Shanah Tovah everyone!

On Friday night, we all gathered in Trinkle Hall for a delicious dinner catered by the Green Leafe!  Aside from a failure to set up the potatoes, (sorry vegetarians!!) the pot roast was delicious.  Unfortunately, we ran out of challah, too!  William and Mary Jews just love their challah too much!

Still, we had tons of apples and honey for a sweet new year, and got to spend a night eating great food with so many friends.  Check out the photos on our facebook page!

Here's a preview! Check out the 60-person turnout! Way to go, Hillel!

-Allison Mickel, WM Hillel Vice President

So, I'm currently sitting here on my futon, IM-ing with Michael Cohen, discussing the size of our stomachs... Because it's all we CAN do after the event at Temple Beth El tonight!  The wonderful and welcoming members of the congregation served us as much pizza as we could eat-- not to mention the best kugel and macaroons I've ever had in my life.  Everyone at the event got leftovers to take home, and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that it's only that amazing Thanksgiving/Passover-y full belly feeling stopping any of us from devouring the extras in our fridges!

But it would be a mistake to concentrate only on the food, which was (for the last time), incredibly delicious.  We also got a tour of the building, which is beautiful, and SO much bigger on the inside than it seems from the outside!  I loved standing upstairs and being able to look over a balcony into the sanctuary below.  The upstairs hallway also functioned as an art gallery, open for contributions by Hillel members!

Other opportunities for Hillel members include cataloging the temple's expanding collection of Judaism-related materials (anyone interested in library science?) and in the spring, the religious school will be two openings for Sunday school teachers!  TBE was also generous enough to extend a standing invitation to any Hillel member for their Shabbat services, which is really amazing, since they're walking distance from the campus (only across Jamestown Road!)  And be on the lookout for other events both at the temple and members' houses (one congregant even offered his home theatre for Hillel movie screenings!)

Everything about the event made us feel so welcome; Rabbi Iliinsky kept repeating how much she wanted Hillel students to feel at home in the synagogue, to have a place both for spiritual and studious purposes.  Everyone there was so warm and excited about getting involved with Hillel that I, for one, am eager to further our relationship with TBE in the future-- and not just for the kugel!

-Allison Mickel, WM Hillel Vice President

Our first Shabbat of the semester was a huge success!  We had great turnout, and we all got to meet new people.  We started the evening by playing the "2 Truths and a Lie" game, followed by our traditional short service.  Then, we all sat down to eat some delicious veggie tacos and spanish rice-- with one caveat: sit with someone you don't know.  After meeting and talking with people we had never met before, we had ice cream for dessert.

I thought it was so great to talk to people who had never been to Hillel events before... It was really exciting to finally be able to put a face to an email address for many newcomers!  I got to hear their stories, too, which was fun; one new Hillel member just transferred from a school in Madrid!

Next week, we'll hopefully take some pictures of our picnic Shabbat so you can see for yourself how much fun Friday evening dinner can be.  In fact, we're going to try and take pictures of all of our events... despite, of course, how memorable and fun they are anyway :-).

We're also going to try and make our Shabbat services more dynamic, enjoyable, and fulfilling for everyone in the future.  So, if you have any suggestions or requests for what you'd like to get out of a Shabbat service, please email us at wmhillel@gmail.com.  In fact, we're open to any suggestions of any variety... Our inbox is constantly hungry!

We look forward to seeing you at future Hillel events (take a look at our "Upcoming Events" page for more info)!

-Allison Mickel, WM Hillel Vice President

Hey guys!  So the website is under construction but be ready for a new and improved website come the beginning of Spring Semester 2009!