A Taste of the JLIC Fellows’ Experience in SUNY Albany

In the first Shabbos back after vacation we saw a very nice turnout for all the events of the weekend. Friday night saw our largest minyan of the year with a good number of women also representing. Dinner numbers were above average. Divrei Torah focused on the Kiddush Hashem of Jews in the Media during the last couple weeks, and urged a student effort in response to the earthquake in Haiti. The Oneg Friday night saw a nice increase in participation as well as many more students had time this early in their semester to stay and sing and share words of Torah with us. Shabbos day was truly the day of the minyan men. After davening Shachrit and finally musaf with only 9 present, 2 students came in and saved the day allowing for Torah to be read, Baruch HaGomel to be said, and for a special guest maftir to be said. All in all, it was a strong Davening experience with lots of singing and divrei Torah as we kept our hopes alive for our minyan. Lunch with Chabad was it’s usual feast with great divrei Torah and conversation, and the afternoon was marked by informal learning between students and educators. Saturday night we inagurated a new program for the Spring semester. SNL&L (Saturday Night Latte and Learning) was attended by a small but very enthusiastic group seeking to have an authentic dialog with Classic Jewish text on the topic of Mipnei Darche Shalom. In the aftermath of Haiti we sought to find out if Humanitarian Aid was simply a secular human value, or if there was also an intrinsic religious obligation. We examined both voices in tradition, that of Mishum Eiva and the broader voice expressed best by Rambam of Tzelem Elokim and walking in the ways of G-d. When the class ended students stayed for more informal dialog and a few games of Foosball. Sunday afternoon the women of the campus community (along with Nisa) joined up with other women from the larger area Jewish community for a day of learning and relaxation at the annual Spa for Body & Soul. The featured speaker, Jessica Klein Levenbrown who is a TV writer and producer who has been involved with TV shows including “90210”, “Just Deal” and “Scout’s Safari” spoke on the topic “More than Meets the Eye – Embracing Inner Change.” The event also included health, beauty, fitness and study workshops and a buffet Lunch.