College page, and Rahm-en noodles

So J-Mizzle informed me that our college page is totally buried! We are working on it. Any suggestions? http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.aspx?ID=75545

Also, this is hilar- check out the first video, the one about Rahm: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/23/snl-rahm-emanuel-bill-cli_n_145798.html

Thanks for reading :)

PJ

INTERFAITH SHABBAT this Friday

Where: St. Louis Hillel, 6300 Forsyth
When: Friday, 11/21, 5:45 pm services, 7 pm dinner
No RSVP necessary!

Join students from various religious groups on campus for an evening of meaningful conversation and delicious food. There will be service options: Reform, Conservative, Traditional and a learner's service starting at 5:45 pm. Dinner will begin at 7 pm and it's FREE. An interfaith menu will be served including: matzoh ball soup, briscuit, veggies, potato knishes, jello salad, and rugelach!

After dinner stay and hear special guest speaker, Karen Aoresty, the Executive Director of the St. Louis Anti-Defamation League.

WSI Film Night!

Thursday November 20th, at 7pm: WSI is having FILM NIGHT in Ursa's!!

WSI is showing the film "Beaufort" There will be light refreshments and an optional post-film discussion. About the film. Director Joseph Cedar subtly combines the various genres of suspense, dark comedy, and horror to produce a powerful film depicting the Israeli withdrawal from Beaufort, an ancient Crusader stronghold. In this harrowing and emotional tale of military bravery and humility, we see the soldiers struggle with the daunting task of destroying the base they've spent so long defending, while also hopefully planning for their futures. In Hebrew with English subtitles.

FROM ROSS ZEITLIN- last minute event tomorrow!!

Hey everyone!
I hope you've all been well!  I just received last minute word that
today's Assembly Series speaker, Daniel Mendelsohn (writer for The New
York Times, The New Yorker, professor at Bard College), will be
grabbing coffee and having an informal discussion tomorrow, Thursday
the 13th, in Holmes Lounge at 10 a.m.
For those who couldn't make it today, the lecture focused on his quest
to unearth the stories of his family members who perished during World
War II, which he discussed in his 2006 best-selling memoir, "The Lost:
A Search for Six of Six Million."
Mendelsohn's other works include "The Elusive Embrace: Desire and the
Riddle of Identity," "Gender and The City in Euripide's Political
Plays" and a collection of essays on literature and the arts, "How
Beautiful It Is and How Easily it Can Be Broken," which was published
recently.
If you can make it at 10 am, tomorrow (Thursday November 13th) in
Holmes Lounge, then I'll see you there!

All the best,
Ross
ross.zeitlin@gmail.com

Obama's Chief of Staff

So there have been a bunch of stories this past week about President-Elect Obama naming Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff. As you may already know, Emanuel has close ties to the Jewish community and to Jewish causes. His father is Israeli and he sends his kids to a Jewish Day School in Chicago. A truly interesting article can be read here.

JNF trip to Israel. Word

JNF sponsors a pretty sweet trip to good ol' Israel, and it's mad cheap.

For more info: http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.aspx?id=187721

Hooray!

PJ

New Orleans Shabbat at Hillel November 7th

Come enjoy some kosher jambalaya while hearing from Hillel's Hurricane Katrina Spring Break trip alums. Listen to their stories, ask them some questions and celebrate Shabbat with your friends. After dinner there will be a brief info session to find out more details about the trip.

Since January 2006, Hillel has brought close to 2500 students to do hands-on work in the Gulf Coast. Spend your break rebuilding homes, learning about the history of Hurricane Katrina, and bearing witness to the revitalization of a city.

You can still come even if you didn't make reservations with Bon Appetit. We ordered lots of food! And there is a very special dessert in honor of the theme....beignets and king cake!!!!

Services begin at 5:45 pm and dinner is at 7 pm.

Want more info? Contact Jessica at jessica@stlouishillel.org or 314-935-9043.

Challah 4 Hunger!

For those of you at the Rhythms For Rebuilding Concert last night (congrats to all the awesome performers!) you heard me mention the new Challah For Hunger Initiative we're starting on campus. Challah For Hunger was started in several years ago in order to raise money for Hazon, an organization dedicated to fighting world hunger. With C4H, students will be baking loaves of Challah to sell on campus to students. The proceeds will be donated to Hazon. If you're at all interested in baking, selling or helping out in any way with C4H please let us know! We're still working out some of the details but we hope to be selling Challah on campus soon!

A little thursday afternoon soccer....

There is an English Premier League soccer team based in north London called Tottenham Hotspur (commonly referred to as "Spurs"). While studying in London last semester, I became a fan of the Spurs largely due to their underdog status especially relative to the other London based teams. I also enjoyed rooting for the Spurs because they traditionally have had a large Jewish following. According to Wikipedia, "The club, as with many clubs in London, has a large Jewish following and this led to much provocation against Tottenham supporters of an anti-semitic nature. Tottenham supporters, Jewish and non-Jewish, united against this and adopted for themselves the nickname Yids, developing chants to support this. Many of the fans view adopting “Yid” as a badge of pride as helping defuse its power as an insult. Today it is mainly used as to distinguish themselves from other football supporters." Yesterday, the Spurs faced their arch rival Arsenal (also based in north London). The match ended in a 4-4 draw and is being recognized as one of the truly great matches in recent memory. If you have time and are at all intrigued by soccer I recommend watching the entire video below. If you don't have much time, watch until the first goal is scored. It's extraordinary.

Check out this video: Arsenal v Tottenham

Second Screening: Praying in Her Own Voice

This Sunday, November 2nd at 7 pm, there will be a screening of Praying in Her Own Voice in Ursa's TV Room. Please join us in watching this thought provoking and inspirational film. See the earlier blog entry on the film for a trailer and more info. If you have any questions email Jessica at jessica@stlouishillel.org.

jewishinstlouis

Hi :)

I'm PJ. I graduated from Wash U last year, and now I work for the Jewish Federation in St. Louis.

I wanted to let everyone know that jewishinstlouis.org is an excellent resource for anything Jewish in St. Louis: Events, News, Israel, Food, Singles' stuff, College stuff, Jobs...it's all there. Plus I write for them, so you know it's pretty sweet.

We're also on facebook. I update it like a machine, so check it out at anytime.

Please contact me:
314-442-3844
info@jewishinstlouis.org

Great job so far JSU! Keep up the good work.

Thank you for reading!

PJ Edelman

PS, see JSU on jewishinstlouis!

Dance Marathon 2008!

Dance Marathon 2008 was amazing!! Thanks to our great, wonderful, enthusiastic team captains, Avi Rose and Ariela Shmidt! It could not possibly have been as much fun as it was without your SPIRIT! I am posting a two snapshots of the JSU teams... but i know we took some great pictures-- so please put them up if you have!

Good luck to everyone with their Sunday workload!

Cara

Screening of "Praying in Her Own Voice" Monday at 8 pm

This coming Monday, October 27th at 8 pm in Wilson 214 the Women's Series presented by Hillel will be hosting a screening on the documentary Praying in Her Own Voice. It is a fascinating, thought provoking, and powerful piece about Judaism, Feminism, and Israel. It depicts the courageous struggle of the Women of the Wall in the last few years for the right to wear a talit and read from the Torah at the Western Wall the same as men do. It successfully premiered in August at the prestigious San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and is now touring the festival circuit. The film explores and generates important discussions about Jewish Identity, American Jews and Israel, and social justice. See the trailer for the film below.

A New Holiday!

So now that the seemingly endless stream of Jewish holidays are over for a bit, it seems appropriate to bring to light the possibility of a new Jewish holiday. In fact, the new holiday was proposed only a few miles away by a group of 6th graders over at Parkway West Middle School. The notion of "Hit a Jew Day" has angered parents and administrators alike. Tip of the cap to PJ for this one....

JSU and Dance Marathon

Per tradition, JSU plans to have a strong (dominant?) presence at this weekend's Dance Marathon. In fact, JSU has two teams participating in Dance Marathon, JSU1 and JSU2 (morale captained by Avi Rose and Ariela Schmidt respectively). Visiting hours are from 4 PM until 2 AM starting this Saturday afternoon and everyone is encouraged to come visit! It really is an extraordinary event so if you're not participating we definitely recommend you stop by to check it out!

New Sorority on Campus

So Greek Life is looking to add a new sorority on campus. Read below about this cool new opportunity to help choose what sorority it will be.

As many of you know, the University if looking to have a new sorority on our campus. To this end, prospective sororities will be here today(10/21/08 - Steinberg Hall), Wednesday (10/22/2008 - Whitaker Hall), and next Tuesday (10/28/08 - Steinberg Hall) to make presentations to the University and we need student feedback. Greek life would like 25 representatives from the Student Body to view these presentations and evaluate the sororities. If you are available this evening from 7:00-8:30, Wednesday from 7-8:30, or next Tuesday from 8-9:30 please respond to this email ASAP. We appreciate students taking time to participate in a decision that will change our campus significantly. Please pass this along to your group members and if you can send a name or two that is willing to go.

Yewande
--
Yewande Alimi
Student Union Vice President of Finance
Washington University in St. Louis
finance@su.wustl.edu
su.wustl.edu

Last Sukkot Event! Tomorrow Night!

Everyone should come to Smuckers in the Sukkah (tip of the cap to D. Schwartz)! We'll be making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the South 40 Sukkah from 6-8 PM to ultimately donate to a local shelter. There will also be information and materials related to homelessness and poverty. Please join us for this special social justice event!

New Einsten Book

A new biography on Albert Einstein takes the unusual angle of questioning his mathematical calculations in his string of early 20th century experiments and discoveries. Hans C. Ohanian's Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius brings Einstein down to a human level while still proclaiming his discoveries as revolutionary. A review from the LA Times can be read here.

Sukkot Top Ten

Here is a Sukkot related top ten list courtesy of bangitout.com. Enjoy! Also, if you're a senior come to the mojito night in the Hillel Sukkah sponsored by JSU and Hillel. Should be a great time. Keep an eye out for the exciting social justice Sukkah night this Monday. We'll let you know more about it over the course of the weekend.

Top Ten Lulav/Esrog Shaking Techniques

10. The Sarah Palin Shake - no experience necessary. Just look good and wink a lot while shaking.

9. The Tzippi Livni Shake - Kadima! Kadima! Kadima!

8. The Ahmadinejad Shake - gather all the parts to shake (esrog, lulav, hadasim, aravot), threaten to shake, then insist it's not for shaking at all

7. The Philadelphia Phillies Shake - take lulav and hit your esrog over the mechitza.

6. The Wall Street Shake - completely drop your esrog, break its pitom and everyone else's, then beg for new ones, ideally from the communal building fund

5. The Obama Shake - shake it towards the left, and then bring it towards the right, if anyone in the audience is pro-Israel

3. The McCain Shake - shake it towards the right, but bring it hard left if anyone mentions Bush

2. The Joe Biden Shake - do whatever, no one seems to care.

1. The Dow Shake - Shake up and down, then down again, then down a whole lot more. The key is to make sure no one has any clue which way you'll shake next.

Senior Mojito Night

Hello fellow seniors! Tomorrow night we will be having our second senior program of the year. At 8:30 PM in the Hillel Sukkah JSU and Hillel will be offering Mojitos! A mojito is a delicious and refreshing drink of Cuban origin. Please come out and celebrate the beginning of fall break with mojitos in the sukkah!

Sarah Silverman Video

So I know that many of you have probably seen this already but I still think it's hilarious. Also, check out the post below and facebook for the terrific Sukkot events we have going on this week. Finally, come to the JSU general meeting tomorrow night at 9 PM in the DUC.

Sukkot

Sukkot Events this week on campus:

St. Louis Hillel has two sukkahs during this week of Sukkot. One is at the Hillel building and the other is on the South 40 on the swamp. Below you'll find a schedule of events for the week. Feel free to stop by the sukkahs anytime during the week to have lunch.

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7 pm

Homelessness & Hunger Awareness Dinner 

South 40 Sukkah

Join students for a brown bag meal while discussing issues of poverty. 

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 8 pm

Yoga in the Sukkah

South 40 Sukkah

If you've never done downward facing dog in the outdoors this is your chance! 

Grad Student Pizza Party in the Sukkah, 6:30 pm

Hillel Sukkah

Join St. Louis area grad students for some pizza and socializing. RSVP by 10/14 to marisa@stlouishillel.org.

Rosh Hashanah is next week

Do you know where you're having Rosh Hashanah meals next week?

Hillel is hosting Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner on Monday, September 29th from 6:45-9:15 pm in the Mallinkrodt food court (you can come at any time during those 2.5 hrs). 

Reservations are REQUIRED to Bon Appetit by Friday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

at 314-935-7098 or http://diningservices.wustl.edu/mealplans_kosher.shtml

There will also be lunch on Tuesday, 9/30 and Wednesday, 10/1 at 1 pm at Hillel (reservations are also required 5 days in advance).

Home hospitality is available as well. To sign up , call or email Hillel by Wednesday, 9/25 at 314-935-9040 or hillel@stlouishillel.org.

YESS! Interesting Article!

Hi All--
A friend of mine sent me this article because he knows how badly I want to live on a Kibbutz. I tried convince my family but they said the nearest one was just TOO FAR. Well-- BROOKLYN isn't very far from Roslyn, New York... is it??

Enjoy!
Cara
VP Cultural/Educational Programming



Israel's Urban Kibbutz Movement Has Arrived in New York. Will It Survive?

To start a kibbutz in New York City is to face a multitude of small challenges.Imagine, for instance, trying to explain to a banker at Bank of America that you want to open a joint checking account with five other people. This was the situation that Jamie Beran and five fellow alumni of the Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror found themselves in this summer, as they worked together to set up one of the first of a new breed of urban kibbutzim in the United States. The banker, says Beran, “could not comprehend why we wanted to do this,” insisting that there were rules limiting the number of people on a single checking account. There weren’t, and before long the newly minted kibbutzniks were issued a stack of Ben & Jerry-themed checks with all six of their names at the top.Most groups of roommates share communal expenses to some extent, chipping in on toilet paper and light bulbs. These young Habonim Dror alumni have taken it a step further. They are among a few groups that are working to translate the new Israeli urban kibbutz movement to an American context. Geared towards recent college graduates, these urban kibbutzim trace their ideological heritage to the Israeli communal farms while replacing the kibbutz’s traditional focus on the land with a focus on social action...

For full article as featured in "New Voices" magazine:
http://newvoices.org/features/a-commune-grows-in-brooklyn.html

What's going on this week on campus

Wednesday, September 10th

Taglit Birthright Israel registration is open today! Go to www.freeisraeltrip.org to register. Contact Matt or Marisa for more info at freeisraeltrip@stlouishillel.org.

Senior Night at Bluehill at 9pm: Pitchers are $2 off, pints and shots of jaeger and cuervo are 50 cents off. 

Thursday, September 11th

7:30 pm in Lien Seminar Rm. B: Wash U Students for Israel meeting

Friday, September 12th

Shabbat at Hillel: 5:45 pm Services and 7 pm dinner.

Sunday, September 14

8 pm in Ursa's, FREE ICE CREAM SUNDAES with CDF

Into The Wild--The Freshman Perspective

Here is a recap of this past weekend's Into the Wild Retreat from Josh Eidelman, a Freshman from Baltimore, MD.

After spending just over a week on campus, I jumped at the opportunity to head "Into the Wild." The overnight at Camp Wyman, about forty minutes away from Wash U, served as an excellent opportunity to meet other Jewish students who I had seen around campus but had never formally met. From the moment we arrived at the camp, the Community Development Fellows, a select group of upperclassman, facilitiated a number of icebreakers from fingerpainting with pudding to boundary breakers. Of course, since this was a Jewish event, we played the best icebreaker ever, Jewish geography. I still cannot believe how many mutual friends I share with other students from across the country. In just one day, I forged connections with other Jewish students that I am sure will continue to grow throughout my four years here at Wash U. I now look forward to partaking in the numerous Jewish student events to come over the next few months.

--Josh Eidelman

Into the Wild 2008

Whatsup Whatsup,
Here are some pictures of this past weekend's unbelievably amazing Into th Wild Retreat. We'll have an update with more specifics from a freshman who went on ITW in the near future. For now though, enjoy the pictures! Also, we have some exciting things coming up tomorrow. From 4:30 until 6:30 the JSU Executive Board will be at the Activities Fair in the AC. Stop by to say hello and learn about how to get involved on campus. Also, we will be having our first open JSU meeting tomorrow night at 9:00 PM in the DUC, room 233. It's going to be super exciting as we will be talking about our plans for the upcoming year. Let us know if you have any questions. Have a great week!

JSU BBQ

Thank you to everyone for coming to the JSU BBQ yesterday on the swamp. It was definitely an enormous success. Here are a few pictures I took--my apologies for some of the pictures that seem a bit hazy. The smoke from the grills was at times overpowering. I also tossed in a picture of my brother and my dog. Luckily, my dog's cuteness outweighs my brother's hideous beard that he decided to grow over the summer. Thanks again to everyone from stopping by!

Count down to Move-in Day

For all you freshmen out there, move-in day is upon us! Just want to give you all a heads up as to where you can find JSU and Hillel people on the South 40 on Thursday. We will be in the campus ministries tent  from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. amongst the rest of the groups tabling by the clock tower. We'll have bagels and cream cheese from 8:30-12, so stop by and say hello and eat a free breakfast. There will also be staff and students in the Wohl Center ready to answer any questions you may have. And finally, there will be over 20 CDF's (Community Development Fellows, otherwise known as the amazing group that organizes the Into the Wild retreat) all over the 40. You'll be able to spot them by the awesome "Wash Jew" shirts they'll all be wearing. Plus, they're going to have popsicles, which you're definitely going to want if it's anything like last year's move in day (110 degrees, need I say more?).

We are all sooo excited to meet the class of 2012. We hope to see you on Thursday and again on Friday at the Shabbat dinner at Hillel at 6 p.m.

Have a safe trip to St. Louis!!!! See you soon........

The Dreyfus Affair Part Two?

This interesting Op-Ed from the NY Times reminded me of a good friend of mine who once had a fake ID with the name Alfred Dreyfus. I wish I was joking. He did have a rather "successful" three month run using the alias of the infamous victim of late 19th century French anti-semitism. That is, until he attempted to buy a six-pack of Blue Moon from a liquor store run by a scholar of post-revolution France. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

Orientation Week at Wash U 2008

Thursday, August 21: Move-in Day for freshman

8:30am-4pm

Take a time out from unpacking and meet Hillel staff and student leaders while enjoying some free bagels and cream cheese in the morning and some refreshing popsicles in the afternoon. We will be on the South 4o at the campus ministries table as well as all over the 40...just look for a shirt that says something Jewish!

Friday, August 22: Freshman Shabbat

6-8pm at Hillel

Celebrate your first Wash U Shabbat with a kosher dinner at Hillel for FREE. Mincha will begin at 5:45pm.

Parent Reception immediately following at 8pm.

Saturday, August 23: Conservative Services

9:30am at Hillel

Would you like to meet at least 9 new people? Experience Shabbat morning services with the student leaders of the Conservative minyan. Light snack to follow.

Brunch at Ursa's

11am 

Meet Jewish leaders for FREE bagels while finding out about opportunities to get involved in Jewish campus life. Pick-up sports to follow.

Sunday, August 24: JSU BBQ

5-7pm on the Swamp

Hang out with 1st year students and members of the JSU while enjoying tasty kosher barbeque (for free).

Wednesday, August 27: Movie Night with JSU

8:30pm at Ursa's

Wind down and relax after your first day of classes. We will be showing The Hebrew Hammer starring Adam Goldberg. If you've never seen this movie, you definitely should. 

Friday, August 29: First Campus-Wide Shabbat

5:45 pm at Hillel for services, 7pm at Holmes Lounge for dinner

Join the Jewish community on campus for Shabbat. JSU will host dinner at Holmes Lounge so please stop by and meet more new people. Reservations are required to Bon Appetit by Wed 8/27 at noon (http:diningservices.wustl.edu/mealplans_kosher.html)

Sunday, August 31-Monday, September 1: Into the Wild Freshman Retreat

Get off campus for a night with 150 of your new friends. See Hillel's website for more info at www.stlouishillel.org. 

 

Obama and the Jews

With Senator Obama visiting Israel this week many pundits and commentators have been debating whether or not he will have trouble appealing to Jewish voters in November. The Daily Show takes a stab at this issue by visiting elderly Jews in Boca (Hat tip to Sybil).

Much to Mel Gibson's Chagrin.....

So I stumbled upon this video from a while back of the actor Denis Leary spending a few minutes with the Boston Red Sox TV commentators during a game between the Sox and the Tigers. Now, I'm definitely not a Sox fan but I have to tip my cap to Leary for lambasting Mel Gibson vis a vis the talented Jewish first baseman for the Sox, Kevin Youkilis. Watch until the very end to hear and see the full extent of the hilarity Leary induces.

glumbert - Dennis Leary rants about Mel Gibson at Red Sox game

Hello From Your JSU Exec Board!

Hello everyone and welcome to The JSUniverse! On this blog, we hope to let you know about everything that is going on with JSU. We'll have information and updates on everything from weekly Shabbat dinners to concerts and parties sponsored by JSU. You can also look forward to pictures, videos and recaps of everything we do on campus as well as some other random stuff that we find interesting, funny or memorable. We're new at this so we definitely want to hear your feedback. If you have any suggestions, recommendations or questions with regard to the blog, Jewish Life at WashU, etc. please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of any post. Thanks so much and we look forward to seeing you all in just a few weeks. In the meantime, enjoy The JSUniverse!