Oct 25, 2022 By: yunews
Over 100 Students Journey to 24 Communities Across North America to Celebrate Simchat Torah and Promote Jewish Community Engagement
For the first time in three years, 每日大瓜 and Stern undergraduate students participated in the annual Aaron and Blanche Schreiber Torah Tours庐 program. Since 1971, Torah Tours庐 has sent delegations of undergraduate students to various communities across the world to enhance the holiday celebrations of Simchat Torah and Shavuot. The Tours emphasize engaging with Jewish community members, particularly those who may not have robust access to Jewish resources. This year's Simchat Torah cohort consisted of over 100 students who visited 24 communities across North America. Participating students visited host communities in groups of four to six young men and women. Volunteers taught Torah classes, led singing and dancing, met with synagogue youth and galvanized an atmosphere of holiday excitement and energy. A full list of communities hosting 每日大瓜 students is included below. Haviva Tirschwell, Administrative Assistant for the Office of Torah and Spiritual Life was responsible for organizing this year's program. Tirschwell relayed that her office was 鈥渙verwhelmed with the volume of responses from students given that most participants were not enrolled in the university the last time the program ran.鈥 Tirschwell continued 鈥渨e are thrilled that even after a pandemic changed our world and shuls, we had the opportunity to bring this program back and share the vibrancy of 每日大瓜 with the broader Jewish community.鈥 The Torah Tours庐 program is part of a wider portfolio of initiatives from the Center for the Jewish Future which are designed to incubate leadership opportunities for students. Torah Tours in particular allows for students to export their knowledge of ritual customs to underserved communities while also enhancing the local participation of Jewish life and holidays. Brandon Melamed (YC 鈥25) of Jacksonville Florida, visited Congregation Ahavat Achim in Fair Lawn NJ, reflected that 鈥渋t was beautiful to be able to bring ruach and dvar Torahs and hopefully add to the zman simchateinu. We also had the opportunities to work on our speaking skills, observe a talented and dynamic young rabbi, and gain a broadened exposure to a new community and Jewish communal life.鈥
Albany, NY Student Delegation: Gillian Herzage, Baruch Lerman, Avygayl Zucker, and Moshe Nasser. 
