Jewlicious U.

VLOG: Workshop SixtyFun needs a haircut

Leo Robinovitch — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:31:42 +0000

Leo’s looking more like a lion, the team meets the whole community it’s serving and three brief interviews with the cohort.

Leo Robinovitch is a JewliciousU intern who is in Israel participating in Masa’s gap year program, Workshop 61, which is associated with the progressive labour Zionist youth movement Habonim Dror. https://www.habonimdror.org/ www.masaisrael.org

VLOG: Workshop SixtyFun has a mission

Leo Robinovitch — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:32:03 +0000

Leo find a bat cave, learns a bit of Arabic and adjusts to life in Carmiel in this installment of Workshop SixtyFun.

VLOG: Winter chofesh on Workshop SixtyFun

Leo Robinovitch — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:53:48 +0000

A half-marathon and marathon touring with Leo and his family in this installment of Workshop SixtyFun.

Navigating Sin City

Amy Goldman — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 23:09:10 +0000

For anyone in southern California, Las Vegas is a staple party town once you turn the big 2-1, when drinking and gambling is suddenly legal! With its constant entertainment and craziness, Vegas is the perfect destination to get away. Since I recently turned 21, I have been on two successful Las Vegas trips with my friends.

Rocking at the Marquee. (Powers Imagery)

Timing is Everything
As a child, my parents took me there during the winter holidays when all of the bright lights and variously themed hotels always fascinated me. But I never understood the saying “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” until I experienced Las Vegas as a fully legal adult. Here are some tips for your trip to Sin City.
I first did Vegas with my friends back in September. Since we were all super busy, we decided to do a weekend trip. Weekends mean more crowds and more money for the hotels. And since it was summer, the rates were on high season.
For my recent December trip, my friends and I decided to go mid-week following finals on a Monday through Thursday. Since we booked our hotel in the summer, we got an amazing deal for staying during the week. Our hotel for December was nearly half the price compared to our summer hotel and our room was bigger and nicer. So my advice: book early and stay mid-week.
Connections! Connections!
If you plan to hit the clubs, make sure you are on the guest list! You can sign up by going to the club’s official website. On the other hand, to be smarter, get in touch with a promoter so you can score extra deals. Our promoter, who works for Marquee, got us on the guest list, open bar for the night at Marquee. The next night, she got us a table and open bar for LAVO. We were told to show our appreciation by looking good when we went out.
We met our promoter through a friend of a friend. But to get in touch with one, look on Yelp.com or explore the Strip. Promoters hang around the insides of hotel and are dressed to the nines.
Where are my girls at?
Sorry boys, but girls receive special treatment in Las Vegas. For both trips, I went with two other girls. As girls, we got to cut in front of the long lines for the clubs and get in gratis. Yes, being on the guest lists helped, but we had promoters coming over to us to be a part of their guest list. Also, at Marquee, the manager gave us a table to sit at and a round of drinks. Hooray for being a girl!
Food
Food in Vegas is expensive. To save money, we brought bread, fruit, and water from home. By already having breakfast in the room, we also saved time. For our main meals, we bought the “Buffet of Buffets” pass. This pass gave us a 24-hour access to the six different Hilton-owned hotel buffets. Trust me, we were in a food coma for a full day after.
Look good and have a good attitude
I overheard this from a worker at XS on how to get into XS. Ever since, I couldn’t stop laughing over this quote. But I came to realize that “looking good and having a good attitude” is what Vegas is all about!

The writer is a current JewliciousU intern and a student at the University of California, Irvine.

The Wondering Jew: The hunt for the great white job

Sofie Copperman — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:23:13 +0000

A few weeks ago I started thinking seriously about the future and how to best get myself into the job market. The thought of the endless application forms and cover letters sends shivers down my spine; looking for a job can be both arduous and demoralizing.
It’s a well-advertised fact that at the moment, the job search is not an enviable task. Reports of the flat-lining labor market don’t exactly inspire confidence in what is already daunting.
I have, however, worked out a few things to help make the search for my future career easier, both practically and emotionally.
One of the rather elementary, yet mindboggling tasks I have struggled with, is actually naming what it is I want to do. The first challenge is simply to decide in what field you are interested in working. (I’m still not even sure I know what it is I truly want.) The truth is maybe it isn’t so important to start off dreaming big, or to be one hundred percent sure of what you want your future to be. Therefore, I went about it the opposite way: I simple decided what I do NOT want to do.
With jobs so scarce, I have received varying advice about how picky to be. My personal opinion is that although you can’t expect to land the dream job straight away, I believe that you must have some standards when choosing what you will settle for. To me, being stuck in a job that gives you no satisfaction will only negatively impact on your future work ethic and self-esteem.
The second hindrance I face is to figure out what the job description I have created is termed on job search websites. With so many options to choose from and no real knowledge of what each job entails, how am I meant to know what to search for and what to apply for?
Endless trawling through business jargon and inflated job descriptions can be confusing and disheartening. To make it easier, I have written a standard cover letter and formatted my CV to showcase my specific skills, then the editing before applying is minimal and tailored to the specific job description and requirements.
Most job sites today let you set up an email service that sends you messages with all new jobs posted in your area of interest. I have found this function to be both a blessing and a curse. Being sent three emails a day from ten different jobs sites does start feeling like spam. Often it is the case that the jobs listed don’t even fit my specifications and I have spent many hours on wild goose chases. However, often even if the job listed in the email does not fit the bill, other more suitable links will come up during site browsing.
It is important to keep high spirits during the job hunt. I have found through a mix of humor and real life experiences, things just aren’t as bad as they seem: I have actually come to like the excitement of spotting that “golden opportunity”, fine tuning the application and just waiting for the job to come my way.

Sofie Copperman is a current JewliciousU intern and is studying for a BSc in Social Sciences at the University of London.

VLOG: Bonacopalypse on Workshop SixtyFun

Leo Robinovitch — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:13:29 +0000

It’s the end of Boneh as we know it!
Tears and cheers as Leo finishes up at Kibbutz Ein Dor and prepares to move to the northern town of Carmiel.

‘Sacrifice is the Israeli way’. One student’s account of her moving tour of Sderot

Hannah Restle — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:36:30 +0000

No matter how many Israel Day parades we may have attended, coins we have dropped in a JNF charity box, or times we have sung Hatikva, as diaspora Jews our connection to Israel pales in comparison to the bond between Israeli citizens and the Land of Israel. They are bound to the land not just through a covenant, military service, or international recognition, but through tragic sacrifice. In Israel, this word “sacrifice”, has a deeper connotation than in America. After three months in Israel I am only beginning to understand this concept. A recent trip to the town of Sderot brought me one step closer.
Located less than a mile from the Gaza Strip, Sderot is an easy target for Hamas. Between 2001 and 2008, the city was subjected to near constant bombing. Living in such close proximity to Gaza, Sderot receives a “tzeva adom” (code red) 15 seconds before the impact of a bomb. The lives of Sderot residents, therefore, were forced to evolve around this 15-second rule, and the constant bomb threat.

This statue of a drummer was composed of rocket and bomb debris. (Hannah Restle)

In Sderot, my year program was given a tour by a resident who lived there through the intense bombing. We learned that children in Sderot grow up unfamiliar with playgrounds. Although there are numerous playgrounds available, during dangerous times all gathering areas have to be within a 15-second run from a bomb shelter, limiting their use drastically. However, refusing to live their lives around bomb threats, Sderot’s residents have normalized their lives as much as possible and have joined together as a community, building schools that could continue learning even during code reds, having barbecues even when there were 8 bombs a day, and ultimately refusing to succumb to a defensive lifestyle.
The tour guide brought us into his surprisingly normal home which smelled of good Persian food. Only at a closer glance were the signs of bombing apparent: his children’s collection of bomb debris, two detonated ketusha rockets on his back porch, and impressions on the wooden latticework from flying glass.
Although resilience is evident by quick rebuilding, lifestyle adjustments, and the development of a new normalcy, the scars of sacrifice have still branded the area. On our tour we were led to an Ethiopian section of the town, a small residential road with a modest monument to one side. A monument, we learned, that emulated the grief of the city. It was a monument for two small Ethiopian children who were playing where we stood when a bomb made a direct hit. Only two weeks after their deaths, the grandfather of the children made an incredibly profound comment: For decades Israelis have been shedding blood for the noble fight for Israel and now the Ethiopian community in Israel has shared in that sacrifice.
This is the Israeli way. No matter the sacrifice, what inconceivable tragedy occurs, the Israelis rebound stronger, more courageous, and with a tighter fraternity.
As we left the town we walked past a strange statue of a drummer sitting at a drum set. Only after a closer look did we see the statue was composed of parts of bombs and ketusha rockets.

Hannah Restle is a gap year student at Jerusalem’s Midreshet Amit.

Eight cute and kooky Hannuka gifts for your special somebodies

Amy Goldman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:26:22 +0000

Here in North America, Hanukka is probably most the overrated Jewish holiday of the year because of its proximity to Christmas. Nevertheless, it is also probably the most anticipated holiday as well because with Hanukka comes… presents!
This year, resist giving another cliché pair of socks. JewliciousU.com has come up with eight unique Hanukka-themed gifts to give to your Jewish friends and family.

1. iPhone Case
The iPhone is one of the most popular smart phones out there, and since iPhones are so delicate, they need covers and cases. Why not give someone this hilarious iPhone case. I’m sure they will give you a “challah back.”

2. Shirt
I grew up in a non-Jewish community and my goy friends were always envious Hanukka lasted eight nights. So, why not brag about it with this T-shirt?

3. Dreidel
One day, I was teaching my friend how to play dreidel and she loved it because she loves gambling. So, when I came across this, I thought “perfect.” This gift combines the traditional dreidel game with Texas Hold ‘Em. How fun!

4. Menora
If you are a college student, most likely your dorm does not allow you to light candles. So rather than breaking a rule to light your menora, buy this electric one. To light the candle, you simply twist the candle(s) that you need. How brilliant!

5. Candy
This candy box is perfect for anyone who has a sweet tooth. It includes eight boxes of candy in an adorable menorah-shaped box.

6. Book
Yiddish for dogs?!?!?! If you want to teach an old dog some new tricks, then get this book. It includes Yiddish words with dog pictures.

7. Cards
Having difficulty finding Hanukka cards? Then, here’s your answer. These cute cards come in a four pack for only $6.

8. Kabbala Bracelet
When I went to Israel during the summer, my group was obsessed with the red string, which wards off misfortune from the “evil eye.” Trendy, yet wards off evil spirits? Sounds perfect!

Happy Hanukka!

The writer is a current JewliciousU intern and a student at the University of California, Irvine.

VLOG: Good ole fashioned Zionism on Workshop SixtyFun

Leo Robinovitch — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:18:34 +0000

Trips to Haifa, Tel Aviv and the Palmach Museum add up to another rousing week of horseplay with the young lads and lasses of Workshop 61!

Who is the Wondering Jew?

Sofie Copperman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:37:00 +0000

Over the last few days I have been extremely busy working on an essay for university. It’s the first of my final four essays before I have officially finished the course work for my degree. Then all that will remain is that dreaded dissertation. I’m relieved to have the end in sight, and at the same time proud I have made it this far.
It was not always so obvious that I was going to be able to go to university. I haven’t had such a straight-forward journey to get here, and as my sister is about to defer her entry to pediatric nursing, I can’t help but think how my education could so easily have been deferred indefinitely.
When I was 17 I moved from Sweden to England. Over the years I have questioned what possessed me to give up my friends and education and just move. The only plausible explanation I have come up with all these years later is, ESCAPE! I was scared and wanted out.

Sofie at 18.

At the time I was enrolled in the prestigious International Baccalaureate program and doing well enough to stick it out. However, life’s pressures were hard to bear and I felt I had to leave.
Arriving in the UK at 17, however, meant that all my contemporaries were already halfway through their two-year A Level program and I was going to have to join students a year younger than me to start at the beginning, setting me back a year in my educational life. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be the end of the delays: It soon became evident the move hadn’t worked. I of course could never escape myself and only four months into the academic year was too ill to carry on.
After two months home in bed, I was admitted to an adolescent unit and all hopes of returning to school were dashed. After four months and my 18th birthday, I was no longer welcome in an adolescent unit and it was time to once again sink or swim out in the “real world”.
Once again, in a vain attempt to leave myself behind and find a place called home, I move. This time from Brighton to London. By now I was too old to enroll in a normal school and decided to do my A levels in one year at a private tuition college.
The first half of the year was a struggle with my mental and physical health deteriorating by the day, but I made it to the Xmas break and in half a year completed my AS levels.
As Chanukah approached the situation was getting dire and hospitalization was once again on the horizon. However, after meeting with the doctors one day, something shifted. It was as if I had been on autopilot set to self-destruct and I had finally found the manual switch.
It was a struggle, but in the coming half a year I met my future hubby, finished my A levels and planned our summer wedding.
So now three and a half years later as I am coming to the end of my degree, those A level days seem so far away. I can’t help but be a little proud that I have made it this far. I would like to encourage all of you out there to remember that tomorrow is another day, and after you’re done freaking out and panicking, just keep calm and carry on!

Sofie Copperman is a current JewliciousU intern and is studying for a BSc in Social Sciences at the University of London.