On Thursday Feb. 16, UCLA’s Jewish Awareness Movement (JAM) took part in Ohr Sameach’s annual New York Shabbaton. Ohr Sameach is a Jewish organization that gives Jews with the desire to learn more about their religious background opportunities to do…
Taste of Torah: On Law and Spirituality
by Chayi Hanfling of Jewish Awareness Movement (JAM) at UCLA This week’s Torah portion is Parshat Mishpatim, a portion that details laws and ordinances. It is filled with legal intricacies and minutia, primarily surrounding interactions between human beings. It covers…
Meet the Hanflings: UCLA’s New JAM Couple
As we start a fresh academic term on campus, it is only appropriate that we get to know the new family running the Jewish Awareness Movement (JAM) at UCLA, the Hanflings. For those of you unfamiliar with JAM, it is…
New beginnings and bittersweet goodbyes: the Rupps, JAM at UCLA’s power couple, are moving to San Diego
There are certain moments in our lives that are particularly suited to self-reflection. As graduation is steadily approaching, I’ve found myself more enveloped in these moments, thinking about how I’ve changed — and noticing the changes in others. Thinking about…
Jewish Humans of UCLA: united in our differences
Growing up, I was always fascinated by the diversity of Judaism. I loved the idea that the religion was portable and adaptable; that each person could make it his or her own, yet feel one hundred percent assured of the…
Taste of Torah: the ultimate leader
Written by Rabbi Jacob Rupp, Jewish Awareness Movement at UCLA In this week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, Moses’ name is not mentioned. The Talmud explains that after the sin of the Golden Calf in next week’s Torah portion, G-d was prepared…
Campus rabbis: the mensches and martyrs of UCLA
Growing up, I belonged to a synagogue with two rabbis — one senior rabbi and one associate rabbi. I was close with one of them, but mainly because we studied together in the weeks leading up to my bat mitzvah.…
Are we breeding a society of takers?
Roughly 12% of UCLA’s student population is Jewish, and these 3,000 or so students may be the luckiest across the nation. They are not only supported by a vast network of Jewish Bruins, but also by various organizations that exist…
A lack of communication in the fight against BDS
The global movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the world’s only Jewish state ignites a pervasive controversy throughout not only campus life at UCLA, but the Jewish community as well. In previous years, the Jewish strategy was to take…
A hodgepodge of campus organizations — which to choose?
The sun beats down on the tops of students’ heads as they shuffle from table to table, sampling organizations at the Enormous Activities Fair. The scene is a familiar one, replaying itself every fall quarter at UCLA. A new student…