#hillel

[maimonidesnutz]

NEW DESIGN: Continuing the tradition of important rabbis (or figures) in contemporary garb, I present to you: Hillel the Elder in a flower crown! Why did I draw Hillel in a flower crown? Maybe it is because of his known kindness and openness…or maybe it’s just because I was feeling a little silly. Either way, now it’s an image that exists.

The text says “if not now, when?” from his famous teaching in Pirkei Avot: “If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?”

For me, it’s a movement. It means grounding, balance, and action. It’s a way to address both the joys and pitfalls that come into your life. It’s a way to expect them and move through them.

It’s more than a saying, it’s a way to live.

Available in many colors and styles! (Scroll down from the image to see all the products in the “similar products” field)

https://maimonides-nutz.creator-spring.com/listing/floral-hillel?

#jumblr #jewish #hillel #pirkei avot #if not now when #support jewish artists! #judaism #jewish art

[germiyahu]

There's something heinously ironic that so many SJP types attack Hillel chapters on campuses and slander them as breeding grounds of Zionist indoctrination and racism. The conspiracy that Hillel chapters must be secret Hasbara Fascist propaganda centers.

To see the great Sage's name besmirched when he is the reason Jews are so tolerant, compassionate, empathetic, open to debate and new ideas... I mean how many of my fellow goyim even knew who Hillel was before we started to convert? So I don't expect them to get it. But now that I do know, the irony is not lost on me.

Imagine Shammai had bested Hillel in their epic rivalry, how dogmatic and rigid Judaism might be today, and all of world history would probably be different. Like honestly, none of us would be here if you think about it. But what people accuse Jewish college students of secretly believing and plotting and planning... that would fit more into Shammai's worldview than Hillel's, and even then I feel that's a big disservice to Shammai.

Anyway, attacking Hillel chapters, as I see it, is more of this "Lol attention everyone here be ~liberal Zionists~ who pretend to care about human rights while secretly cheering at every dead Palestinian!" nonsense, and it plays into the "Jews were supposed to be the Leftist Religion," narrative as well.

They hate that there are active proud visibly Jewish groups on campuses who are committed to learning and liberal arts and all that jazz. They hate to see Jews inhabit the same spaces they do, dare to identify with their politics and academic values, but still stubbornly cling to a unique Jewish identity. What frauds. They must be fundraising for the IDF! They must be manufacturing Skunk for secret Mossad plants to throw at JVP demonstrators!

Holocaust victims were creating minyanim with trees and you think having your little die-ins at the entrances of Hillel meetings will deter Jews from meeting and celebrate being Jewish? You poor fools.

#jumblr #israel #antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #hillel #this isn't a reaction to anything that happened recently #but in hindsight there has been so much slander on this website and others against hillel chapters #most of them don't even do anything or say anything they just exist in the corner and the sjp warriors were mad as hell

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

Dean of Students Mona Dugo said she showed up at the rally on Monday to support anti-Israel activists’ "right to protest" and to "protect the right to free speech," according to the Daily Northwestern.

Protest organizers demanded that the university end its relationship with Hillel, a 100-year-old nonprofit group that operates Jewish community centers on campuses around the world, including Northwestern. The protest took place during Northwestern’s Admitted Students Day, which seeks to introduce incoming students to campus life.

"[Hillel] is one of the many ways in which this university is complicit in infusing Jewishness with Zionism," one protest organizer said in a speech at the rally.

A leaflet handed out by protesters accused Northwestern of "funneling Jewish students into Hillel, the Zionist ‘foundation for Jewish life.’" It also claimed the school "weaponizes claims of anti-Semitism on campus to silence pro-Palestinian activism."

Protesters also accused Israel of "genocide" and called on Northwestern to end any relationships with "Zionist companies."

The protest comes as alumni have accused Northwestern president Michael Schill of allowing anti-Semitism to proliferate on campus, where anti-Israel protesters have raised the Hamas flag at student demonstrations. During Northwestern’s Martin Luther King Jr. memorial ceremony in February, a speaker accused Israel of "genocide" as Schill sat silently in the audience, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Earlier this year, the Department of Education opened an investigation into alleged anti-Jewish incidents at the school. Last month, Jewish students also urged Congress to launch an inquiry into the university.

#mona dugo #dean of students #northwestern university #hillel #zionists #genocide

[ohmy80s]

Anthony Kiedis & Hillel Slovak

#red hot chili peppers #80s #90s #anthony kiedis #hillel

[simcha-is-a-mitzvah]

Jewish simcha is finally having continuity in Hillel after a couple years of mess

Very good indeed, having a good community is such a blessing. I'm so happy for you!

#jumblr #judaism #jewish #am yisrael chai #hillel #jewish joy

[ameliathefatcat]

As a college bonded senior here is my piece of advice for other college bonded seniors and college students.

For non Jewish students please support your Jewish friends and classmates and attend Hillel events. Be an ally and get free food. All are welcome at Hillel (just be respectful) according to their website but you should reach out to your school’s Hillel just to be safe. It would probably make your Jewish friends day if you ask them about Hillel and if you can go with them

Im telling all of my non Jewish classmates to go to Hillel to be an ally. So im like this irl

#jewish #jumblr #Hillel #Jewish college students #if you feel uncomfortable going there it might be you who’s the problem

[gay-jewish-bucky]

(via Hillel International on Instagram)

#jumblr #jewish #judaism #lgbt jews #pride month #queer jews #jewblr #hillel #hillel international #lgbt #lgbt+ #lgbtq #lgbtq+ #lgbtqia+ #queer #lgbtqia #trans #gay #lesbian #bisexual #transgender #enby #nonbinary #asexual #pansexual

[alantudykstan]

I’m not Jewish but maybe I won’t be alone anymore. Looking forward to the 25th.

#antisemitism #jumblr #Hillel #Instagram

[eretzyisrael]

by Dion J. Pierre

The University of Pennsylvania’s Hillel chapter announced that it will hold a “massive” Shabbat event this Friday in response to a controversial festival taking place on campus that will feature a gamut of anti-Zionist activists who have promoted antisemitic tropes and called for violence against Israel.

“We will be inviting students from across campus — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — to join us for a night celebrating Jewish pride, unity, and togetherness,” the Ivy League school’s Hillel said in an open letter posted on social media. “Prominent politicians and Penn alumni will be coming to celebrate along with hundreds of students, to show — contrary to what antisemites like Roger Waters would have us believe — that Jewish Penn students will NEVER stop showing their pride in Israel, their Jewish identity, heritage, and beliefs.”

Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman, is a scheduled speaker at the “Palestine Writes Literature Festival,” which the University of Pennsylvania is set to host from Friday through Sunday. In recent years, Waters has made comments about “Jewish power” and compared Israel to Nazi Germany. In May, during a concert held in Berlin, he performed in what looked like a Nazi SS officer uniform. A projection that played during the concert also compared Holocaust victim Anne Frank to Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh — who was accidentally shot and killed last year while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank — and the show was deemed as “deeply offensive to Jewish people.”

Another speaker listed on the festival’s itinerary, Palestinian researcher Salman Abu Sitta, previously said during an interview that “Jews were hated in Europe because they played a role in the destruction of the economy in some of the countries, so they would hate them.”

Islamic University of Gaza professor Refaat Alareer — who said in 2018, “Are most Jews evil? Of course they are.” — was initially scheduled to speak. However, StopAntisemitism, a nonprofit organization that tracks antisemitic incidents and hate crimes around the world, reported last week that Alareer had been removed from the speakers’ lineup.

The festival itinerary includes a host of other speakers who have praised terrorism against Israel and spoken out against Zionism.

In response to the festival, the University of Pennsylvania’s Hillel wrote in its letter that it has three goals for Friday’s event, which is titled the “Shabbat Together Event.” They include a guarantee that Jewish students will not be forced to attend “Palestine Writes” against their will, excluding speakers “who espouse explicit anti-Jewish hate,” and the removal of Penn branding from the event as well as the issuance of statements condemning the “antisemitic backgrounds” of certain speakers.

The letter also said that the school’s Hillel — which is part of a larger Jewish campus organization for college students — is “grateful for the holy work of supporting Jewish life at the University of Pennsylvania, and knows that there is great work to continue to do together in the new year.”

According to the school’s Hillel, the group recently met with high-level university administrators to discuss “Palestine Writes,” explaining that some of the listed speakers made them feel “less safe” on campus and presenting a list of “demands, asks, and suggestions.”

UPenn Hillel’s message came as Susan Abulhawa, executive director of the “Palestine Writes” festival, publicized a letter she had written earlier this month to the university’s leadership amid backlash over the event. In her letter, Abulhawa claimed that Palestinians are indigenous to the land of Israel and have “encompassed many identities over millennia — including religious identities of Judaism, Christianity, Islam,” which critics have argued is an apparent attempt to appropriate Jewish history and identity.

Abulhawa has previously accused Israel of committing “a dozen kristallnachts [sic],” referring to the infamous pogrom carried out against Jews in Nazi Germany in November 1938. Abulhawa’s viewpoints are so controversial that a sponsor of an Australian festival she was scheduled to participate in pulled its support.

News of the “Palestine Writes” event has subjected the University of Pennsylvania, widely considered one of America’s elite institutions of higher education, to sharp criticism from the American Jewish community.

Earlier this month, US House Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called on the school to move the event off campus, saying in a letter to its president that he is “dismayed that this is now occurring at my alma mater” and that “if the university’s goal is to promote mutual understanding and bring students together, it will fail so long as antisemites and anti-Israel advocates are given a platform to spew hate.”

Last week, Middle East experts and nonprofit leaders told The Algemeiner that the festival is an “Israel hate fest” and noted that City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center professor Marc Lamont Hill, a former associate of Louis Farrakhan who has accused Israeli police of training American officers to kill Black people, will be speaking there.

“Hill in particular is a longtime advocate of violence against Israel and staunch Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [BDS] supporter who was fired from CNN after a 2018 speech in which he called for the destruction of the Jewish state,” said Asaf Romirowsky, executive director of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa and Scholars for Peace in the Middle East. “Once again we are seeing how propaganda is masqueraded as ‘scholarship.’ UPenn should take a very careful look at where it draws the lines between free speech and hate speech, especially from individuals who have a track record of racism and antisemitism.”

The University of Pennsylvania did not respond to The Algemeiner’s requests for comment on the “Shabbat Together” event and Abulhawa’s letter.

The school responded to the criticism last week, however, issuing a statement to The Algemeiner signed by school president M. Elizabeth Magill, provost John L. Jackson, and dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Steven J. Fluharty.

“We unequivocally — and emphatically — condemn antisemitism as antithetical to our institutional values,” the statement said. “As a university, we also fiercely support the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission. This includes the expression of views that are controversial and even those that are incompatible with our institutional values.”

The high-level administrators added, “This public event is not organized by the university.”

Following the statement, StopAntisemitism accused the university officials of countenancing “Jew hatred” and called their response “pathetic.”

#palestine writes #university of pennsylvania #hillel #univesity of pennsylvania hillel #shabbat together

[argaman01]

"Free Palestine" demands at my college

The current version of the student Palestine movement has finally arrived at my college. Last month they held a protest demonstration when our Hillel and the interfaith chapel brought two speakers, an Israeli and a Palestinian, each to speak about their own take on the shared/divided history of Jews and Palestinians in the land. It wasn't really a dialogue, rather a side-by-side sharing of experiences and interpretations. I went to hear them and was left quite unhappy by what the Palestinian speaker had to say.

The protestors were also made unhappy, in their case by the mere presence of the Israeli speaker, whom they accused of being a "genocide supporter." They didn't disturb anyone going to hear the speakers, but held what a "boycott" demonstration in a nearby location. Nonetheless, a couple of the protestors came to hear the speakers for a while and then went to the protest. One of the signs at the protest was "genocide supporters not welcome." I wondered when I saw it whether they would consider me a genocide supporter. Other signs were typical of Palestine protests: "liberate Palestine" and "from the river to the sea Palestine will be free."

"Die-in" at the administration building

Today, the group broadcast clips of their protest from the foyer of the administration building (including a die-in), with the college president watching. A group of about 12-15 students sat in a circle clapping and chanting "free free Palestine." The student newspaper reported on the event and provided more detail - in addition to the free Palestine chant, they also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and “When a land is occupied, resistance is justified."

Are all kinds of resistance justified?

I find the third slogan particularly troubling. This is a slogan used at many pro-Palestine demonstrations. What kind of resistance is justified? Non-violent demonstrations or other actions? Strikes?

What violent actions are permissible? Taking up arms against the Israeli army? On October 7, when Hamas invaded Israel, they attacked Israeli soldiers in bases right on the border, and killed several hundred of them. In a war, soldiers kill and are killed - this is normal in war, and the law of armed conflict does not prohibit it.

What about terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians? Are they permissible? As we all know the Hamas fighters attacked, raped, mutilated, tortured, killed, and kidnapped Israeli and foreign civilians living in the kibbutzim along the border, in Sderot, and at the Nova party.

And who is doing the resisting? Is this slogan meant to apply to Palestinians living in Gaza or also to people in the US protesting the Israel-Hamas war? If the resistance is happening in the US, is violence an acceptable method? Would it be permissible to attack police who try to control pro-Palestinian demonstrations? Or damage government buildings? Or attack "Zionists," however they are defined? Would terrorist attacks be permissible in the United States?

This is the problem with a slogan that is completely open-ended, like "when a land is occupied, resistance is justified." There is potentially no limit to the tactics of resistance.

The first part of the slogan is also open to interpretation. What land is occupied? Does the slogan only apply to the land that Israel conquered in 1967 - the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights? Many of those protesting these days refer to Israel's 75-year occupation, going back to the founding of Israel in 1948, meaning that all of Israel is "occupied."

Good article to read on what resistance means:

"Even the Oppressed Have Obligations," by Michael Walzer, in The Atlantic, November 6, 2023. The tagline is: "Not every act of resistance is justified."

Student demands

These are their demands:

They want the president of the college to "issue a formal apology and statement wherein she acknowledges the ongoing genocide in Palestine."

They also want the college to allow for a "BDS audit of their finances."

And finally, "All Birthright trips being run through Hillel cease indefinitely."

On their Instagram page they wrote "we presented [the president] our three major demands and made it clear that the ... student body will not rest until our demands are met." (Is the whole student body represented by the group that protested today? I suspect not, considering how small the group was).

In the fall, after the October 7 attack by Hamas, the president issued a couple of statements expressing her concern for Jewish students and community (the statement referred to the attack as "terroristt"). She hasn't made any further statements since then. Personally, I don't think she has anything to apologize for. Expressing concern for the impact of the Hamas attack on the Jewish community is not a political statement, in my opinion.

What would a "BDS audit" of the college finances be? Part of BDS is divestment (that's the "D" of the acronym) - are they thinking of what the college endowment is invested in? I don't think the college president has the power either to audit the endowment's investments, or publicly disclose them - that's within the purview of the Board of Trustees.

As for their third demand - this would belong to the "boycott" part of the BDS demands, in this case, preventing Hillel from running trips to Israel through Birthright. I don't know if our Hillel actually runs Birthright trips now, but there are certainly students from my college who go on Birthright trips at various times through the year. Even if the college told our Hillel not to facilitate those trips, it would not prevent our students from going to Israel. They could simply apply to go on trips sponsored by other organizations.

I am definitely opposed to any boycott of Israel, especially to the academic boycott of Israel. I don't think the college should implement any of these steps, but I feel the most strongly about the last demand, because it would directly impact our Jewish students.

#support Jewish students #hillel #israel #palestine #protest #BDS #birthright #October 7

[gandalf-the-bean]

went nonverbal today in hillel at shabbat and that was honestly the best place for it. everyone here is so supportive and kind, like a family, and no one is pushing me to talk and is so accepting of it. after making sure i’m ok (i usually talk a whole lot) they didn’t push. they’re so lovely and i wanted to share the positivity

#jewish positivity #hillel #shabbat #happy #kindness #neurodivergent #nonverbal #autistic #audhd

[maimonidesnutz]

Hillel: put your right foot in Gentile: done Hillel: now take it out Gentile: ..Ok Hillel: put your other foot in, shake it all about Gentile: wait what? Hillel: what is hateful to you do not do to another Hillel: that's what it's all about

#Jumblr #hillel #Shabbat 31a #Talmud #Shammai #judaism

[socialist-microwave-laser]

has anybody written a beis hillel vs beis shammai romeo and juliet thing yet bc i think someone should

#jumblr #hillel #shammai #talmud

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Dion J. Pierre

Jewish and Israeli students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have warned in a new letter to university president Sally Kornbluth that radical anti-Zionism and intimidation of Jewish students on campus has become intolerable and reminiscent of Nazi Germany on the eve of the Holocaust.

The letter, shared on X/Twitter by MIT professor Retsef Levi, recounted an incident from Thursday in which students from the MIT Coalition Against Apartheid (CAA), a campus anti-Israel group, “physically prevented” them from attending class by forming a “blockade” of bodies in Lobby 7, a space inside the main entrance of the university. Non-students were invited to attend CAA’s demonstration, and together the entire group spent hours chanting “Intifada” — a term used to describe violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel — and declaring solidarity with Hamas.

“Instead of dispersing the mob or de-escalating the situation by rerouting all students from Lobby 7, Jewish students specifically were warned not to enter MIT’s front entrance due to a risk to their physical safety,” wrote the MIT Israel Alliance. “The onus to protect Jewish students should not be on the students themselves.”

Even after being threatened with suspension should they not disperse, the letter continued, CAA remained in Lobby 7, inviting more non-student protesters, which caused the university to issue through its emergency notification system a directive to “avoid” the area. The students added that a high-level official of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning vowed, in defiance of official orders, to protect any CAA students who continued the demonstration.

The MIT Israel Alliance said that by the end of the day, Jewish students were told to enter the university through its back entrance and avoid the campus’ Hillel building.

“On the 9th of November, on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which marked the beginning of the Holocaust, Jews at MIT were told to enter campus from back entrances and not to stay in Hillel for fear of their physical safety,” the group concluded. “We are seeing history repeating itself and Jews on MIT’s campus are afraid.”

When asked for comment, an MIT spokesperson told The Algemeiner that the school is closed in observance of Veterans Day, but MIT President Sally Kornbluth addressed the incident late Thursday after the MIT Israel Alliance issued its letter. Her statement did not mention antisemitism.

“I am deliberately not specifying the viewpoints, as the issue at hand is not the substance of the views but where and how they were expressed,” Kornbluth said, noting that Jewish and pro-Israel counter-protesters were also present in Lobby 7 and that all students were recently reminded of guidelines forbidding holding protests in the building. “Today’s protest — which became disruptive, loud, and sustained through the morning hours — was organized and conducted in defiance of those MIT guidelines and polices. Some students from both the protest and counterprotest may have violated other MIT policies, as well.”

Kornbluth added that protesters who remained after being told to leave will receive a non-academic suspension.

#mit #campus antisemitism #not safe for jews #sally kornbluth #hillel

[chai-af]

it’s the last night of chanukah! did you know that when deciding how to light the chanukah candles (increasing or decreasing), beit shammai and beit hillel had opposing views?

beit shammai and beit hillel were two main schools of thought within the ancient jewish legal tradition, who were tasked with interpreting jewish law and scriptures.

beit shammai focused on the days remaining of chanukah (starting at 8 and decreasing) while beit hillel views the increasing light as the growing holiness + celebration of the miracle of the oil. of course, beit hillel is more widely accepted today, however this doesn’t make beit shammai’s interpretation incorrect and both have valid reasons (see link below to read more about it). have a happy chanukah and happy holidays 🩵

hillel and shammai on chanukah lighting: https://www.ou.org/holidays/hillel_and_shammai_two_opinions/

#chanukah #hanukkah #judaism #jewish #jewish history #spirituality #jumblr #jew #archeology #history #hillel

[thelonelyjew]

#chag sameach #purim #chag purim sameach #hillel #shammai #jewish joke