On Campus
Resource Driven
Jewish Resource Center tops
programming with Israel trips.
Andrew Landau
Special to the Jewish News
Ann Arbor
n Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers),
our sages state: "As the effort, so is
the reward!' As the new year is upon
us, we all have the chance to decide how
we would like grow in the coming year.
As a former student of the University of
Michigan, I know the difficulties of bal-
ancing a hectic schedule with the desire of
keeping a close connection to my Jewish
heritage.
Fortunately, Jewish students in Ann
Arbor have a special home away from
home, the Jewish Resource Center (JRC)/
Jewish Awareness America, where Jews of
all backgrounds can come to learn more
about their history, make great friends,
and, of course, enjoy great food.
I have been lucky to have been involved
with the JRC over the past five years. This
organization has opened its doors and
allowed students to gain a deeper under-
standing of their religion and a renewed
sense of their cultural heritage.
Imagine a Shabbat dinner where you
have students from all walks of life, enjoy-
ing fresh-baked challah, singing Jewish
songs and enjoying the beauty of Shabbat.
Imagine a program where students can
interact with the Jewish community, learn
the history of their own religion and lay
the groundwork to continue their Jewish
education. Imagine dancing around the
Western Wall with 25 of your new best
friends, truly feeling connected to Israel.
All of these experiences can be found at
the JRC.
Luckily, this December, the JRC is spon-
soring two fantastic (and cheap) trips.
One trip will be leaving for Israel on Dec.
16 and returning home on Dec. 30. For
$499, a student can visit Israel (whether
for the first time or 10th time; all are
welcome) and meet new friends, see the
sites and experi-
ence what Israel is
truly about.
There is also
a trip (with lim-
ited availability)
where you can go Rabbi Avrahom Jacobovitz, JRC director, Rabbi Fully
to New York City
Eisenberger, assistant director, and Rabbi Shneur Steinberg,
from Dec. 21-28,
program director.
for $199, includ-
ing flights and get
immersed in Jewish culture and educa-
tion. Both of these trips include lodging,
food and all pertinent activities.
For students who want to learn more
about themselves, others or Judaism, this
is a great opportunity. Please e-mail Rabbi
Fully Eisenberger at Rabbif@umich.edu
for more information.
As we continue on with the new year, I
look forward to everyone growing person- Rabbi Fully Eisenberger and freshman
ally, professional and spiritually. Attending Will Klibanow of Highland Park, Ill., post
a mezuzah on the doorpost of the Sigma
one of these trips is definitely a great way
Alpha Mu fraternity house at U-M.
to start on your journey. ❑
An Alternative Break
MSU students find a way to get some sun and do some good.
MSU students re-sort
library books at a Jewish
community center outside
of Buenos Aires in March.
From left are Hannah
Engelson of Birmingham,
Julia Glucksman of Los
Angeles, Jillian Levine of
Farmington Hills, Hannah
Kamil of Commerce,
Lindsey Schoenberger of
West Bloomfield, Emily
Engelson of Birmingham,
Michelle Ellis of West
Bloomfield and MSU
Israel Fellow Yuval Ben
Hai.
Daniel Kuhn
Special to the Jewish News
East Lansing
S
ome students elect to make some
extra cash over winter break.
Come spring break time, some
choose a "traditional" break with too
much sun and too much of many other
things. A growing number, though, are
taking a new route by spending their time
with Michigan State University Hillel's
Alternative Breaks.
More and more universities have stu-
dent groups that offer student travelers a
more unique opportunity to spend their
much-needed time off to learn and volun-
teer, to give back to a community and get
a warm experience.
MSU Hillel's first Alternative Break
traveled to New Orleans in the spring of
2006. The trip was planned by students
who wanted to do what they could to
help repair the minds and homes of New
Orleans following the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina.
Students did relief work, including gut-
ting, clearing and rebuilding homes. A
Hillel staff member with a background
in social work even counseled victims
who had suffered trauma. For one week,
these Spartans slept on the floor of the
University of Tulane Hillel and worked
during the day.
Renee Lieberman, currently an MSU
graduate student who participated in the
New Orleans trip, recalls having to wear
airtight suits from head to toe due to the
asbestos and black mold. "It was one of
the hardest things I have ever had to do,
both emotionally and physically; she said.
"As we were gutting this house, we
found numerous valuables that could not
be salvaged: water-logged photos, baby
clothes and toys, personal items!'
One moment she will never forget was
finding among the debris a crystal cross
that a family had said meant a lot to them.
Trips to Uruguay (spring 2007) and
Argentina (2008) not only took MSU's
Jewish students to warm destinations,
but to the warmth of a Latin-American
Jewish community. For some, it was an
opportunity to be away from home with
something oddly familiar.
In Uruguay, students spent time vol-
unteering in the Jewish day school and
elderly center. The group celebrated Purim
with the local community.
Former MSU student and current MSU
Hillel Program Director Jessica Katz was
excited to visit a foreign country with a siz-
able Jewish population.
"We went and heard the megillah at
the synagogue. The rabbi's sermon was in
Spanish, but the rest of the service was in
Hebrew;' said Katz. "It was cool to know
what was going on because it's the same
words anywhere in the world!'
The last alternative break taken was to
the largest Jewish community in South
America in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Students spent part of the trip in a small
village outside the city restoring an old
An Alternative on page C18
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November 6 • 2008
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