Jake, a sophomore at New York’s Fieldston School, is a self described “out of the box” Jew.  Jake has never affiliated with a Jewish institution, but has always felt a strong connection to Judaism. So when it came time to become a bar mitzvah, Jake sought out and studied with a rabbinical intern, borrowed a Torah and held the service in a restaurant.  He first encountered TCI through his community service class at Fieldston, which had collaborated with us to run a Jewish service learning trip to New Orleans.  Click here to read more about Jake…

Marisa is currently a senior at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts and was one of the first five members of Kesher, the Jewish student group on campus.  Coming from a Hebrew Day school, Marisa always had a sense of pride in her religion.  However, it was different to become accustomed to a school where she felt like the minority.  "I was amazed when there were only four other students in the club.  Everyone knew there were more girls who were Jewish, but they just did not want to affiliate themselves with the religion."  Click here to read more about Marisa….

Grace first heard of TCI when her ethics teacher at San Francisco’s Mercy High pulled her aside to suggest a Jewish retreat, TCI’s Jewbilee. Why Grace? “Everyone in my class knows that I am the Jewish girl.” Grace was brought up “casual in her Jewishness”. After trying several Jewish youth groups, she discovered TCI. “TCI is the first place I feel comfortable with who I am, regardless of how observant I am…” Click here to read more about Grace…

Jewish Student Union at Andover is making a presence on campus with food, fun and great events. Last Tuesday, JSU provided hundreds of apples and honey to celebrate the sweet new year. Hundreds of kids rushed over to our table during lunch to grab a honey stick, bite into a crisp apple, and learn and share the Jewish tradition of Rosh Hashanah. We distributed 300 apples and 587 honey sticks! Our club felt proud to be able to share our celebrations with kids on campus, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Uproars of "Happy New Year!" and small tutorials on simple Hebrew sayings, such as "L'Shanah tovah," were heard all around.

The apple fun did not just stop there. The following Friday, with plenty of left-over apples from the event, JSU decided to throw a baking party to make apple crisps to donate to Bread and Roses, a local food shelter. After services, we rushed over to a nearby communal kitchen on campus to start making our mess! As some participants were peeling apples, others were cutting apples, and others preparing the crumble topping. Quickly the kitchen was filled with the sweet scent of apple crisps and the joy of a new year. I couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate the new year of 5767 on campus!

Naomi Sobelson
JSU Co-President
Phillips Academy Andover ‘08