Everyone knows that holidays translate to family time. It is during these treasured days of the year when you spend time together and catch up with each others lives. I once thought that this was all there was to it, and believed that being at home would be the most fulfilling and ideal way to spend my holidays. I came to these conclusions because as a Jew, and especially in the home I grew up in, family was central. My first year in college I heard about a program which sent students all over North America for two different holidays, one at the beginning of the the year and one at the end in order to bring cheer and spirituality to struggling communities. I immediately dismissed this idea because of years of associating holiday with family.

At the beginning of my second year of college my roommate pushed me out of this comfortable yet limiting notion, and forced me to sign up on the program with her. We filled out a questionnaire about ourselves and were told that we would be paired up with two guys. The location—unknown. Despite my misgivings about the whole expedition, I began to find myself thinking about all of the exciting possibilities of where we would be sent. Finally the day of the training session came and I picked up our folder and read “Kitchener, Ontario.” I will loosely translate this location as one hour’s drive from Toronto, but still pretty much middle-of-nowhere Canada. The mystery of never having heard of Kitchener counteracted all of the hesitation I had previously felt, and I began to look forward to the upcoming holiday which I would spend there.

I was told that we were taking the train. Packed up and ready my roommate and I headed out to Penn Station, printed our tickets and located our male counterparts. When we were cozily settled in our seats we all chatted, prepared our religiously inspirational speeches, and decided which spiritual songs to sing. The rabbi of the community met us at the station and drove us to the homes where we would be staying, all the way regaling us with numerous entertaining and crazy anecdotes from his past. The next day was a blur. We helped the rabbi and his wife with their six children, while preparing his house and the synagogue for the holiday, because of centrality of both locations.

Later that night we gathered in the synagogue for prayer and afterwards spent time getting to know the community members. We learned that although the synagogue was large, the Jews in that area had become disinterested in religion and the rabbi, who had only just recently moved to the neighborhood was trying to jumpstart religious activity and involve more people. The holiday that we had come for was called Simchat Torah, which celebrates the end of the annual cycle of Torah readings and marks the beginning of the new one. As is the custom, we took the Torah scrolls from the ark and carried them around the sanctuary seven times while and singing, dancing and rejoicing. The members of the synagogue gladly joined us, smiling with such joy while we led the singing and dancing, celebrating the Torah, what it represents. We later learned that this was the first time in twenty years that they had celebrated in such a spiritual and lively way.


If you would like to see a clip of what Simchat Torah looks like click here

The rabbi came to us after the holiday was over and thanked us profusely for enriching the holiday for his community. He said that many of them had come up to him afterwards to tell him what a difference we had made, and some offered money to bring us back during the year. I was personally inspired by these people who so voluntarily craved religion and spirituality. Although it is important for us to spend time with our family during the holidays, I believe that it is of equal or more importance to be involved in reaching out to others at this time. Enhancing and strengthening the religious and spiritual experience of others will not only have a tremendous impact on them, but it will hopefully revolutionize the way you view your religion and experience spirituality.

Shira, Yeshiva University, Read my blog

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With so many premium cable channels available today, such as Shotime, HBO and Starz, it can be hard to find shows on basic cable that are actually worth watching.  However, networks such as AMC and FX are still managing to air fantastic shows that are just as entertaining as shows on premium cable channels.  Below are a few shows on basic cable that are definitely worth checking out.

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad, which airs on AMC, is essentially the portrayal of a man whose life is turned completely upside-down due to his involvement with cooking crystal meth.  The show is currently in between its 4th and 5th season and will only be 5 seasons in total.  Breaking bad is a fantastic drama/thriller series that would definitely be enjoyable for a mature audience.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead, which also runs on AMC, is widely considered the best TV show about zombies to date.  With that being said, there aren’t an overwhelming amount of zombie shows flooding the networks.  However, The Walking Dead is about more than just zombies.  The show has tremendous character and plot development, as well as fantastic makeup and set design.  Due to the content and general nature of the show, The Walking Dead is recommended for a mature audience.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is not a new show by any means, however, it has somehow managed to fly under the radar of many comedy lovers.  The show, which airs on FX, is virtually plotless from episode to episode.  Each episode has its own topic that is covered in its entirety throughout the episode.  Other than a few character relationships, the show rarely tends to carry any baggage, so the series is pretty easy to get into.   Although it is a comedy series, a lot of the jokes are raunchy, so I would recommend this series to a more mature audience.

Michael Turzilli, Quinnnipiac University

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With countless sources of social media at your fingertips, it is hard to decipher just exactly what each website should be used for.  The first name that comes to mind when social media is considered is, of course, Facebook.  Facebook is a fantastic way to communicate with your friends, as well as promote yourself as an individual.  However, with other websites such as Tumblr and Twitter available, it has become difficult to choose when to use which type of social media.  This post will attempt to guide you to the proper social media outlet for whatever your needs may be.

Perhaps the largest use for social media is to update friends with current activities; if this is your ultimate goal with social media, Twitter is most likely for you.  Twitter’s clean layout is perfect for quick updates from your friends, or ‘followers’ as Twitter labels them.  Your Twitter page is essentially a listing of your friends’ most recent “Tweets.”  This layout works perfectly for individuals who use social media on the go, as updates from your friends will be no longer than 140 characters.  Due to the 140 character limit imposed by the creators of Twitter, Twitter is a great social media website for individuals who are consistently pressed for time.  The following is an example of a Twitter homepage layout

While Twitter is best for quick, on the go use, Tumblr serves as a social media site for just the opposite.  Although Tumblr can most certainly be used on the go, or when pressed for time, it is mainly composed of images selected by the owner of the Tumblr page.  Creating a Tumblr consists of posting pictures of things that strike your interest.

Furthermore, Tumblr can be used to share your pictures with people who may have overlapping interests.  Many people choose to post original photos, while some Tumblr users post stock images.  Either way, sharing images through Tumblr is a great way to get involved with social media.

Finally, we’re left with the largest social media website of them all, Facebook.  Facebook is a fantastic social media site, mostly due to its size and versatility.  While Twitter and Tumblr focus on either text or image based posts, Facebook has been successful in integrating both into one user friendly layout.  Moreover, Facebook also offers an instant messaging service called Facebook Messenger.  With these three elements combined, Facebook is able to stand out as the most crucial social networking website.

Whichever social media website you decide to register with, or combination of websites for that matter, make sure to consider the aforementioned.

Michael Turzilli, Quinnnipiac University

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I grew up in Jamaica Queens. My apartment building was sandwiched between a bodega and a pupuseria. For the unexposed, a bodega is a deli grocery store typically owned and operated by Dominicans with heavily accented English. You know a corner store is a bodega if when you walk in there’s an employee holding a newspaper leaning against a food stand or ice cream freezer speaking with the man behind the counter in rapid fire Dominican Spanish smattered with at least fifteen diques and babosos per second. A pupuseria is a Salvadorian restaurant that specializes in pupusas- a thick tortilla stuffed with any combination of pork, cheese, and beans. My mom used to pick up a fifteen pack of pupusas revueltas (mixed) every weekend for dinner. On the weekdays after school I’d search for quarters in the sofa and go to the bodega for a ring pop. Growing up in New York City I was constantly exposed to different people and cultures. Being a kid, I was never aware of the privilege that is exclusive to those who are raised in big cities. I had classmates and friends from all around the world and I experienced their cultures through food. For immigrants from any country, food can be the most important tie to home. I realized this about myself when I lived in El Salvador for three months. Sure, the local riguas, pupusas, and pasteles were great but after the first month, all I really wanted was a cheeseburger or a turkey sub.

I love food and I’m incredibly un-picky about my tastes. I’m an adventurous person and I explore with my stomach as much as I do with any other part of my body. Fried spicy Malaysian noodles with squid? Serve me a platter. Pasteles stuffed with cheese and guava? That sounds interesting- I’ll take two. This place has a C on the front door? Who cares? The Cuban sandwiches are great, salmonella be damned. To me, eating food and participating in the ritual of consumption is the funnest, cheapest, and most delightfully exciting way to experience culture. That’s why I’ll be blogging about finding great authentic ethnic food in New York City, as well as creating some dishes at home. My name is Catherine and I’ll be your guide through the best the five boroughs has to offer.

Catherine, Hudson County Community College, Read my blog

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