Sabbath, Shabbat, Shabbos, and the less-common Shabbath and Shabbas (an attempt to reconcile Eastern European consonant pronunciation with North African and Middle Eastern vowel vocalization) are all examples of the futility of attempts to standardize the transliterated pronunciation of a…
Russian Shabbat at Chabad
For the attendees of this past week’s Shabbat dinner hosted by Chabad at UCLA, the Russian-themed Shabbat was a welcomed comfort, especially at a time when, for many college students, stress has increased with midterms. The theme of Russian Shabbat…
Staff Picks: upcoming events for Jewish Bruins
Now that the wave of Jewish holidays has ended, you may find yourself struggling to decide what campus events and activities to attend. To help you decide, Ha’Am’s staff members shared the events on campus that they are most looking…
Jewish and Christian interfaith dialogue: loving Israel and loving each other
There were 19 people seated around the large oval table on the third floor of Hillel at UCLA. On Friday, April 12, the Berman Library (colloquially dubbed the Zionist Library as a tribute to the content of a multitude of…
The endangered right: freedom of religion for Dutch Jews
In the United States, the decree that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is an integral part of living in a free country. In fact, it is the first amendment…
Rabbi Chaim Addresses Trends In Jewish Academic Success
“Parents’ Weekend at UCLA” revealed many of the intimate details of Jewish life on campus. One of these details was the extent to which our leadership takes note of our involvement and progress within the greater UCLA community. On Friday…
Interfaith challah sales help to prevent genocide
Photo by Jacob Goldberg Arriving at Hillel on the last night of sukkot and passing the wooden sukkah on your right painted green, yellow and red, you have the unmistakable feeling of entering a homogenous Jewish environment. Upon ascending one…
Challah baking on frat row: a new kind of Jewish experience
Walking up the steps into the JAM (Jewish Awareness Movement) house on fraternity row, you are immediately overcome by the sights and smells of family and home. While not many living rooms can boast ten lime green armchairs, two couches, several dozen folding…