Greetings from Israel!

Hello everyone! Be sure to check out our travel blog, or click here, and follow the adventures of your friends from Virginia Tech, as they traverse the land of Israel. Comment on their posts, and let them know how much you miss them. We'll be back soon with lots of stories to share, but until then. SHALOM!

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Spend Winter Break in L.A.

Apply now for Virginia Tech Hillel's Alternative Service Trip to L.A.!

City Year in L.A.
Spring Break, March 6-13, 2011.
Cost: $200 plus travel.
Applications open until Wednesday, January 31st.
Apply today! Click here to register.
City Year is a national organization that believes in making a difference in the life of a community through citizen service. Participants in this City Year service experience will tutor and mentor children, reclaim public spaces, and/or organize after-school programs. As a group, we will discuss the connection between social justice and poverty and address key social issues such as poverty and education. Sue Kurtz, Executive Director, is thrilled to staff this experience. Virginia Tech students will be joined by College of Central Florida Hillel, College of Charleston JSU, Hillel at the University of Connecticut, Hillel at the University of Vermont, Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center (Michigan State University), Old Dominion University Hillel, Penn State Hillel for this week-long experience.

This program is a product of Hillel's Alternative Break partnership with City Year, which has also established a relationship with Alpha Epsilon Pi. For more information, email vthillel@gmail.com.

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Congratulations to the 2011 Hillel Student Board

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.
~Henry Kissinger


The new Hillel @ Virginia Tech student board:

President
Amanda Herring

Special Events Coordinator
Shay Nevo

VP Major Programming
Dayna Guadango
Concert Chair
Isabel Shocket
Leadership Chair
Michael Goodwin

Rebecca Smoot

VP Minor Programming

Laura Shoemaker

Jake Gardner

Social Chair

Meredith Frank

Nick Friedman

FYSH

Heather Rosen

Stephanie Mahoney

Rosh Chodesh

Abby Sinshiemer

VP Religion and Cultural Affairs

Mark Moskowitz

Holiday Chair

Anna Isserow
Shabbat Chair
Sam Weinzimer

VP Tzedek
Rachel Adell

VP Finance
Nick Basciano

Grant Chair
Michel Greco
Phonathon
Elyssa Bernstein
Lindsey Kelley

VP Administrative Affairs
Tanya Secor

Newsletter
Simon Hallerman
Public Relations
Abby Forman
Marketing
Matt Bernat

Hokies for Israel holiday Chair
Rachel Dilles

Members at Large
Dan Goldeen
Avi Friedman
Jason Moskowitz
Alex Hall
Hannah Roth

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Students Freeze Trying To Keep The Hanukkah Tradition Ablaze.

This Thursday, Hillel students gathered in the freezing snow to light hanukkah candles, in accordance with their tradition. The second night of Hanukkah proved to be the coldest, as the students huddled outside the Student Center lighting their menorahs and attempting to stay warm. The university has a strict no fire policy, forcing the students out into the cold. Students are not even able to light and stay with the flames, in order to celebrate their holiday tradition. For over an hour the students battled the freezing conditions, in a hopeful attempt to keep their candles lit. Freshman interior design major, Heather Rosen, was among the shivering students. "I really wish we had a building to celebrate Hanukkah in. The dorms won't let us light candles, but I still feel it's important to light the menorah. I'm worried about catching a cold, but at least I'm with friends." The chilly weather however did nothing to reduce spirits, as the students huddled singing festive songs, and spinning dreidals on the snow covered tables.

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Introducing The Chicken Soup Hotline

Feeling sick? Ill? Under the Weather?

Hillel to the rescue! That's right. If you're not feeling well, all you have to do is call or text 540-808-9243, and we will deliver soup right to your dorm.

Hillel understands how difficult it is to be sick at college. Classes are still happening whether you attend or not. But we're here to help. Just give us a call, and we'll deliver right to you, the most delicious soup you've ever had!

Every slurp is filled with love, because we care!

Don't hesitate, just call or text 540-808-9243!

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Self-defense class hits home

By Matthew Borysewicz, Collegiate Times

This past Thursday, I punched myself in the face.

This wasn’t anything I had planned or even intended to do. It wasn’t some attempt to make a friend laugh. It was merely a rude reminder of my own lack of coordination during my first Krav Maga self-defense course.

The only time I had heard of Krav Maga before this week was an episode of “Manswers,” which was trying to answer the question, “Can you kill a bear with your bare hands?”

I learned Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art developed by Imi Lichtenfeld and employed by special forces and police units around the world. It is an effective close combat fighting technique which, unlike most eastern martial arts, focuses on function over form with staggering results.

Hokies for Israel invited Krav Maga instructor Moshe Katz from Israel to teach self-defense classes to Virginia Tech students. There were a few specialized classes for women and the Corps of Cadets, but I was fortunate to make it to one of the open sessions.

We started out by learning how to defend ourselves if we were ever to be knocked onto our backs. Katz revealed a lot about Krav Maga with a single sentence. He let us know they had a saying, that a Krav Maga practitioner is never “down and out” but “down and dangerous.”

We learned how to protect our heads from attacks while being able to retaliate with our legs. It was at this point I realized how very out of shape I had become.

When the mock firearms came out, I realized this was not the same kind of martial art I so fondly remembered from my elementary school stint in Tae Kwon Do.

Katz began showing us how to disarm someone holding a gun to you. We learned it from a variety of positions — standing, seated, pointed at your chest, head and back.

Two things ran through my head at this point. First, I was glad I was never mugged in my many nights spent walking to 7-Eleven in Richmond. Second, if someone did have a gun pointed at me, I would probably hand them anything they asked for, likely with a side of unintentional fear-leakage.

This is something Katz endorsed; if someone is after your wallet, just give it to them. However, the reality of the situation, especially in Israel, is that a Krav Maga practitioner has to be ready to defend his life, not just his bank account.

This is about when I punched myself in the face. The fluid motions Katz was pulling off require years of practice to execute perfectly.

In my hour-and-15-minute Krav Maga career, I didn’t master any of the techniques. However, Katz armed me with knowledge and more importantly a non-victim attitude as well as a desire to learn more about this uniquely Israeli style of self defense. There aren’t any Krav Maga centers close by — at least none I have been able to find — but I’m positive I’ll be joining one if I ever move to the appropriate area.

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Future Updates to come...

Here's a quick list of what to expect in the future.

Hillel's new president: The exclusive interview.

Krav Maga: Kicking butt Israeli style.

Building updates.

TerraCylcling: Saving the Earth, one cookie at a time.

Alternative Spring Breaks: Give back while stepping out.

Keep checking back for these and other interesting articles. And if you're interested in guest writing, just let the Hillel staff know.

Till next time,

Lilah Tov!

Holocaust Survivor Irene Zisblat talks to Campus

Virginia Tech was honored last month when Holocaust survivor, Irene Zisblat, came to speak with students about her miraculous survival of the Nazi massacre of the Jewish people. Over 200 people, including students, faculty, and community members crammed into the black cultural center in the Squires student Center to hear Zisblat’s chilling tale.

Born in Hungary, and thrown out of school for being a Jew, Zisblat and her family were quickly sent off to ghettos and concentration camps, where they were split up, tortured, and sadly, lost. Words cannot describe the tragedies faced by Zisblat, which included, medical experimentations, dehumanizing, and a near encounter with the gas chambers. The most memorable moment of her story was the connection to her Mother, who sewed diamonds into the Irene’s dress. Later when her clothes were taken away, Zisblat was forced to swallow the diamonds in order to keep the connection to her Mother alive.

Her torturous journey finally ended when she was liberated by American soldiers while on a death march, while she was still only 14. And she eventually arrived in America in 1947 to be with her Uncle.

She dedicated her speech to fellow holocaust survivor, hero, and victim of the Virginia Tech Aprl 16^th shooting, Liviu Librescu, who lost his life helping students escape. She urged the audience to never forget, the horrors of the past, and to not let them repeat themselves in the present. She spoke of Rowanda and Darfur, and of 9/11, and asked each person to stand out against racism and hatred. It “starts with you.”

A mix of emotions were visible as the room emptied out. Many students were wiping tears from their eyes, while others rushed to hug Zisblat. “Her story was so beautiful,” said freshman, Anna Isserow, of Fairfax, VA.

We want to thank Zisblat for visiting our campus and touching the lives of the students with her story. She has published her life's story into a book, The Fifth Diamaond, which can be purchased here: Fifth Diamon, Irene Zisblat.

(Irene Zisblat and Rachel Adell visiting the April 16 memorial.

One of the victims was Liviu Librescu, a fellow Holocaust survivor.)

(Irene Zisblat poses for a picture with Bianca Rosen Siegel, Hillel's Holocaust awareness chair.)

Who are these people?

Testing the photo.

Who are these crazy students?

Welcome to Hillel's new blog

Hello blog readers!
Welcome to the Hillel at Virginia Tech blog!
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce the blog, and what you might find here.
This blog will include:

Program updates
Student Spotlights
Post event articles
Surveys
Global Jewish information
And much more!
This blog is my first, and is only in its infancy stages, so please bear with me, as I learn how to be the best blogger possible!

And PLEASE give feedback!
Thanks!


Hillel Staff