News

Meet the American Pitcher Who Brought New Turf to Israel

Author

Alexandra Goldberg

Date

April 6, 2022

The post Meet the American Pitcher Who Brought New Turf to Israel appeared first on Hillel International.

News

Jewish Students Shine in ‘Jeopardy! National College Championship’

Author

Alexandra Goldberg

Date

March 3, 2022

Isaac Applebaum has been a “Jeopardy!”’ fan for as long as he can remember. As a child, he and his family would shout answers at the television and hum along to the show’s iconic theme song. 

This month, Applebaum finally put his knowledge to the test on the “Jeopardy!” stage. 

“I’ve wanted to be on ‘Jeopardy!’ since I was a little kid. My parents were like, ‘You seem to know a lot of these answers, so you should try out,’” said Applebaum, a computational biology major at Stanford University. “I did well enough on the test to get an audition. And then from there, it was like a dream come true.”

Applebaum, 23, was one of six Jewish students who brought heat to the “Jeopardy! National College Championship” this month. The competition, hosted by Jewish actress and “The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik, tested the quick wit of 36 college students for a grand prize of $250,000.

The Jewish competitors, most of whom are active in Hillel, said their faith played a key role in their “Jeopardy!” experience. For weeks, they buzzed in answers to questions as their families, friends, and Hillels cheered them on from afar. 

“When I was on stage, I wasn’t thinking about the broadcast, and I just wanted to get the most out of the experience,” said Joey Kornman, a 20-year-old junior at Brandeis University. “The whole thing still feels surreal.”

Kornman, who qualified for the semifinals after winning the quarterfinal competition, said the people made “Jeopardy!” a memorable experience.

“It was so nice to meet students from across the country,” he said. “Not everyone shared the same academic interests, but we had enough in common to be selected for this ‘Jeopardy!’ tournament.”

For Sam Blum, an engineering science major at Vanderbilt University, competing on the show was a full-circle moment.

During his senior year of high school, Blum and his father snagged tickets to a live taping of “Jeopardy!” in Los Angeles. While sitting in the studio audience, he spoke to the late Alex Trebek, who hosted “Jeopardy!” for a record-setting 37 seasons.

“I told him I hoped to be back one day,” he said. “I had wanted to be a part of this for so long.”

Flash forward to his senior year of college, Blum was finally on stage. His study strategies, including practice games with his parents, who played the part of “Jeopardy!” host over Zoom, would help him clinch third place in the quarterfinals.

“That gave me a better feel of what it would be like to answer 50 questions in a row, standing up, with a buzzer,” Blum, 22, said. “It’s all about timing.”

Lucy Greenman, a senior studying health analytics at College of William & Mary, opened her television appearance with a short story about teaching Hebrew to kindergarten and first-grade students.

“Having little kids is the best because they have no filter,” she said to “Jeopardy!” host Mayim Bialik. 

The road to “Jeopardy!” fame was intense. After taking a baseline quiz, Greenman and her peers had a series of callbacks until they were selected to participate in the 36-student tournament.

Greenman, who regularly leads Shabbat services at her Hillel, was excited to interact with a Jewish star like Bialik.

“The whole show has a Jewish tint to it, because you’re going to meet a Jewish celebrity,” Greenman said. “So it was definitely a theme of the weekend, and it’s very comforting to meet somebody and know that you already have such a core part of yourself in common with them.”

Besides connecting with Bialik, Greenman, 24, said the best part of her experience was building relationships with the other competitors. Post-filming dinners and hours spent on stage helped her bond with them. 

“After we played our first games, and that whole wave of stress was over, the best part was that we had all been through it together,” Greenman said. “It was just like hanging out with friends.”

For Fiona Hellerman, an international relations and philosophy major who is active in Hillel at Tulane University, the most memorable part of the tournament was speaking with Bialik about her late uncle. 

As a child, Hellerman discovered she had a knack for trivia while watching “Jeopardy!” with her Great Uncle John.

“He loved trivia and random questions. We’d always watch ‘Jeopardy!’ and joke around,” Hellerman said. “He also really loved Bialik’s character in the ‘Big Bang Theory,’ which was one of his favorite TV shows.”

During her senior year in high school, Great Uncle John died of medical complications. Throughout the “Jeopardy!” filming experience, Hellerman said she felt her uncle’s presence and support. 

“Everything really felt like it came full circle when I was filming,” Hellerman said. “There was a confluence of factors, like how the woman who portrayed his favorite character on the ‘Big Bang Theory’ was hosting a show that we all loved, and how I was representing my dream school on the show.” 

After filming, the 21-year-old senior spoke with Bialik about how special this experience was for her and her uncle.

“She sent my family her love and said it was a beautiful story. It was just so sweet and special,” she said. “I know that I got a little misty while we were talking.”

Beyond the stress of hitting the buzzer first and the race for the cash prize, “Jeopardy!” was an experience about connection, Hellerman said.

“My time on ‘Jeopardy!’ was more than a competition. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Hellerman said. “Having that sentimental moment with Mayim is honestly worth much more than any prize I could’ve won playing the game.”

Isaac Applebaum also shared a moment with Bialik. 

When the studio cameras were rolling, Applebaum told Bialik that his mother’s battle with cancer deepened his “personal faith and relationship with God” and encouraged him to work toward a career in oncology. 

He also said his faith helped him cope with stress during the competition, especially during the semifinals.

“Faith can give you perspective and also this idea that things in life happen for a reason as part of God’s plan for our life,” Applebaum said. “I think it takes some of the pressure off.”

Alexandra Goldberg is a sophomore at University of California, Santa Barbara.

The post Jewish Students Shine in ‘Jeopardy! National College Championship’ appeared first on Hillel International.

News

Shir Delight: Jewish A Cappella Groups Bring Students Together

Author

Gabriel Lesser

Date

January 3, 2022

At the start of his freshman year, Itai Segev already knew that he wanted to join an a cappella group. He auditioned for one and got in, but when he learned that there were no Jewish a cappella groups on campus, he decided to start his own.

“I wanted to combine my passions for Judaism and singing. I found a group of people that shared the same passion.” said Segev, who is currently a senior at American University.

Segev co-founded TenLi Tunes with strong support from American University Hillel. “All of our advertising goes through Hillel,” he said. “And we try to perform at different Hillel events, like at Rosh Hashanah services, Hanukkah events, and Shabbat once a month.”

While TenLi Tunes was founded recently, Jewish a cappella has been thriving on North American college campuses for decades. These groups provide students an opportunity to connect with their Jewish identities through music and song.

Many of these Jewish a cappella groups create catchy names for themselves with multiple meanings. Segev talks about the meaning behind TenLi Tunes, with Ten Li meaning “give me” in Hebrew. Tenleytown is also the neighborhood in DC. in which the group resides.

At Northwestern University, the premier Jewish a cappella group is named Shireinu, meaning “our song” in Hebrew, with the final two letters capitalized to stand for the initials of the university.

Natalie Daninhirsch, one of the co-presidents of ShireiNU, emphasizes how a love of music brings together members of various religious and cultural backgrounds. “My Jewish experience on campus is this beautiful melange of music, culture, education, and people,” she said.

Fellow member Rachel Meiselman expresses a strong connection between ShireiNU and Northwestern Hillel, as the group both rehearses and performs in the Hillel building.

“We just performed in Hillel’s Hanukkah event, Latkepalooza, and we are lucky to have a very supportive audience,” Meiselman said.

As a freshman, Meiselman is delighted to start her college career as part of this group. “Music is something that truly bonds people together,” she explained. “It’s the most unique community experience I’ve had.”

In addition to fostering a strong sense of community, Jewish a cappella allows for students to explore a wide variety of music, ranging from traditional Hebrew songs to both Israeli and American pop.

At Syracuse University, Anna Fleischer describes how her Jewish a cappella group, Oy Cappella, performs a variety of genres, mixing Hebrew music with popular American music.

“We have our two staple Hebrew songs: “Al HaNissim” and “Licha Dodi”,” Fleischer said. “And we’ve also performed popular songs like “Happier” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele, and “American Boy” by Estelle and Kanye West.”

Keren Binyamin, a current member of the Jewish a cappella group, Kol Sasson (“sounds of joy”), at the University of Maryland, mentions how her group balances Hebrew and English songs and mixes in fun pop songs and ballads. “We are planning to record a CD of our music during winter break,” she said. “We’ve also made two recordings for the KOLedge A Cappella Competition.”

The KOLedge A Capella Competition, which Binyamin mentioned, is a Jewish collegiate a cappella competition that features multiple Jewish groups each year. This year, Ketzev (“rhythm”), from Johns Hopkins University, won first prize singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

Diana Bershadsky, president of Ketzev, describes the singular feeling of performing Jewish songs. “There is something so special about singing songs steeped with tradition and meaning,” she said. “When you get it right, time stops and you can feel the goosebumps.”

Ketzev performs “Hallelujah” at each of their concerts and invites visiting alumni to come sing with them, a touching tradition that has gone on for years. “These moments of meaning are why I joined Jewish a cappella in the first place,” said Bershadsky.

When asked about the essence of Jewish a cappella, students are filled with pride in being able to combine their Jewish identities with musical passions.

Segev describes his joy in expressing his Jewish identity through music. “I love singing and I love Judaism,” he said. “It’s amazing to give other people the opportunity to practice Judaism on campus in a way that fits their style.”

Anna Fleischer echoes this feeling of joy. “Judaism has always been a huge part of who I am, along with singing,” she said. “The combination of both is incredible beyond words.”

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