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March 11 2009
15 Adar 5769
 
Dear Friends,
 
A lot has happened since my last e-mail report/blog at the beginning of February.  Among other events Cleveland Metro Hillel hosted Jewish music artists Y-Love, Dov Rosenblatt, and Diwan for a workshop, Shabbat, and concert.  Israeli historian Michael Oren spoke to six different audiences during his two day visit to Cleveland at the end of February.  At Oberlin transgendered Jewish poet S. Bear Bergman performed and Brandeis University Professor Jonathan Decter taught the annual Ring Family Mini Course.  In addition there were also celebrations of Tu B'Shvat and Purim.
 
Speaking of Purim, yesterday when I was listening to Megillat (The Book of) Esther read at synagogue I reflected on the role that individuals have played in the history of our People.  Of course there are many ways to reflect on Jewish history.  As a person who works with people I often view life through the accomplishments of the individual and how it affects the group.  The Purim miracle could not have happened if Esther had not changed from her passive role as a person who did as her uncle Mordechai requested to an activist who told Mordechai what to do and interceded with her husband, King Ahasuerus. 
 
What caused her to change?  How did it come about?  Did she always have it in her?  Is activism something that can be taught?  These are all questions that do not have easy answers and the Purim story does not give us enough information to answer any of them.  But the story along with the actions of others throughout our history informs us that an individual has the ability and the power to change the society he or she lives in and even the world.    
 
I believe that Hillel has a role to play in this as our goal and mission is to cultivate and strengthen the Jewish identity of students on the campuses we serve.  We work with them and help them grow to become more confident, knowledgeable, and passionate Jews.  In this way I believe that each of them, actually each of us, can become an "Esther" for this and future generations.   

As always if you have any comments, ideas, or questions please be in
touch with me at gcoleman@clevelandhillel.org or 216-231-0040.

With Blessings,

garysign 

Gary Coleman
Upcoming Events

Law Student Alumni Event- Tuesday, March 31st

Cleveland Hillel along with the Jewish Law Student Associations (JLSA) of Case Western Reserve University School of Law and CSU Cleveland Marshall College of Law is hosting a program on "Creating Connections".  This is part of our effort to connect law students with lawyers in the community.  For more information on the event and view the sponsors click here or contact Harriet Mann at hmann@clevelandhillel.org

Annual Meeting- Wednesday, April 22nd

Cleveland Hillel Foundation will be installing Harvey Siegel as the new board president and thanking Scott Siegel for his tenure as president.  We will also be celebrating student achievements and thanking retiring Cleveland State University President Michael Schwartz for all his wonderful work.  Invitations to the meeting will be in the mail next week.  If you want more information about the event, are interested, or know someone interested in becoming more involved in our governance please e-mail info@clevelandhillel.org. 
Taglit-Birthright Israel: Hillel Trip '09

During February the Cleveland Metro staff was also very busy recruiting for a Cleveland Hillel Taglit-Birthright Israel trip.  I am proud to report that for the first time in years we had enough applicants to have a group of our own.  Twenty of our students will be joining Ricky Marcus, Cleveland Metro Jewish Student Life Coordinator, as they travel to Israel from May 14-24. A big yasher koach to the program staff.
Summer Internship Program

We are in the midst of interviewing for next summer's program.  If your business is interested in placing a student, please contact Ilana Shafran at ishafran@clevelandhillel.org or visit our web site at www.clevelandhillel.org
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Program Highlights
Hundreds of students participated in many events during the month.  Among them are:

  • A Brooklyn based klezmer band performed at the Cat and the Cream on Oberlin's campus
  • Hebrew Coffee Night was held a local coffee house in Cleveland
  • Shimon Brand spoke about his recent trip to Israel to the Oberlin Zionist (Oz) group
  • The Halal Kosher Co-op at Oberlin hosted a middle-eastern pastry maker.  Students prepared pastries that were enjoyed at a coffee house gathering later that eveningcoop
  • Students went to see the Israeli film Waltz with Bashir
  • At an Oberlin dorm, two floors of mixed first years and upperclassmen planted seeds in biodegradable planters and discussed planting seeds as a metaphor for setting goals
  • Moshe Alfisher, the Israeli Fellow at Hillel in Santa Cruz, spoke to the Oz group of Hillel at Oberlin College and to a joint Cleveland Hillel and Spectrum sponsored event at Case Western Reserve University.  Moshe, a gay officer in the Israeli Defense Forces, spoke about his experience and those of gays in Israel and screened the Israeli film Yossi and Jagger.  Thank you to Gregg Levine and Dr. Howard Epstein for helping make this event possible
  • Oberlin Hillel hosted S. Bear Bergman for a performance called "Tikkun Olam, GLBT, and me".  The performer spoke humorously and poignantly about being both queer and Jewish.  A question and answer session was held, and S. Bear read a recently completed essay on Jewish masculinity.
  • Y-Love, a Baltimore-born-and-raised, Israel-transplanted, African-American, Jewish-converted rapper and two fellow Jewish musicians, Dov Rosenblatt and Diwon spent the weekend at Cleveland Hillel.  They led a workshop on Friday on Torah in Modern Music, were guests at yloveShabbat services and dinner Friday night and told students their personal stories, and performed at The Spot on CWRU's campus Saturday night.  The visit was part of the "40 Days and 40 Nights" tour and was partly underwritten by the Louis E. Emsheimer Charitable Fund.
  • The annual Ring Family Mini Course sponsored by Oberlin Hillel brought Brandeis Professor of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Jonathan Decter (Oberlin '92) back to Oberlin to teach about "The Symbiosis of Judaism and Islam during the Golden Age of Spain".
  • CWRU law students hosted Alvidasalvidas Jasin from The Climate Project who screened and spoke about Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth on environmental awareness.
  • Weekly Shabbat services, dinners, and Torah learning continued both at Oberlin and in Cleveland.  Oberlin Hillel hosted Cleveland Hillel board members one Shabbat and in Cleveland students living in the community started having a monthly Shabbat off campus dinner.
 
Tu B'Shvat and Purim

A number of events were held to celebrate these Holidays.
  • Stephanie Spear of EarthWatch Ohio spoke about Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and the "Think Outside the Bottle Campaign".
  • Tu B'Shvat Seders were held both at Oberlin and Cleveland Metro Hillels with students in Cleveland also decorating pots.  tubshvatseder
  • Oberlin Hillel had a Megillah reading, a festive meal on Purim and a Purim party the weekend prior to the holiday for hundreds of students
  • CWRU's spring break was during Purim so Cleveland Metro will be having a number of events celebrating Purim the weekend of March 20-22 including a Purim party and a carnival for senior citizens at Montefiore.
Michael Oren in Cleveland

The Cleveland Hillel Foundation hosted Dr. Michael Oren of the Shalem Center in Israel on February 26 and 27 for a series of events.  These events included:
  • A small gathering of CWRU faculty to discuss academic issues
  • Dinner for 45 student leaders, Cleveland Hillel board members andoren supporters where Dr. Oren remarked on the uniqueness of the history of modern Israel
  • Lectured to about 175 students and community members at Hillel on current issues facing Israeli society
  • At breakfast with a small group of mostly Jewish professionals at the City Club Dr. Oren talked about Iran.
  • Spoke to over 50 faculty and students at Cleveland State University on the history of American foreign policy in the Middle East.crowd
  • Led a discussion over lunch at Case Western Reserve University on the Israeli political system for more than 60 faculty and students.
Cleveland Hillel has received very positive feedback from many of the attendees of these events.  To view pictures click here and to see a full list of the sponsors and partners we want to thank for helping make this event possible click here.
Past Presidents Council
 
February is the annual gathering of Cleveland Hillel Foundation Past Presidents.  Almost all of them gathered together at Hilpastpreslel for a dinner meeting and they were updated on a number of the new initiatives that Cleveland Hillel is undertaking including the move to a 12 month program center and the development of a task force to focus on working with the universities and community to attract more Jewish students to study in Cleveland.
Last Word and Request

 I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the Cleveland Hillel Foundation, the students, board, staff, stakeholders, and friends for your continued commitment and support.  For more information on Hillel check out our web site www.clevelandhillel.org  

As you probably know as all agencies we are affected by the downturn in the economy.  The budget we are preparing for the next fiscal year is based on 85% of this year's budget.  Two of our program staff who are leaving at the end of June will not be replaced.  Instead we will divide their responsibilities among the other staff.  This said, in order to continue to bring quality programs to the students we will need your partnership.
 
We ask that you consider making a contribution to Cleveland Hillel either by going on line HERE.

Or mailing us a check at: