Check out this page to find out about some of the most successful programs and events at Brown RISD Hillel over the past few months! From Congressional visits to Salvador Dali exhibits, we had a little something for everyone last semester. For the latest updates about Hillel life, we invite you to check out our the rest of our website or sign up for our twitter feed!

Hillel By The Numbers!

73... students traveled to Israel this January on our Taglit-Birthright Israel trip

20... Hebrew lunches during the fall semester

300... attendees at the opening of Salvador Dali's "Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel"

62... challahs sold to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank this semester

Students on our January Taglit-Birthright Israel Trip

• Seventy three students - the most ever from Brown and RISD! - traveled to Israel on Brown RISD Hillel's Taglit-Birthright Israel trip this month. To read more about their experiences in Israel, please visit our blog. 
• In partnership with the Brown Democrats, Brown Students for Israel brought Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) to campus to speak about the peace process. Four hundred students filled Salomon 101, followed by a VIP reception with Rep. Frank in the new Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center.  
• Student groups also hosted talks by Ishamel Khaldi (Israel's first Bedouin diplomat), Herb Keinon (an editor of The Jerusalem Post), Colonel Richard Kemp (former commander of British troops in Afghanistan), and Oded Naaman (a former Israeli soldier). 
• Other highlights included twice weekly Hebrew learning lunches with our local Israeli shlicha (cultural emissary), a new Israel hevruta (partner learning) about Israeli culture, history, and politics, and a new Israeli folk dancing group, Rikudei Am. 

Student Leaders with Rep. Barney Frank

• We were thrilled to be the second stop on a nationwide tour of Salvador Dali's "Aliyah: The Rebirth of Israel" collection, which portrays the history of the Jewish people's return to their homeland on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in 1968.  Over 1000 people took in the exhibit while it graced the walls of Hillel's year-round gallery. The exhibit was featured in Brown's first-ever ArtsWalk, a study break tour of five Brown galleries.
• At December's Hanukkah Bash, Hillel's two musical groups, the Alef Beats (a capella) and Yarmulkazi (klezmer) joined 13 other performing groups from across campus to entertain over 250 students over the course of the three-hour show. 

Students Check out the Dali Exhibit on Opening Night

Picking Up Local Produce from Market Shares

During the fall semester, Brown RISD Hillel has hosted a variety of learning opportunities on a range of exciting topics.

• Holiday-based learning opportunities led by Rabbi Rackover and student teachers provided important contextual meaning prior to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, and Sukkot. Additionally, Brown alum Shira Wolosky provided her own twist with a lecture entitled, "Harry Potter and Tshuva: Remorse and Renewal."
• Weekly learning sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays  gave students the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of speakers, from Professor Maud Mandel in Brown's Judaic Studies department to Judy Klitsner, a faculty member at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.
• Along with 300 other Jewish communities worldwide, Hillel participated in the Global Day of Jewish Learning in November. Hillel hosted students, staff, faculty, and community members as they learned about "The Unity of the Jewish People and Shema."

• In November, Brown RISD Hillel hosted its third annual Speed Dating and Friend Finding event.  Over 50 students gathered in the social hall for the opportunity to meet new friends (and maybe their beshert!).
• The Glenn and Darcy Weiner Center has also become a hotbed of meditation this year, hosting six of eight weekly yoga classes offered by Brown's Yoga and Mindfulness organization. 
• Over 600 students came through Brown RISD Hillel's doors for the annual Orientation BBQ.  An activities fair showcased the different student groups under Hillel's umbrella.

The Brothers of AEPi Grilling at the Annual Orientation Barbeque