JHP Weekly E-News

JHP "International"

March 19 , 2008

in this issue:

• JHP in Florida
• Community Service & Ed-Jew-cational Alternative Spring Break in Prague

JHP in Florida

In his opening remarks, Rabbi Berl Goldman, Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student Center, welcomed the 70 some students & mentors who attended the first JHP Mentoring Event at the University of Florida earlier this month. Jonathan Hack, Student Director, JHP, UF, then introduced honored guest speaker, Bruce Pearl, head coach Tennessee Volunteers basketball team. Jennifer Birch, JHP Director Special Projects flew down to especially extend greetings from the Philadelphia office

--- "Rabbi Berl Goldman welcomed Pearl and his son Steven to Gainesville, saying the Jewish student center was probably 'the safest place in town for them right now.'

Tennessee head basketball coach Bruce Pearl calls himself a proud Jew, a man who wears his heritage on the sleeve of his bright orange blazer. First of all, Pearl says, he is a Jewish basketball coach in the Southeastern Conference, 'where people greet you with 'Shalom, y'all.'Â'

Pearl grew up in the Boston area, where his grandparents kept an Orthodox Jewish household, he told the students. 'Without that foundation, I don't know if I'd be the person that I am,' he said. 'We must recognize the trail that was blazed by people like my grandparents so that we can live in this time of greater religious tolerance and take advantage of it.'

The coach said he was happy to take an hour out of his busy pregame schedule to support the idea of mentorship for young Jewish students and athletes. His visit to the Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Center at University of Florida was sponsored by the Jewish Heritage Programs, which builds connections between successful Jewish leaders and young Jewish students." --- Excerpts reprinted from the Gainesville Sun
 
Closing remarks were made by Benjamin G. Mayer, Leon, Mayer & Co., who spearheaded the Florida JHP initiative & stressed the importance of the JHP Mentoring Program.

Community Service & Ed-Jew-cational Alternative Spring Break in Prague

Jennifer Birch, Director, Special Projects, Lindsay Teich, Penn JHP Fellow, Chabad/JHP Rabbi, Ephraim Levin & his wife Flora escorted a select group of Penn students to Prague, Czech Republic.
 
Prague, nicknamed The Golden City, is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Per Lindsay Teich, JHP Fellow, "The buildings, architecture & culture appeared magical, different from any other Eastern European city. The students felt very connected to their Jewish heritage & ancestry." 
 
The students learned a lot about the Jewish community. For most of its history Prague had been a multiethnic city with important Czech, German, and (mostly Yiddish- and/ or German-speaking) Jewish populations. From 1939, when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany, and during World War II, most Jews either fled the city or were killed in the Holocaust. In the city today only 2000 Jews remain.
 
The students toured the former Theresienstadt concentration camp (often referred to as Terezín) a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezin (German name Theresienstadt). They also spent a day with Holocaust survivors & toured the five synagogues in Prague which were mostly for the observant.
 
Chabad Rabbi Barash & his wife Dini hosted the group at the Prague Chabad House where each student individually baked their own Challahs for Shabbos. The JHPers visited a Jewish nursery school where they, together with the children, made Humantashen for the upcoming holiday.
 
Free time, the students took advantage of the cultural elements & gaiety in Prague. They explored different areas of the city, patronized various shops, museums & experienced the sundry nightlife that the city had to offer.
 
All in all, the trip proved to be educational, rewarding & inspirational for all, further linking the students to their glorious Jewish heritage.

Thank you.

Gene Armour,
Editor

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