• about hillel
• student life
• student groups
• shabbat
• cei
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• meal info
• calendar
• contribute

student groups

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• Shabbat Committee
• Welcoming Committee
• Holidays Committee
• Social Committee
• Education Committee
• Tzedek/Social Justice Committee
• Jewish Cooking Club
• Hillel Gallery Project
• Yarmulkazi
• Alef Beats
• Brown Students for Israel (BSI)
• Friends of Israel (FOI)
• Union of Progressive Zionists (UPZ)
• Kavanah
• Kids' Kitchen
• Locks of Love
• Alternative Spring Break Project(s)
• Queer Hillel

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Shabbat Committee

This committee plans the weekly Shabbat program at Hillel, and aims to provide a comfortable and relaxing environment for Shabbat celebration for a diverse community of Brown, RISD and other Providence students. We plan special events and discuss ways to create positive and fun Shabbat experiences. We also manage publicity, set-up and other logistics for one of Hillel's largest and most popular events (no easy task, but an ultimately rewarding one!).Contact: Zohar Atkins

Welcoming Committee

A committee dedicated to making the Hillel community a warm and welcoming place for students and community members of all backgrounds. The welcoming committee also includes FYSH, First-year Students at Hillel, an organization dedicated to providing events specifically for first-year and transfer students. Contact: Yoni Dolgin

Holidays Committee

Coordinates Jewish holiday celebrations for the entire Brown RISD community, including High Holiday services, sukkah decoration, Passover seders, Purim parties and much more. Contact: Rebecca Theise and Elizabeth Langevin

Social Committee

Provides students with opportunities to get to know each other better through parties, intramural sports, attending Brown sports events, and informal meet-and-greets. Contact: Jamie Terran and Rachel Cohn

Education Committee

Helps coordinate Jewish learning opportunities, through events like classes, lecture series, lunch-and-learns. Contact: Ben Abiri and Jonah Fabricant

Tzedek/Social Justice Committee

A group dedicated to encouraging students to effect community change through a series of social justice opportunities. Contact: Carly Edelstein

Jewish Cooking Club

Jewish Cooking Club gathers for cooking, food, and a little taste of Jewish culture from around the world and just down the street. Contact: Sophie Simkin

Hillel Gallery Project

The Hillel Gallery Project is a collaborative of Brown and RISD students who organize and curate art exhibitions throughout the year, including juried shows of Brown and RISD students, senior shows, and many other great solo and group exhibitions. Check here for more information and upcoming shows! Contact: Davia Rabinoff-Goldman

Yarmulkazi

Yarmulkazi is Brown University's premier klezmer band. They entertain at University and community events, and recently released a brand new CD, "Get Your Goat!" Contact: Jonathan Cannon

Alef Beats

The Alef Beats is Brown RISD Hillel's phenomenal Jewish a capella group. They perform in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish at events around Brown University, as well as exotic locales like Brookline, MA and Brandeis University. Contact: Noah Langowitz

Brown Students for Israel (BSI)

BSI is a group dedicated to pro-Israel activism on campus and beyond. Contact: Sarah Sherman and Zachary Beauchamp

Friends of Israel (FOI)

FOI is Brown RISD Hillel's cultural group on campus. They have organized many popular events such as last year's Israel Culture Series, a week-long event including several "lunch and learn" discussions, falafel making, and an Israeli-themed Community Shabbat; additionally, they hold regular Israeli Movie Nights and Israeli Dancing Nights. Contact: Jordan Sack

Union of Progressive Zionists (UPZ)

The Union of Progressive Zionists is a network of student activists organizing on campuses across North America for social justice and peace among Israelis and Palestinians. Contact: Kara Segal

Kavanah

Kavanah practices meditation in a Jewish cultural context through a weekly pre-Shabbat meditation and the occasional guidance of guest teachers. Contact: Jon Mitchell

Kids' Kitchen

Kids' Kitchen is a daily after-school program at the Providence Salvation Army in which Brown and RISD students mentor and serve dinner to underprivileged children, ages four through thirteen. Cooking House has recently partnered with the program, broadening the representation of students from a diversity of faiths and enriching the shared commitment to food as a powerful medium of social change. Contact: Rebecca Silverman

Locks of Love

Locks of Love is an annual haircut-a-thon to donate hair and financial resources for cancer victims.Contact: Rebecca Silverman

Alternative Spring Break Project(s)

Brown has a unique relationship of support to New Orleans and surrounding areas. Hillel offers an opportunity to volunteer, over Spring Break, in communities still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Contact: Samantha Pohl

Queer Hillel

Queer Hillel provides a forum for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer students. The twin goals of Queer Hillel as an "identity group" are to demonstrate that Hillel is a safe space for LGBTQ individuals and to build community. Contact: Samantha Pohl