Dear Friends,
As we are entering November, the semester is moving into its final stages. It has been a very busy and productive six weeks since we celebrated Rosh Hashanah. As I wrote in September, this regular report will highlight some of our programs and inform you about issues we face. I also hope to communicate the interests and passions of Jewish students. I hope the communication will be two way and that you feel comfortable in providing me with your advice, comments, and feedback.
As
you know our programming is continuous and some of our upcoming
activities include a talk at Oberlin by Harune Fatima, a refugee from
Darfur, who will speak on the genocide taking place there. In Cleveland, we are hosting Ido Aharoni from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an update on the current situation. We are also planning commemorative programs for Kristalnacht, and as the semester ends, celebrations for Chanukah. We are proud of the fact that through the variety of programs we sponsor we are able to meet the diverse interests of students.
We are excited that for the first time we are organizing a Tzedek trip for all of our Cleveland Metro students during winter break. A
group of 10-12 students will be joined by one of our staff to go to New
Orleans and help the continuing effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina. We
are also thrilled that our staff at Oberlin College will be taking 40 students
to Israel during winter break on a Taglit-birthright israel: Hillel Trip.
I invite you to visit our web site at www.clevelandhillel.org to read and see more about what we are doing on campus. The calendar of events and links are very informative and give a much wider view of what we are doing than this report. Also on the web site you'll find our annual report. You can view it at www.clevelandhillel.org/annual report where you can also see a list of last year's donors. If you are interested in becoming a supporter of our Hillel on-line you can click on the Network for Good link on our home page or you can mail a check to Cleveland Hillel Foundation at 11291 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44106.
We are in the midst of reading the Book of Breishit (Genesis) at Shabbat services. As
it tells the story of the development of our People, one of the things
that strikes me each year is that the text informs us that none of our
historic fathers or mothers were perfect. They all had challenges that often they met, but sometimes they fell short. This said, we still view them as good examples for us. Maybe
their imperfection is exactly why they are good examples for us as it
reminds us that even when we do not accomplish what we hope, it is
still important for us to act and improve. This is an important lesson for us as we work with students. The
world is not perfect and neither are any of us, but by working together
we can make a difference and help improve our community and mankind.
As I mentioned earlier, I am interested in hearing from you, so you are invited to contact me at 216-231-0040 or gcoleman@clevelandhillel.org
With Blessings, 
Gary Coleman |
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| Some Recent Highlights from the Cleveland Metro and Oberlin Programming |
- Weekly Shabbat services and student cooked dinners at the Hillel building and at Oberlin
 - Ongoing social programs and dorm activities
- Learning opportunities with local educators and rabbis as well as meeting with a Muslim professor to learn about Ramadan
- Tzedek
social justice and volunteer opportunities both on campus and in the
community including cookie making, participating in an AIDS walk to increase
awareness, planning a dance marathon and making calls for the Jewish
Community Federation of Cleveland's Super Sunday
- Supporting students who reacted to an act of bigotry by creating a handprints for peace mural on the campus spirit wall. This event was covered by the university student newspaper and the article can be viewed here
- Sponsoring
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services in Cleveland and at Oberlin and
enabling students interested in attending services at local synagogues and
temples to do so
- Building
Sukkot in Cleveland and Oberlin so students could celebrate the Holiday
through religious, social and social action program. These included S'mores in the Sukkah, Pizza in the Hut, storytelling in the Sukkah, and a discussion on environmental issues
 Engaging and meeting with new students Our Israel
programming included hosting an Israeli and Palestinian student through
the Arava Institute to talk about the environment, reflecting on the
different Jewish and Palestinian narratives, learning about the effects
that the Sabbatical year has on Israeli society, and screening the
Israeli film Walk on Water -
We prepared students for the campus visit of Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer who were guests of the Hallinan Project on the first night of Sukkot Music
programs included a performance by oud players Issa Boulos and George
Ziadeh, The BearCubes, a band from Oberlin played for Simchat Torah, and a
presentation on Jewish Womens music from Kerala India -
At Oberlin QJews met with QuAF (Queer Allies of Faith) to discuss the intersection of spirituality and the body. Students attended a talk by Eli Wiesel at a Cleveland area Jesuit high school
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| Special Events |
 On
October 14th, the Cleveland Hillel Foundation hosted two campus wide programs
including a talk on coexistence by Sari Nusseibeh, President of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, and the dedication of
an interfaith mural depicting the importance of water to all religions. Both Case Western Reserve University President Barbara Snyder and  College of Arts and Sciences Dean, Cyrus Taylor, were present. Since it was the Sunday before mid terms not many students attended and some questions were raised regarding students interests. I was given the opportunity to comment on this in an article I wrote for the Cleveland Jewish News in its October 26 edition. You can read it here.
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Graduate Student Programming
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 Seventy
Cleveland Marshall law students, alumni, and community members gathered
on October 11th for a special reception and program. The
event, co sponsored by our Hillel, along with the Cleveland-Marshall Jewish Law
Student Association ,provided networking opportunities for students. Arthur Elk of Elk & Elk, the visionary contributor to the event, spoke about "Professional Tips after Law School". The group was also greeted by the dean of the law school, Hillel lay people and students. This event was made possible with the help of many esteemed contributors. A list of those sponsors can be found here.  Connecting
graduate students to professionals in the community is one of the
important services we can provide and we are working on increasing
these opportu nities. We are in the process of planning other networking events to connect graduate students with professionals in their fields. The next one planned is for the medical students and alumni on December 10th.
Of
course we also are involved with linking graduate students to one
another and young professionals socially through a variety of programs
that we sponsor on our own or with others.
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