JLF | Israel: Home & Homeland

JLF | Israel: Home & Homeland

Registration is now open!
Click here to sign up for Israel: Home & Homeland!

Israel: Home & Homeland | Spring 2022

Israel: Home & Homeland is a part of the Jewish Learning Fellowship (JLF)—the premier Jewish experience on campus!

“I really enjoyed the sense of a Jewish community across different types of Jews.” —a JLF alum

 

(Still) figuring college out? Want to explore your Jewish roots? Do you have deep, burning questions about Israel and how to relate to it as a Jewish college student? Then Israel: Home & Homeland is for you! This 10-week experience, a product of the Jewish Learning Fellowship, brings students together to ask and answer powerful questions about what it means to live life as a Jewish adult, such as: When do I feel at home? Who are my people? What does it mean to be a minority within the broader society?

Join your peers, meet new people, and find community (even amidst pandemic!) as we discuss hot topics and study accessible yet insightful texts.

Oh, and did we mention there’s a $180 stipend for a future Jewish experience?

Dates: 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, 11/30, 12/7

Open to all students who are new to Hopkins and/or want to explore their Jewish identity in a new and meaningful way.

For questions, contact Rachel Gordon at rgordo32@jhu.edu.

Register by February 9!

And check out our other JLF topic: Sex, Love, and Romance

“Joining JLF was the best decision I made at Hopkins!”
 —a JLF alum

Student Testimonials

“JLF really helped me feel more connected to the idea of learning from Jewish texts despite not considering myself to be a religious Jew, which in turn made me feel a lot closer to the community as a whole.”

“JLF was a welcoming exploration of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century. The Jewish values that we discussed over the course of the semester are ones that will guide me for the rest of my life!”

“The discussions were super relevant to my day to day concerns and curiosities. You’re not getting lectures on abstract concepts; these are helpful ideas that will definitely resonate with you!”

FAQs

What is Israel: Home & Homeland?

Israel: Home & Homeland is a ten-week fellowship that brings together college students to discuss meaningful topics, study Jewish texts, build community, and meet new people. It includes ten sessions, a Shabbat experience, and a commencement ceremony.

Israel: Home & Homeland is a part of the Jewish Learning Fellowship, a series of seminars and conversation-based experiences. Want to learn more? Reach out to Rabbi Eric.

What is JLF?

JLF, the Jewish Learning Fellowship, is a ten-week fellowship that brings together college students to discuss meaningful topics, study Jewish texts, build community, and meet new people. This semester, students may join one or both of our two cohorts, “Sex, Love, and Romance” and “Israel: Home & Homeland.” Both cohorts include ten sessions, a Shabbat experience, and a commencement ceremony.

Want to learn more? Reach out to Rabbi Shira.

What is the time commitment?

We will meet for ten sessions over the course of the semester, each for an hour and a half, including dinner. Additionally, we’ll all gather for a commencement ceremony and a Shabbat experience. See below for the full schedule.

How much does it cost?

Nothing! In fact, we will pay you to participate! We believe that Jewish learning and identity formation is valuable, and so is your time. We don’t want to pay you to be Jewish, but we do want to emphasize that we value your time. Therefore, we provide a stipend which we hope you will use toward a future Jewish experience, such as studying at Hartmann in Jerusalem or traveling on a Hillel Alternative Spring Break.

When exactly will we meet?

JLF Sex, Love, and Romance will meet weekly on a mutually-feasible evening beginning the week of September 19. JLF Israel: Home & Homeland will gather on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:30pm.

Each cohort will also gather together for Shabbat on November 11 and on December 8 for the JLF commencement ceremony.

We know the dates won’t always work with your schedule, but don’t let that stop you from signing up! When you register, we’ll also ask for alternative days and times when you can meet, and IF we can make it work, we’ll adjust the schedule for what’s best for the group. (Unfortunately, if we can’t figure out a time that works for everyone, we’ll stick to the originally scheduled dates.)

I don’t know anything about Jewish texts. I don’t know Torah from Talmud. I never went to Jewish day school. Is this for me?

It’s exactly for you! The Jewish Learning Fellowship is ideal for students who feel that they do not have a strong Jewish textual background but want to learn more. We will study texts in a way that requires almost no Jewish experience and no prereqs. Even if you already have some Jewish learning, we encourage you to sign up! We are mainly looking for people who want to explore their Jewish identity–whatever that looks like.

I’ve never been to Israel and I don’t know much about it. Is this for me?

Yes! Israel experience is not relevant for JLF Sex, Love, and Romance.

As for Israel: Home & Homeland, the program does not require any specific knowledge of Israel or experience being in the country. However, it does require being able to try to relate to Israel and to use Israel as a lens to ask big questions about yourself. For instance, we may ask something like, “How do you feel when you see Israel in the news,” which does not require a specific answer but does hope you can draw on some sort of experience or memory. No matter your knowledge level or past experience, we ask that you think critically, do your best to relate to Israel, and try to use it as a lens for discovery.

Israel can be a very charged topic. How do you plan to address that in JLF?

Israel can be a charged topic and discussion around it can involved differing opinions and heated debate. We therefore ask all fellows to agree to the following:

  • To bring an open mind to our conversations.
  • To acknowledge that there are many valid viewpoints when it comes to learning about and discussing Israel.
  • To do your best to understand and empathize with your peers–even when you disagree.

What are the goals of JLF?

We hope that through the Jewish Learning Fellowship, students will meet new people, bond with peers, connect with the Jewish community, find a Jewish mentor, and discover the richness of Torah. We’ll do this through studying together, talking together, and exploring our Jewish identities together.

What are some other opportunities for meeting new people and learning?

There are tons of other opportunities!

  • If you’ve only explored one JLF topic, make sure you check out the other one, too.
  • Already participated in Sex, Love and Romance or Israel: Home & Homeland? Apply to be a JLF intern! This is a chance for more learning and to take on a leadership role. Read the job description here.
  • Check out the calendar for other great learning events with Rabbi Shira, Rabbi Cantor, or other Hillel staff.

Can I participate in both JLF topics?

Yes! Anyone can sign up for either JLF course or both JLF courses as long as you haven’t participated in that course previously. In other words, an alum of LBQs can sign up for Israel: Home and Homeland and/or SLR, an alum of JLF Israel can sign up for SLR, and someone new can sign up for either or both.

This all sounds great. Where do I sign up?

Click to sign up for Sex, Love, and Romance and for Israel: Home & Homeland–then share with your friends!

Register by September 9!

Questions? Email Rachel Godon.

[/vc_column_text]

[/vc_column][/vc_row]