A free trip to a foreign country! Of course I’ll go! I had never been to a foreign country before, so when I heard that I had an amazing opportunity to take a free trip to Israel, I immediately said yes. I didn’t know too much about the trip, and wasn’t super religious growing up, but I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity for a free trip. I was just expecting to have a fun time doing a ton of cool tourist activities, but it turned out to be the best 10 days of my lif

Upon returning from numerous different Birthright trips, people always refer to Birthright as the best experience of their lives, a trip of self-discovery and the renewal of their Jewish identities. I never believed their claims, or at least never expected such an experience for myself. How could ten days on what essentially seemed like a school trip with strangers possibly change my outlook on life or on myself? I will now try to explain how my life was, indeed, changed in t

As college students, we are overworked. We spent way too many hours doing classwork and homework, and then on top of that we have all of our clubs and other responsibilities. After a long week, sometimes we need nothing else than just a few hours to take a step back and relax. Some people recharge by watching a guilty pleasure TV show (I may or may not be known to watch an occasional episode of Say Yes to the Dress), some people curl up with some UDairy, and some people just

I recently returned from UD Hillel’s Alternative Spring Break trip to Argentina. It was a really interesting experience for me. I loved the trip for a multitude of reasons, but the two main ones are of course, the community service aspect, and the new Jewish experiences. This experience was very interesting for me. I am from Long Island, where I have never felt alone in being Jewish. I would say that almost 50 percent of my high school was Jewish, so I was always very comfort

For an incredible week, 17 UD students and I participated in service projects aiding both the Jewish community and the broader Argentine community in Buenos Aires. Throughout the week we were challenged with questions regarding our Jewish identities, purpose, and responsibilities. One question in particular, “to whom are we obligated?” stands out to me as I reflect on the experience. After flying across the globe, traveling over 12 hours, to participate in service projects fo

Winning in general terms could be associated with beating someone else in a competition. This is a simplistic definition for the term. When given the chance to think about it, winning can mean so much more. It does not have to do with competition at all. Winning is about doing something for yourself or for others that makes you feel good. This could be as simple as winning a smile from a friend when you know they are having a bad day. I define winning as giving back to

My first experience with Hillel was freshman year when I went to my first Shabbat. I didn’t know many people, but everyone who was there was so warm and welcoming to me. I instantly felt like I was part of a community. When I first came to college, I knew that I wanted to become involved with Hillel. I was highly involved in USY (United Synagogue Youth, a conservative youth organization) in high school and I was looking for a Jewish community just like that in college, and I