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for college students by college students

Sept. 2, 2010 / 23 ELUL 5770

Jewish
Journey

Life-Altering

Young Judaea
Year Course offers
real connection
to Israel.

Hillel made the
connection come
alive for EMU
student.

By Jessica Curhan

With Rosh Hashanah right
around the corner, I cannot
help but remember what

By Nelson Grossman

When I think about my life

as a Jewish young adult, my
thoughts return to my child-

I was doing exactly a year
ago. Everyone in my 16-girl

hood in South Euclid, Ohio. I
grew up in community with

apartment woke up at two in
the morning and went "shul-
hopping" in Jerusalem to say
special prayers in prepara-

few Jewish families. My own
family was only peripherally

involved in anything Jewish.

tion for Rosh Hashanah, also
known as Slichot.

If we did participate in Jewish
life, it was the rare time we
went to a "catch-all" single

I then remember walking

toward the Kotel to watch the
sunrise as I ate fresh rugelach.
Like dipping apples into honey
for the new year, I knew this

service for the High Holidays.
During my college search,

the only things I considered
were the academic programs

experience in Israel would be
filled with sweetness.

offered. Jewish life was the
furthest thing from my mind.

Instead of attending uni-

Fast forward to the present.
I am now 21 and the founding
president of the brand new

versity right after I graduated
from Frankel Jewish Academy

Alma College

in West Bloomfield, I decided
to go on Young Judaea Year

Student Advisory Board (SAB)

of Hillel at Eastern Michigan
University in Ypsilanti. My

primary role as president is to
lead my fellow board mem-

bers so that we can connect

Jewish students at Eastern
with the Jewish campus com-

2.. Cent-cal ailic4iga4

Course, a nine-month gap-year
program. Through this pro-
gram (under the umbrella of

•.Universily •

L .Michigan StAte

Hadassah), I traveled and lived
in three very different cities —

• UniversityEast -

Jerusalem, Bat Yam and Arad
— where I volunteered and

4 Albiott College

munity. We are responsible
for showing them the great

opportunities created by peers

who are actively involved with
Jewish campus life.

As if that wasn't enough
involvement, with Hillel at
EMU's support, we have

studied. Within these cities, I
lived in apartments where my

„

•lamazoo

6. Grand'V4lley Stag
University

-

neighbors were typical Israeli
families. Through this program,
I created lifelong friendships,

OM*

matured into a confident adult
and fell in love with the land
of milk and honey.

H-Cam supports Hillels at these Michigan colleges.

revitalized the Epsilon Mu

colony of the Alpha Epsilon Pi
fraternity at EMU and I am its

first vice president. This gives

me the opportunity to connect
EMU's Jewish young men who

might not have had a strong

Jewish upbringing, like I did,
or are simply interested in

exploring a Jewish social life
with a Jewish community.

How did I go from barely
Jewish to super-active Jewish

EMU student? Hillel at EMU
provided other Jewish stu-
dents like me with a warm

and supportive community. It

JOURNEY on page

102

103

September 2 • 2010

When I first landed in Israel,
I was in utter shock. Not
so much culture shock, but

Sharing The Wealth

rather the shock of living with
strangers and having my fam-

ily across the ocean. It also

New Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan helps grow
programming at smaller colleges.

took me some time to finally
realize that I was not a tourist
in Israel. Instead of going to
the shuk (market) to simply

By Ilene Crane

s the president of Hillel at Central
Michigan University, a school with a
relatively small Jewish student popula-
tion, I sometimes find it difficult to locate
resources to develop programs to make our Hillel the
best it can be. That's where H-CAM comes in.
H-CAM, or Hillel Campus Alliance of Michigan,

A

is an alliance of several Hillels throughout Michigan
that includes Albion College, Alma College, Grand
Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Western
Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo
College and my school, CMU in Mt. Pleasant.
H-CAM, with its combined resources, is under

SHARING THE WEALTH on page

103

look around and try not to
get lost, I became one of the

pushy people carrying bags
of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Instead of rushing into stores

that had "great deals" on Ben
Yehuda Street, I was eating

YEAR COURSE on page

104