February at Hillel 818

February might be the shortest month of the year, but at Hillel 818 it’s been one of our busiest months yet!

New Year, Same Me: A Novy God Celebration

We celebrated New Years- Russian style! Through traditional Novy God food, games, and discussion, we took a dive into learning about Soviet culture surrounding this annual celebration.

Queer Campfire

While it might have rained, we still celebrated Havdalah near a campfire (a fake one, at least)! Our LGBTQIA+ community hosted a havdalah movie night complete with all the traditional campfire elements to end Shabbat.

Art Workshop

To prepare for our Spring Art Festival, our art intern, Rose, lead a workshop on how to brainstorm an art piece and how to choose a medium that suits the artist.

Rabbi Jess Spills the Tea

Every other week, Rabbi Jess gathers a group of our students to discuss a myriad of topics through a Jewish lens, all during a British-style tea time.

Israeli Tale & Dance

This program was all about embracing your creative side! The first part involved painting on a canvas each individual’s vision of Israel. The second half of the night was an exciting Israeli dance class lead by Noya of the Israeli Moishe Pod.

CSUN Shuk

We brought a bit of Tel Aviv to campus! Over the course of two days, we brought some Israeli snacks, a photo op with a Tel Aviv background, and the chance to learn about Israel travel opportunities to CSUN.

“We Will Dance Again” Silent Disco Fundraiser

The Nova Community was born for all those who share a common core values: freedom, love, movement, connection, unity, and giving. We danced at the Silent Disco to show that we’ll continue spreading that light and love, and in addition to that our students raised $1,046 to go towards the Israeli Children’s Fund, Magen David Adom, and the Tribe of Nova.

Israeli Shabbat

We closed out Israel Week with a reflective Shabbat service and meal honoring the hostages who are still being held captive. We reserved seats around our table so that we could all remember that they are still missing and we need to Bring Them Home Now.