Newsletter - Orthodox Community at Penn

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Newsletter
EUISMOD
ELEMENTUM
A N E N D - O F - S E M E S T E R U P DAT E F RO M T H E O RT H O D OX C O M M U N I T Y AT P E N N
Table of Contents
Social
1
Chessed 2
Sunday Night Learning
3
Women’s Learning Initiative3
Scholar in Residence
6
Shiurim
6
Night Seder at Penn
7
Jewish Learning Initiative on
Campus 7
What’s New in the OCP?
The
inaugural
edition of
the student
published
OCP
Haggadah!
A gemach
to
facilitate
the easy
lending of
used
textbooks!
Social
This past semester, the OCP Social Committee was hard at work creating fun and exciting programs.
The community braved the heavy Philly snow by participating in a snowball fight outside of Hillel. We
hosted the second annual pajama-formal OCP Oscars, featuring films such as “Adam Goes to the Zoo”
by Adam Weisel (SEAS ‘16) and “Stuff 711 Says” by Josh Fried (SEAS ‘17), Ezra Kurtz (C ‘17), Aaron
Schweitzer (C ’17), Rebecca Silver (C’17) and Aaron Wolff (C ‘17). Our biggest event of the semester,
Fling Feast--the OCP’s Shabbat-friendly
Spring Fling alternative--was a huge
success featuring renown comedian Modi
Rosenfeld and co-hosts Rebecca Spirgel (C
’15) and Elan Ariel (W ’14). With finals
around the corner, we got everyone’s
minds racing with Pennoply, a fast-paced
trivia game designed and hosted by
seniors Ellery Kauvar (C & W ’14) and
Jason Liberman (C ’14). We ended a
strong semester with OCP Assassins and
a summer-themed study break during
finals. We appreciate all the effort, time
and commitment that went into making
this semester so amazing, and look
forward to making next semester even
better.
!1
!
Chessed
OCP Chessed had a busy semester! We ran our
Souperbowl initiative, a semester-long program that
involves delivering delicious, homemade vegetable
soup to sick students on campus. Partnering with
Hillel Tzedek, Hillel Social, and the OCP Women's
Learning Fellows, we continued Challah for Hunger
at Penn, a program that is devoted to raising money
for local charities and American Jewish World Service.
Our most exciting and brand new event this semester
was Cake Wars, a cake decorating competition to
raise money for Sharsheret, a non-profit organization
dedicated to supporting Jewish women facing breast
cancer, as the culmination of Sharsheret Pink
Shabbat. The event was a great success and we were
able to raise over $1000 for Sharsheret! It was a
pleasure working with the Pink Shabbat Committee
and we are looking forward to collaborating with them
again in coming years!
Women’s
Learning
Initiative
Women’s Learning
Initiative is a committee
dedicated to strengthening
Torah learning among
females in the Jewish
community at Penn. Our
goal is to create opportunities for women to
continuously seek inspiration and religious growth
through Torah study. We
are striving to enhance the
female presence in the beit
midrash and to make it a
more comfortable place for
women to learn. The busy
semester was highlighted
by our weekly parasha
chaburah with JLIC
educator, Ruthie Braffman.
Each week, a student
prepared and presented an
interactive shiur on the
parasha alongside Ruthie.
This semester has been
awesome and we hope to
expand our program next
semester!
Sunday Night
Learning
opportunity for students to
The Sarah and Abraham
party was a great success
Memorial Sunday Night
this year, featuring an hour
Learning Program (SAM-
of learning followed by a
SNL) is the most highly
delicious dinner of Dougies
attended weekly event in
BBQ while watching the
the OCP. It brings students
game on the projector. We
together for Jewish
are proud to announce that
learning, making it an
this semester featured a
integral part of both the
brand new event, SNL
Orthodox Comm-unity at
Banquet. Our goal was to
Penn and the larger Penn
unite everyone by learning
Jewish Community. Every-
all five books of the Torah
one is invited every Sunday
as a community. Every
night for a complimentary
chavruta signed up to learn
kosher dinner before
at least one parasha,
heading to our extensive
culminating in a joint
beit midrash to learn a
siyum with Rav Jonathan
Jewish topic of choice with
as he finished Mesechet
a chavruta (study partner).
Sotah. We enjoyed a
The beit midrash is always
beautiful breakfast-themed
full on Sunday nights with
dinner in celebration of
chavrutas delving into
our siyumim and an entire
Jewish texts. SNL serves a
semester of learning. We
vital role in the OCP –
hope to continue this as an
giving students a much
annual tradition and are
needed break from school
looking forward to another
work in a relaxed, fun
semester full of learning
setting, while providing the
next year.
learn from one another.
Our annual Superbowl
!3
!5
Scholar in Residence
The Scholar in Residence Committee plays an important role in ensuring that Torah
continues to inspire our community. Each semester, we bring speakers to Penn who present
on the vast diversity of scholarship within
Jewish/Torah studies. Last semester, the
committee brought in numerous talented
speakers who presented on topics such as
“The Future of Modern Orthodoxy”, “Trends
in American Judaism in Light of the Pew
Survey”, and “Understanding the Complex
Interactions Between Halacha and Law”. Our
speakers included new and familiar faces,
including such as: Rabbi Mordechai
Friedman, Rabbi Shlomo Brown, Rabbi Jesse
Horn, Rabbi Alex Israel, Dr. Chaim Saiman,
Rabbanit Chana Henkin, Rabbi Jeremy
Wieder, Mrs. Shuli Taubes, Rabbi Tzvi Grumet, Dr. Jonathan Sarna, Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb,
Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, and a panel featuring Rabbi Asher Lopatin and Rabbi Rabbi
Shmuel Goldin moderated by Torah in Motion's Dr. Elliott Malamet.
Shiurim
Over the past semester, our exceptional daily
shiurim featured a combination of undergraduates, Penn faculty, and JLIC educators.
Seniors Elan Ariel (W ’14) and Adriel Koschitzky
(C ’14) delivered popular and engaging shiurim on
Mitzvot B'Iyun and Tanach methodology
respectively, while sophomore Michale Goldberger
(SEAS & W ’16) brought students together to
explore the sources of women's involvement in
tefilla. We had the privilege of hosting a Jewish
Studies Lecture Series that featured various faculty
members from the Jewish Studies department to
discuss a variety of topics pertaining to modern
Torah scholarship from David Stern on the
“History of the Hagada and Pesach Seder” and
Talya Fishman on “How Historical Context Sheds
Light on Rabbinic Sources”. Our JLIC Rabbi, Rav
Jonathan Shulman, delivered an in-depth shiur on
the Ketzot HaChoshen and JLIC educator Ruthie
Braffman led a halacha shiur and a women's
parasha chabura. The students’ enthusiasm for
Torah learning continues to inspire us, and we
look forward to many new, exciting shiurim next
semester.
!6
Night Seder at Penn (NSP)
Jewish Learning
Initiative on Campus
JLIC is a project of the
Orthodox Union. Its
mission is threefold:
!
1. To enable, encourage, and advance
Jewish education and commitment of
Jewish students at secular universities.
!
2. To provide avenues to spiritual
development and exploration for
Jewish students from all backgrounds.
!
3. To strengthen Jewish communities on
campus in a manner that also
encourages openness and mutual
respect to all Jews and Jewish
communities on campus.
In the two years since its founding, Night Seder at Penn has
experienced tremendous growth-- providing an opportunity for
consistent Torah learning on
campus. Every night between
9 and 11 PM, students flock
to the Beit Midrash for
chavrutas, chaburas,
Tuesday night mussar,
and more. This past
semester, NSP had the
privilege of hosting countless
student-given dvar torahs,
siyumim, and chaburas. To
cap off an amazing year and
his incredible 4 years of
devotion to the OCP, our
JLIC Rabbi, Rav Jonathan
Shulman, delivered goodbye
mussar to a packed Beit
Midrash of students eager to
hear his parting words. With
the help of the community,
NSP is looking forward to even more growth in the coming years.
What started as a small initiative has quickly evolved into a
cornerstone of daily OCP programming.
!7
OCP Committees
!
Co-Chairs
Daniel Raikin
Etan Raskas
Gabbaim
Mordy Fried
Adam Weisel
Carly Mayer
!
Advisory Board
Eruv
Jonathan Boiarsky
Adeena Chefitz
Serena Covkin
Yossi Davis
Sam Gersten
Sophie Gindea
Allan Horn
Gavi Horwitz
Rebecca Klahr
Shlomo Klapper
Ezra Kurtz
Ilana Teicher
Elan Ariel
!
Beit Midrash
Ben Bolnick
Jacob Kaufman
Aaron Schweitzer
Rebecca Silver
!
Chessed
Sophie Gindea
Rebecca Spirgel
Leora Apfelbaum
Ariella Barel
Talia Beck
Jonathan Boiarsky
Emily Finkelman
Rachel Freilich
Zach Griff
Allan Horn
Gil Lehmann
Chantal Low
Carly Mayer
Talia Moss
Robyn Saad
Aaron Senior
Michal Snyder
Avital Szulc
!
Divrei Torah
Lisa Piontnica
Aaron Senior
!
Finances
Gavriel Fineberg
Jacob Lincoff
!
Fundraising
Lisa Piontnica
Jonathan Boiarsky
!
Head Mashgiachs
Michale Goldberger
Yoni Hachen
Joel Krim
Rebecca
Slochowsky
!
Hospitality
Tyler Crane
Ariana Schanzer
!
Kiddush
Merav Koschitzky
Joe Step
Aaron Dardik
Dani Moskowitz
Jordan Rosman
Sarah Samuels
Ilana Teicher
!
Mishmar
Rebecca
Slochowsky
!
Third Meal
Sarah Beckoff
Tyler Crane
Jack Gindi
Eli Mendelson
Leora Mincer
Gabriel Naghi
JLIC
Rav Jonathan &
Jenny Shulman
Ruthie Braffman
Jacob Shamash
Rachel Shaw
!
Shiurim
Serena Covkin
Aaron Senior
Estee Ellis
Betsy Morgan
Rebecca Pritzker
Leead Staller
Aaron Wolff
!
Scholar in
Residence
Rebecca Klahr
Jacob Shamash
Serena Covkin
Talia Epstein
Raymond Habbaz
Merav Koschitzky
Joel Krim
Wade Miller
Leora Mincer
Jonah Rosen
Jeremy Rudoler
Aaron Senior
Doniel Sherman
Eric Tepper
Yoni Wieder
!
Sunday Night
Learning
Shira Redlich
Sarah Baldinger
Shoshana Frenkel
Josh Fried
Robbie Knopf
Betsy Morgan
Chana Shechter
Rami Sherif
Rebecca Silver
Social
Rachel Bernard
Gilana Jaffe
Alexis Block
Sarah Emmerich
Allan Horn
Ben Katz
Elan Kiderman
Erica Kiderman
Ezra Kurtz
Aviva Koloski
Joel Krim
Zach Miller
Michael Mitzner
Tess Niewood
Danielle Novack
Daniel Raikin
Efraim Saltzman
Sarah Samuels
Rami Sherif
Rebecca Somach
Aaron Zell
!
Webgirls
Ariella Levine
Rina Krevat
Josh Fried
Eli Mendelson
Gabriel Naghi
!
Women's
Learning Fellows
Allie Mayer
Chana Shechter
Mazal Tov!
• Mazal Tov to Mourad Kattan (W '14)
and Shelly Navarro on their
engagement!
• Mazal Tov to Shosh Yaffee (SEAS
'15) and Yaron Ollech on their
engagement!
• Mazal Tov to Lizi Marks (N '12) and
Elli Brodbaker on their wedding!
• Mazal Tov to Louise Jacobovitz
(SEAS '10) and Ouri Cohen on their
engagement!
• Mazal Tov to Rivka Fogel (C '11) and
Eddie Chalouh on their engagement!
• Mazal Tov to Michael Kopinsky
(SEAS '10) and Lonna Gordon on
their engagement!
• Mazal Tov to Alexis Mayer (C '12)
and Noach Goldstein on their
engagement!
• Mazal Tov to Max Levy (C ’13) and
Ariella Rosenberg (C ’12)on their
wedding!
• Mazal Tov to Meir Dardashti (C’13)
and Ricki Notis (C’13) on their
wedding!
• Mazal Tov to Jason Liberman (C ’14)
and Haley Zylberberg on their
engagement!
!
Orthodox Community at Penn
215 South 39th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
www.pennocp.org
[email protected]
!8