Category: National Blog

No one likes to be reminded of a painful memory. The Holocaust is one of the most painful, recent memories in our collective Jewish remembrance, and the swastika symbol serves as an easy representation for those trying to remind us of the anguish. Click here for the rest of the article, click here.

When competing with college exams, a multitude of classes and papers, and extracurricular activities including sports and internships, campus organizations need something pretty special to lure college students to a campus program. The Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) of the Orthodox Union had just that when it sponsored a six-part "Health and Halacha (Jewish law)" series at Rutgers University Hillel that drew over 100 students to its various classes and lectures. <a href="http://www.dev.oujlic.org/index.php/blog_entry/rutgers_jlic_holds_health_jewish_law_series/" title="Read the rest of this entry ">Read the rest of this entry

The video from JLIC's conference for Principals and College Advisors is now available! The following is advice from an extremely knowledgeable source to parents of yeshiva high school seniors who are planning to attend secular colleges and universities rather than continuing their education at Jewish institutions such as Yeshiva University or Touro College: The students will be going from the "bubble" of kindergarten through twelfth grade to the different atmosphere of the secular campus. In this ambiance, the advice continues, "parents have no guarantee their children will remain observant." For a description of the conference and complete video recording, <a href="http://www.dev.oujlic.org/index.php/blog_entry/jlic_conference_video1/" title="click here">click here.

Dvar Torah from Rabbi Menachem Schrader, Founding Director of JLIC and Director of Oversease Program at Nishmat.

For the first time ever, JLIC offers an extensive description of Orthodox Jewish life on 15 major college campuses, with more to follow in the future. With information about daily Orthodox life, kosher food, minyanim, Shabbat and holidays, learning opportunities and more, this is one unique resource that is essential for any parent or child considering college in the near future. Available by campus or as one inclusive document.

A Small Light Dispels Much Darkness by Shira Heller, JLI educator at Boston University In my son's school, there is a bulletin board with photos of the first graders. The photos display cute, smiling little children and are pasted on to yellow papers cut in the shape of a flame. Across the top of the bulletin board it says, "A small light dispels a lot of darkness." I smile whenever I see that bulletin board, thinking of how much light those children bring to the lives of their parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends. I smile to think of how these children are first learning the light of Torah and Judaism, being instilled with a life-long flame of love for Hashem, the Torah, the Jewish people... Read the rest of this entry

by Miryam Spiegel When the strike was called 2 and a half weeks ago, students greeted it with a mixture of both relief and contempt. From one perspective, most of the Orthodox students at York University had been through a grueling few weeks of midterms and post-chag catch-up, and everyone needed a break. On the other hand, it left everyone in a position of uncertainty. At the very least, it meant inconvenience, at the most, difficulty for graduating students and those hoping to study in Israel during the second semester. Whatever the case was, most students began the strike by embracing some much needed time to breathe... Read the rest of this entry