was discussed, with members expressing the need for flyers to reach a broader 
cross-section of students.  Other concerns include possibly finding a larger 
space to hold Shabbat and other events currently being held in the Kosher Mod 
if a larger number of students take an interest in participating.  As far as 
long-term goals are concerned, a growing membership may create a need for more 
funding for the group.  Also, “We would like to talk about getting another 
Kosher Mod next year to accommodate the growing number of people [interested in 
living religiously],” says Beth Deal.
        JSU members have also been active this year in starting their own 
Jewish-related clubs on campus.  For example, 2nd-year student and Kosher Mod 
resident Zvi Citron has begun an EPEC class entitled “The Tales of Rebbe 
Nachman” for the study of Torah and Kabbalah-related stories, while Jesse 
Weinberg has started a “Hebrew Speakers Club” as a forum for students to 
practice their Hebrew skills.  There has also been talk of beginning a Jewish 
culture club.  With such vibrant activity, the students of the JSU are 
optimistic about the year ahead.
       As approximately twenty students gather around a table in the Kosher Mod 
on a Friday evening, Shabbos rituals are performed while one student narrates 
and translates the Hebrew prayers into English for those unfamiliar with the 
proceedings. “We are covering the Challah,” the student explains, “And now we 
are lighting the candles and saying a blessing.  It is customary for the women 
to light the Shabbos candles.  Now we are washing our hands.”  By explaining 
and interpreting, the student helps everyone around the table achieve a comfort 
level and understand the proceedings, and everybody is included regardless of 
background or level of religious observance.  This openness and acceptance is a 
major facet of the JSU’s vision for the new academic year.