WMU Alumnus to Compete in Maccabi Games

Chad Mahakian, a recent WMU graduate, will be competing this summer at the Maccabi games in Israel on the US team. If you did not catch the article in the Herald in print this week you can read it online here. Mazal Tov to Chad!

Class with Jeff (Update)

March 15 – 5:00 PM, Bernhard Center rm 204

The Class with Jeff with begin at 5:00 PM on Sunday. The topic for discussion will be about those (not-so) Platonic Relationships. Kosher pizza will be served.

WMU alumnus Jeff Surowitz is back in Kalamazoo and is hosting class. The topic is TBD and Jeff is a great resource for those burning questions you may have about being Jewish? After graduating from WMU Jeff lived in Israel and moved back to Michigan to work for the greater Jewish community.

Relay For Life Team

Relay For Life is coming up and Hillel has their own team! For those of you that don’t know, the American Cancer Society sponsors this community event to raise money in the fight against cancer. Many teams will be camping out at Kanley Track and in between walking around the track we will be having fun games and other activities to mix up the night. This is a great and fun way to raise awareness and funds for a great cause. Not to mention a fabulous way to earn community service hours! The event starts on Saturday, March 28 at 11:00am and goes until Sunday, March 29 at 11:00. We will need people to walk around at the event starting at 3:30 and are in half hour intervals.

You can join the team by clicking here. If you do not have an account with Relay For Life you can set one up through their web page as well. There is not minimum to participate but fund raising is made really easy through the web page.

Shabbat Dinner – March 13

March 13 – 6:00 PM
Kanley Chapel Social Room

Its all about starting the weekend off right! Join new and old friends for a relaxing Shabbat Dinner. This week we are mixing things up and will have Kosher Hot dogs (a few veggies too), chips, and all the right condiments.

Maybe if we eat like we’re at a Baseball game the weather will warm up quicker. As always Shabbat dinners are a great place to meet people and hang out. So bring a friend and see you there.

We are also welcoming a special guest, Nate Knappen who is a Presidential candidate for the Western Student Association. Elections are the week following.

President Elections – March 30

Hillel is excited to announce that the President position for WMU Hillel elections will be held on March 30. Details on how the elections will be run are explained below. If you have any questions or concerns please contact our Graduate Advisor, Devorah Glanz, at devorah.a.glanz@wmich.edu.

Any member of Hillel is able to participate and run in the upcoming Hillel President Elections. The duties of the President are outlined as part of an ongoing basis and currently are being discussed by the Advisor, Grad Advisor, and current President- for a general sense of those duties and responsibilities please contact either one of us.

Elections will be held on March 30th at 7pm in Room 105 of the Bernhard Center. In order to run and receive consideration for this position you must declare your candidacy at the meeting(s) prior to the election- either March 16th or March 23rd. If you have not declared your candidacy at either of the two ‘declaration’ meetings you will be ineligible to run in the election on March 30th.

We will begin promptly at 7pm with a brief speech and platform discussion by each candidate. Each candidate will have maximum of 10 minutes to present their previous leadership experience, goals for the organization, and overall reasoning why they are running for this position. After this, we will have a quick question and answer to further clarify any questions or comments from the organization. All candidates will step into the hall and voting will be conducted by paper ballot. The current graduate advisor and president will count the ballots and declare the winner immediately following.

All Hillel members are eligible to vote in this upcoming election, however, in order to have voting power and considered a ‘member in good standing’, you must have been present at AT LEAST one general assembly Hillel meeting (Monday night) in the past school year (Fall 2008-Spring 2009). At the time of the election, we will have had a total of 24 meetings over the course of the past school year giving ample opportunity for many individuals to participate in the election process.

In the event of a tie, the Advisor, Graduate Advisor, and Outgoing President will discuss in private and cast a tie-breaking vote.

A transition period of one week will be in place starting March 30th immediately following elections. The following meeting on April 6th will be run as usual by the outgoing president in conjunction with the incoming president. After the April 6th meeting is completed, the transition period will be completed and the incoming President will assume all roles and responsibilities. All further leadership decisions, appointment of members, and general communication will come from the Incoming President and Graduate Advisor.

The positions of Vice President of Membership, Vice President of Programming, Secretary, Treasurer, WSA/CAB Representative, Website Coordinator and Street Team Leader will be filled by paper applications available from April 6th until April 20th, these paper applications will be emailed to all members and final decisions will be made the week of April 20th. The dates of the paper application process is subject to change.

Please direct any questions on this process to Devorah Glanz, Graduate Advisor, at devorah.a.glanz@wmich.edu.

Bellsteins Event

March 3 – 7:30 PM
Bell’s Eccentric Cafe (downtown Kalamazoo)

Going to be in Kalamazoo over spring break? We’re hosting our second ever event for the “older crowd.” On March 3 join the Bellsteins crew, new 20’s group, for a drink and good company at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe (downtown Kalamazoo) starting at 7:30 PM.

Hillel Goes to the Movies (Updated)

Feb 22 – 3:00 PM
Rave Motion Pictures (downtown Kalamazoo)

Meet up downtown for an afternoon hangout at the movies. We will meet up at 3:00 PM to see The Reader. Hillel will cover your ticket and please remember to bring your student ID. If you need a ride downtown please email kazoohillel@yahoo.com and we’ll pick you up.

Shabbat Dinner at COM

Feb 20 – 6:30 PM

Congregation of Moses, just down the road on Stadium Dr., has invited students to their monthly Shabbat dinner. It is this Friday, Feb. 20 at 6:30pm, and all you need to do is RSVP with your name and number of guests by Tuesday Feb. 17 (send an email RSVP to kazoohillel@yahoo.com) so they know how many to prepare for. If you need a ride to Congregation of Moses please include that in you RSVP and we will arrange for a ride.

“Western Michigan” Hebrew Hoodies

Hillel wants to make sure you are keeping warm during this harsh winter by SELLING SWEATSHIRTS!! We now have available black hooded sweatshirts with ‘Western Michigan’ in Hebrew for sale! Yes… we know that ‘w’ doesn’t exist in Hebrew so they are more like ‘Vestern Michigan’ but still really warm, cozy, and awesome looking.

They are black with gold writing and are selling for 20 dollars each. All proceeds from these sweatshirts will be donated to charity. You can purchase one (or many) of these sweatshirts by emailing (kazoohillel@yahoo.com) us with your name, phone number and size and a Hillel lead team member will call you ASAP or by ATTENDING OUR EVENTS.

We will have these sweatshirts (or a sign up) at all events until we sell out. Limited Edition!! Get yours now!!

If you would like us to ship an order to you, include that in your email (kazoohillel@yahoo.com) and we will figure out the shipping and handling fees.

Israel 101

February 2 – 7:00 PM – Bernhard Center rm 210

Hillel @ WMU is excited to bring Brett Cohen of StandWithUs to present Israel 101! Israel 101 is a presentation that covers the history of the Jewish people, the creation of the modern State of Israel, the present problems Israel faces, and the bright future ahead.

Israel 101 is a “Must-See” for anyone who is interested in the people, culture, history, politics, and technology of Israel.

This event will have refreshments and is 100% free! All are welcome and encouraged to come!