Written by Rabbi Aaron Lerner, senior Jewish educator of Hillel at UCLA Most Americans strive for efficiency. The popular Israeli-invented app Waze, for instance, provides many of us with a significantly reduced commuting time. In fact, just yesterday, it directed…
Taste of Torah: Let my people go! A new look at an old story
Written by Daniel Levine, third-year cognitive science major and gabbai of UCLA’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus Throughout the Exodus story, we are presented with multiple interactions between Moses and Pharaoh. On their surface, these meetings seem to comprise Moses…
Taste of Torah: You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Written by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. Heralded as a leader and revered in history as a paradigmatic hero, it’s hard to imagine that there was a time in Moses’ life marked with desperation. In this week’s…
Taste of Torah: Basking in the glow
Written by Sharona Kaplan, Rebbetzin for Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. What’s more emblematic of Chanukah than relaxing near a burning menorah and munching on latkes or doughnuts? The iconic menorah and the traditional oily foods reflect the ancient origins…
Taste of Torah: Cosmic wrestle-mania for the world’s soul
Written by Dovid Gurevich, rabbi of Chabad at UCLA. Three adventurers from France, Italy and Israel were captured by vicious Caribbean cannibals. In an attempt to be “civilized,” the cannibals offered each captive one last wish before being thrown into…
Prodigious Babes of Jewish History: Nitzevet
An Introduction to the Series: Judaism has always been somewhat of a romantic religion to me. Perhaps it is because it never ceases to evoke within me an authentic array of emotions, ranging from awe to love to apprehension. Through…
Taste of Torah: More compassionate than we knew
Written by Kerry Chaplin, rabbinic intern at Hillel at UCLA. My wife and I adopted an almost entirely black puppy recently. His name is Charlie (our last name is Chaplin). When we adopted Charlie, we steeled ourselves for the house…
Taste of Torah: L’Chaim, to life!
Written by Danielle Natelson, director of engagement at Hillel at UCLA. This Taste of Torah goes out to all my friends in the Jewish Bruin class of 2015, so if it’s coming across your news feed I suggest you keep…
Taste of Torah: Abraham’s intervention
Written by Naomi Karp, director of student life at Hillel at UCLA. This week’s Torah portion, Vayeira, is jam packed with action, comedy and drama. The penultimate event is the Akeda, the binding of Isaac. To briefly recap: God instructs…
Taste of Torah: the need for continuous personal growth
Written by Rabbi Jacob Rupp, senior rabbi at the Jewish Awareness Movement at UCLA. Contemporary research reveals that millennials, more than ever before, want to find a job that is fulfilling. Gone are the days that we work for the…