The Jewish Voice Magazine, NYU - December 2012

Illuminating

voicenyu

the jewishfall 2011 / stav 5772 volume V issue I

December

AIMEE MOSSERIEditor-in-Chief

JASON BRECHERTreasurer, Assistant Editor

NOAM ZEFFRENHoliday Editor

RACHEL NEHEMIAHDesign Editor

Contributing Writers:CYNTHIA BLANK, LEORA SILBER, NOAM ZEFFREN, JULIA LEVINE

In association withHillel at NYU

Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life7 East 10th Street

New York, NY 10003

www.nyu.edu/bronfman

If you’re interested in sharing your opinions or experiences with us send questions, comments, and feedback to: [email protected]

1

letter from theEditor A burning candle touches the tip of another. There’s a flicker and then the oil in the wick com-busts and the flame emerges sputtering, but bright. The flame then steadies and burns continuously. December is the season for the holiday of Hanukah and on Hanukah this is how light is spread from one wick to another. This is also how stories spread. They pass from one person to the next, inspiring people and spreading light to il-luminate the world. The articles in this magazine are meant to illuminate our understanding of our world. Whether we are celebrating Hanukah an-nually or hearing of it for the first time we want to have a forum where we can express our interest in Jewish culture. I know that we will all experi-ence December differently. Sharing those different experiences is what makes our world larger and brighter. I am so proud to be a part of a magazine

dedicated to publicizing and spreading the pieces of culture important to the authors and readers of this publication. The Jewish Voice at NYU is here so we stu-dents can reach out and feel connected to each other. I am proud to be the new Editor-in-Chief of a magazine dedicated to promoting the voices of my fellow student. Please peruse or read intently, but overall enjoy these pieces as they illuminate your December. I send a dear thank-you to all those who made this issue possible and look forward to the next publication. I hope we burn as bright as the newly lit candle and as continuously as the steadied candle.

Happy Hanukah, Aimee Mosseri Editor-in-Chief

Hanukah – Explore This Bright Jewish Holiday Noam Zeffren

Latkes Recipe - With A Sweet Twist! Julia Levine

Beating Hearts - A Poem Cynthia Blank

The New Chabad House – All Are Welcome! Leora Silber

CLIP-ing Forward (A Revolutionary Generation) Joy Elias

table ofContentsvoicenyu

the jewish

2

5

4

6

8

LIGHT UPImmediately following

this round of Fall finals, the holiday of Chanukkah

arrives, beginning the eve of December 20th when three stars emerge, and continu-ing until Wednesday, Decem-ber 28th at night. In these eight crazy nights, the Jewish people will be reliving that which occurred to our ances-tors this time of year, at that time in history. In the year 3622 CE, the Maccabees re-dedicated the Temple in Je-rusalem and purified it from the Syrian-Greek impurities which had been temporar-ily inside. The High Priest, Yochanan, set to relight the menorah within the con-fines of the Temple, but found only one pure jug of oil meant to last a single day. However, the gen-eration was privileged to be the beneficiaries of such a miracle of the light lasting eight com-plete days. By this time, new oil could be made and transported to the Temple for use. The winning set of battles over

Antiochus’ officers was an astounding defeat over a larger and seemingly more powerful army in number and brute strength. What the mighty Maccabees were missing in number was re-placed by vigor and deep-rooted cultural pride. While Hellenism was an attrac-tive and enticing method by which to live their lives, the Maccabees chose to live by a higher l e v e l

MY NIGHT

2 3

Menorah מְנֹורָהThis is the original biblical 7 pronged candelabra, lost in the last exile of Rome. The core is a base and a stem. From the stem three branches tipped with can-dleholders move outwards and curl upwards to align evenly with the top of the stem which is the seventh candleholder.

Hanukiyah הַנֻכִּיָחThis is the nine pronged can-delabra that we light today in our houses. Many people refer to their hanukiyah as a meno-rah.

Shemen Zayyit שמן זית Olive oil. We light our menorah only with olive oil. The miracle of Hanukah was how the only thimble of pure olive oil lasted the entire week it took to make more pure olive oil.

of existence, a pedestal that could only be prolonged by sustainable and deep-root-ed cultural devotion. With a united and dedicated front, no enemy stood a chance. We can learn a few lessons from Channukah – every Jewish holiday has some edible novelty to it. Doughnuts and latkes! But more importantly, we see that the Channukah candles t h a t burn bright

represent much more than a light source because the sun’s rays recede at a much

earlier hour in the day. (In fact, we are not sup-posed to gain any benefit from the light emitting from the candles – the light’s beauty and mean-ing is enough!) The light represents a Jew’s ac-ceptance to lead a di-vinely-inspired life, the responsibility that

no matter the degree of dark-ness, it is our responsibility to see the light in everything. Whether that light will last for one day or continue for a miraculous eight nights is our charge. By learning to-gether from past prototypes like the Maccabees and seek-ing assistance from peers, we can brighten our daily ex-periences and infuse mean-ing into everything we do. To that end, NYU of-

fers a variety of channukah-related activities on campus, including the Yachad Chanu-kah event, communal light-ings every night throughout campus, a special commu-nal lighting in Washington Square Park, and special yummy treats. The commu-nal lighting is a rare show-case of the wide variety of NYU Jews gathering to relive the miracle of channukah and be part of its lasting his-tory. To truly be a lagoyim, a light unto the nations, unity is a quintessential quality that starts and begins with every individual. Channukah allows us to recognize those unique talents and channel them into something lasting a n d meaningful.

Maccabee מכבים The Maccabee army led the rebellion against the Greeks. Their founder was Judah the Maccabee. His family later ag-gregated monarchial power to their already establish priestly power as the Hasmonean Dy-nasty.

Greek (Yevani) יוניLight (Ohr) אורDark (Choshech) חושך

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees2. Mix together the sweet potato, onion, eggs & pepper until well combined.3. Heat the oil over medium heat until it shimmers, and spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture per latke into the hot oil. Flatten down with a fork. 4. Fry for 5-8 minutes until golden brown, flip and cook on other side.5. Sprinkle with salt and set aside on lined baking sheet with paper towels.6. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes7. Serve hot with applesauce and yogurt. Enjoy!

Fried food is traditionally eaten on Hanukkah in com-memoration of the oil that miraculously burned for

eight days when the Maccabees purified and rededicated the holy Temple in Jerusalem. While traditional lat-kes are made form regular potatoes, this creative twist makes a wonderful addition to the Hanukkah table!

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled & grated

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt1 cup applesauce

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 eggs

½ onion, grated

Sweet Potato

LatkesSteps

4

By Cynthia Blank

We sat at a picnic table in Williamsburg, under the Brooklyn Bridgewatching Hasidic Jews chanting, and casting their sins away, into water.

The lights of Manhattan rained downon us, and them, and there was no difference between us.

For one night we shared ancestors of ancient scrolls, and prophecies still waiting to come true.

Fireworks exploded across the river, as if God were expressing his anger and magnanimity in one solitary act,

enveloping us with the kind of love, you tell me is impossible to describe or quantify.

I got up and threw bread, flimsily, hoping it would driftfar enough into the endless waterto meet you on the other side of the world.

[Note] I wrote this after spending a night in Brooklyn the night before Yom Kippur. I went to the river to sit and saw what I guess you could call a spectacle of Hasidic Jews doing Tashlich. It was really beautiful to see what I consider a beautiful ritual of Judaism happening with so many people. It really made me feel a connec-tion to past as well as future and that sort of brought this poem into being

Yom Kippur is the celebration of the Day of Atonement. This year we celebrated it from sundown on Friday October 7th till night of Saturday October 8th. The tradition of "tashlich" is when we throw (tashlich) our piec-es of bread, which represent our sins, into the water to be consumed by fish. Many Jews in Brooklyn gather by the bay to perform this ritual cleansing, usually on the afternoon of the start of the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) ten days before Yom Kippur.

Cynthia Blank is a Junior in CAS studying Dramatic Literature and Creative Writing. She has been writing po-etry since she was 14 years old 5

BeatinghearTs

religious background, and finally the birthright program with trips to Israel for first-time visi-tors to experience Jewish culture spirituality in the Holy Land led by Rabbi Korn. With the growth and success of Chabad at NYU Rabbi Korn is looking forwarding to expanding and moving from

27 Washington Square Park North this year to a beautiful new building located on Bowery between 3rd and 4th. The new space will host a synagogue, conference room, dining hall, and a library. Rabbi Korn said, “We would like to have multiple Shabbat dinners at a time, for example, one meal for students, one for alumni. This new build-ing will allow for that and for many programs to take place simultaneously. We definitely need this new space, we are so excited for it!” What does chabad means to the students at NYU? Accord-ing to Rabbi Korn “Everyone has their own direction in life but Chabad creates Jewish life for everyone, we have no agenda of who to target we just want to help Jews connect in their own ways and feel that they are ac-cepted here. Chabad is all about the love of learning, Torah, and

working diligently on develop-ing more post graduating pro-gramming and ways for alumni to stay in touch. “Here [at Chabad] we are about building relationships. It is not just when you are here you are involved and then you leave and it’s all gone, we want to build relationships that will last forever.”

NEWCHABAD

6 7

Before arriving at NYU I constantly heard students

speaking about Chabad. Even more than they spoke about what classes they took, what extra curricular actitivties they planned on joining, Chabad was constantly a main topic of con-versation. I would always hear them say things like “Chabad is great because you see people who are not in your classes and have not seen them all week” or “It’s so crazy that no matter how many people show up to Chabad, there is never a shortage of food.” Upon arriving at NYU I finally got to experience Chabad for myself. The Chabad house, run by Rabbi Korn, provides a commu-nity within the NYU community that welcomes young Jews of all backgrounds and enhances their Jewish identity. At the young age of fifteen, Rabbi Korn was quite an inquisitive young man and began to question the purpose of life and search for the meaning of existence. It was during his col-lege years at Yeshiva University where Rabbi Korn was drawn to Chabad and its mission to unite all Jews and foster their con-nection to Judaism. Rabbi Korn has embraced the Chabad way of life and has been reaching out to Jews in lower Manhattan for the last 14 years – initially in the community at large and more re-cently with a direct focus on NYU

and educational events, including: Shabbat and holiday meals for hundreds of students with home-made (prepared each week by Rabbi Korn’s wife with help from NYU students) and traditional Jewish dishes, the Kosher Dining Club, a new club where students have the opportunity to try out different high-end kosher restau-rants around Manhattan together with Rabbi Korn an active chesed (loving-kindness) volunteer program with organized weekly hospital and senior citizens visits, and The JHP - Jewish Heritage Program - which hosts parties, professional speakers, art clubs, community service, and book clubs all with a Jewish lens, the Sinai Scholars program provid-ing an introduction to religion for those who do not have any

students. Rabbi Korn says, “About ten years ago when my wife and I started Chabad at NYU, the first year I came here it was crazy, just crazy, so many random Jews.” Chabad has grown by leaps and bounds over the years at NYU. “I still remember the first Friday night dinner we had three people at the chabad house, says Rabbi Korn. “Now the largest crowd we have had at Chabad is probably close to 280 people!” Rabbi Korn is, and continues to be the driving force behind the NYU/ chabad relationship. Today Chabad offers a variety of programs and activi-ties to the student body at NYU with funding from students, parents, and alumni. Popular programs include both social

Israel.” I asked a fellow classmate of the freshman class at NYU what chabad means to her. Saman-tha responded, “ For me, Chabad is a place to turn to when you’re in need of spiritual guidance or just a taste of home.” Another student, a sophomore at

NYU said “Chabad is a second home to me and my friends; if it weren’t for the incredible love that rabbi and Sarah Korn constantly exude, I don’t know where, at least, I would stand today in all aspects of my overall life.” Chabad has a strong and everlasting impact

on many Jewish communities over the world. No matter one’s background or denomination he/she is always welcome at Chabad. Every holiday, Cha-bad brings Jewish com-munities together with its fun and memorable moments. The desire to connect with other Jewish students and people is what draws so many people to become consistently involved with Cha-bad. Rabbi Korn assures us that Chabad is not just a “college thing.” Once students graduate NYU they are en-couraged to stay involved. Rabbi Korn is

The synagogue in the new building.

The dining hall in the new building.

HOUSETHE

Birthright now,” one announced. “I want a career in marketing now,” another asserted. What did I feel? I felt that, through all of my hard work and efforts, I, in many ways, came out of the sum-mer as an entirely new person—and I needed that. I gained a sense of who I am through my professional experience, interactions with others, and my growing desire to do more and more good for the world in my own way. I came in alone, as a qualified summer intern. I came out of the experience together with friends and an entirely new network. I came out of it with a fresh out-look on my wishes in life and my

future mission as a Jewish leader, whether lay or professional. Thanks to CLIP, I’m thrilled to say that the faith that I have in my generation is growing exponentially, regardless of how much my generation is criticized for “not caring.” I saw the zeal for giving and improving the world each and every day from my colleagues this summer—that’s what keeps me going forward. My experience and encour-agement from others during CLIP forever granted me the tools and confidence I need in order to become one of the many future influential Jew-ish leaders.

professionally and building our social networks at our internship locations, we developed person-ally through our weekly semi-nars. Touching on various topics, ranging from career development to Israel, each seminar proved enriching as we dynamically and respectfully exchanged ideas with one another. From one heated debate to another, I realized that we don’t always need a revolution in order to be successful. We all have the passion and potential to become great leaders if we just take the time to sit down, give and learn from one another. As I collected my thoughts during our final seminar together, I listened to my peers’ summer reflections. “I am signing up for

our differences, our group simply meshed from the get go—we all knew that—and that further al-lowed me to observe how incred-ible, selfless, and thoughtful my generation is. Throughout the ten weeks, aside from growing

“Your generation just doesn’t care,” my management

professor exclaimed to his class last semester. “Sixties kids were ‘revolutionary’—what are you?” I heard that sort of talk of-ten growing up. I tried not to lis-ten, but after years of hearing it, I just couldn’t help but concede to what appeared to be common belief. Maybe there is no hope for my generation. Maybe we don’t have the passion to change our environment like our par-ents did back then. Maybe we just don’t have as much of a desire to make the world a better place. Could it be? I went into the Collegiate Leadership Internship Program (CLIP) this past summer with those doubts resonating in my head. I needed to somehow restore confidence in my genera-tion and, fortunately, with the help of my remarkable fellow CLIPterns, CLIP coordinators, and colleagues at the Jewish Fed-erations of North America, I did. I remember when all of us interns began. We were a motley crew thrown together with a sin-gle common link: a Jewish root—whatever that meant to each of us. Whether loud or reserved,

89

CLIP-ingForward{a revolutionary generation}

liberal or traditional, Reconstruc-tionist, Reform, Conservative or Orthodox, we all had strong characters and beliefs, but still such an eagerness to learn and to gain a newfound appreciation for where we came from and whom we aspire to become. Despite

A publicating by the students of New York Universityin collaboration with Hillel