86 | MAY 20 • 2021 

continued from page 84

for college students 
by college students

on campus started to take a 
turn for the worse. It’s safe to 
say that it was an emotional 
year for everyone, especially 
within the MSU Jewish com-
munity, so Spartans for Israel 
really wanted to go out with 
a bang. We wanted to cele-
brate our wonderful students 
and to celebrate Israel in a 
completely unadulterated 
fashion. What better way 
to do that than to hold the 
first week of fully in-person 
events through the MSU 
Hillel? 
Israel Week took place 
around two weeks before 
the end of the semester. The 
theme was Friends (like the 
famous ’90s sitcom). Our slo-
gan was “the one where they 
celebrated all week long” and 
celebrate we did! The weath-
er was perfect, except for a 
couple of cloudy afternoons, 
and the student turnout was 
even better. Hundreds of stu-
dents attended our week of 
events — for some students, 
this was even their first time 
seeing old friends since the 
start of the pandemic. I was 
shocked to realize that it was 
my first time meeting certain 
students on the Spartans 
for Israel eboard in person 
after speaking with them on 
countless Zooms. 
The in-person program-
ming started with a drive-
in movie where students 
gathered to watch the 
Adam Sandler classic Don’t 
Mess with the Zohan. The 
following day, we had stu-
dent-run businesses set up 
stands in downtown East 
Lansing to emulate a shuk 
(Israeli marketplace). This 
attracted many Jewish stu-
dents, as well as passersby, 

some who had never heard 
of our Spartans for Israel 
community. Next, we had 
an outdoor vigil for Yom 
Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial 
Day) where we lit candles, 
listened to a couple of songs 
and shared stories of indi-
viduals who have perished 
during service. The next 
event was the climax of Israel 
Week — our Yom Ha’atzmaut 
(Israeli Independence Day) 
celebration. Around 80 stu-
dents filtered through the 
Hillel parking lot to play 
carnival games, eat blue and 
white cupcakes and enjoy a 
custom-made falafel dinner 
from a local food truck. We 
finished the week on Friday 
with the first in-person 
Shabbat since September. 
Students sat with their “pods” 
under a tent in the Hillel 
parking lot to enjoy good 
food and better company! 
Student turnout for all the 
Israel Week events combined 
was close to 400 individuals. 
Israel Week touched my 
heart in a way that is hard 
to explain, as did the sup-
port and hard work of the 
Hillel staff and the Spartans 
for Israel team. As I stated 
before, it has been a deeply 
emotional year. This week 
of in-person programming 
felt like a preview of the year 
to come — a year filled with 
celebration and (hopefully) a 
year less burdened by a glob-
al pandemic. Israel Week felt 
like a little light at the end of 
this long and winding tunnel, 
the taste of normalcy that we 
had all been craving. @

Pelli Mechnikov of Huntington 

Woods is a member of MSU’s 

Class of 2023. 

Mazel T
ov!

Josh Taylor

You are our ROCK STAR!!!!
You live your life with endless love, 
compassion, empathy, and the highest 
moral values. We are super proud of 
you. You are a blessing!! Enjoy your 
college years! You deserve it.
 Love Always,
Bubbie & Papa

CANTOR SAMUEL
GREENBAUM 
— Certified Mohel —

855ABoy@gmail.com

Office: (248) 547-7970

Answering all of your anesthetic 
& aftercare needs.

(248) 417-5632 

Skill, Sensitivity and Tradition 
come together to create your special Bris.

For more information visit 
www.emich.edu/jewish-studies 
or email jewish.studies@emich.edu

T
 e Eastern Michigan 
University Center 
for Jewish Studies
of
 ers classes in Jewish life and culture, both 
on-campus and on the road (in places as close 
as New York City and as far away as Germany, 
Poland, Spain, and Israel). We sponsor faculty 
and student research—including the ground-
breaking project, Jewish Life and Language 
in Southeast Michigan. We are responsible 
for a lecture series, which, over the years, has 
brought students and community members 
together to sample latkes for Hanukkah, taste 
“kosher soul” food, dance to klezmer music, 
laugh at “Old Jews Telling Jokes,” and sing 
with Israeli singer-songwriters.

Congrats 
Graduates!

