(‘25)
The Jewish Culture Club, a recent addition to the Indian Hills Community, has provided an outlet for all students to learn more about Jewish culture. Not only do Jewish students get to form a community where they feel represented, but they also work to educate people about their culture in order to prevent misconceptions and misinformation.
“The Jewish Culture Club means a community of support and a safe place where I can connect with other Jewish students”, says Leonora Kleinmann, President and Founder of the Club. She continues, “I love having the chance to see Jewish students connect back with their Jewish identity, and showing Jewish representation in the IHHS community at our events”. The Franklin Lakes Chabad has sponsored numerous events for the Club around the Jewish Holidays including their most recent event, a Lag B’Omer Campfire. There have also been other activities for students of different cultures to learn more about Judaism.
At the Lag B’Omer Campfire, students learned about the holiday’s significance and customary celebrations. Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer counting (49 days total) between the conclusion of the Passover holiday and the holiday of Shavuot. The Omer is a period of semi-mourning because Jews reflect on how the Jewish people, despite having just been freed from slavery in Egypt on the Passover holiday, still had to face many hardships and fears of re-enslavement until they received the Torah on the holiday of Shavuot.
On Lag B’Omer, Jews take a break from their mourning and observance to celebrate. Jewish people have a variety of views about the origins of this celebration. It is celebrated with bonfires, parades, and barbeques. At the Lag B’Omer Campfire in the Indian Hills Courtyard, students roasted marshmallows (kosher, of course) and made smores after a fun activity. They split into two teams to play darts, and the winners could take home any sports ball of their choice. This activity reflected the fun, easy-going spirit of Lag B’Omer.
The Jewish Club also hosted a booth at Hillzapalooza, so all students could learn about, and get a taste of, Jewish culture. The station included a game-show spinning wheel where students could spin for prizes. The prizes included Challah (a traditional Jewish prayer bread eaten on Shabat), Matzah (unrisen bread eaten on the holiday of Passover), honey sticks (a treat eaten during the Holiday of Rosh Hashanah for a sweet Jewish New Year), Hamantaschen (a triangle-shaped cookie filled with jelly or chocolate for the holiday of Purim), and other Jewish sweets! A Star of David, a symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism, cupcakes could also be won if students wore a dreidel, a spinning toy kids play with on the holiday of Hanukkah, costume and sang their favorite song! The booth was a hit, attracting Jewish and Non-Jewish students alike. Leonora Kleinmenn expressed her joy for the booth’s success by saying, “Even though it was just a spinning wheel booth, it meant a lot to me because people were learning about Jewish holidays they have never even heard of. A non-Jewish girl even came up to me at the booth and said that from our table she had now understood that being Jewish is not just a religion but a community and culture”.
Overall, Jewish students in the Indian Hills Community have the opportunity to spend time together to celebrate their holidays and to share their cultural foods and traditions with other students.
