Why We Love Mayim Bialik and Why You Should Too

I'm a 'product of federation,' Mayim Bialik tells UJA closing event  

by Jodie Shupac, Staff Reporter, The Canadian Jewish News

TORONTO — In nearly every sense, Mayim Bialik is an atypical Hollywood star.

It would be difficult to come away with a different impression of the accomplished actress, writer, scholar and observant Jew after listening to her keynote speech at the Feb. 2 UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s annual campaign 2015 closing event.

Held at downtown event space The Carlu and attended by 800 campaign donors, the evening featured speeches and a dessert reception, all to celebrate the $53.1 million – the product of about 16,000 gifts – raised so far to support UJA projects in the 2015 fiscal year (donations are expected to roll in until the fiscal year begins in July).

Funds from the campaign, which launched in September, will go toward Jewish social service delivery in the GTA, as well as community building, education, strengthening bonds with UJA’s partner agencies in Israel and advocacy through the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

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THE TOP 50 COLLEGES WITH ACTIVE JEWISH COMMUNITIES

From BestColleges.com


Jewish students are a unique minority in the collegiate world. Their identities, while grounded in a living faith, also revolve around an ancient cultural heritage with historical and geopolitical considerations that remain relevant. Perhaps the overriding attribute of Jewish identity is the emphasis on supporting their community, regardless of the scale. For many incoming Jewish freshmen, the presence of a Jewish student body on-campus is as crucial as the general academic and social merits of the institution. Such communities offer a unique source of support, providing a place to worship, Kosher meals and faith-backed extracurriculars.

Students who identify more as cultural Jews, and less as worshippers of the faith, may also care about these sorts of community efforts. The Jewish-student experience found at a school will of course vary student to student. Some may seek out Jewish Greek life, while others immerse themselves in a school’s Hillel chapter. Some students pursue Jewish studies as a major or minor, while others spend their college years parallel to a school’s Jewish community, but nonetheless appreciative of its presence.

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Islamic State executing ‘educated women,’ UN says

Civilians slain for banditry, homosexuality, adultery and various acts of ‘disloyalty’

By AFP for The Times of Israel

GENEVA — The UN on Tuesday decried numerous executions of civilians in Iraq by the Islamic State group, warning that educated women appeared to be especially at risk.

The jihadist group is showing a “monstrous disregard for human life” in the areas it controls in Iraq, the UN human rights office said.

The group, which controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and in neighboring war-ravaged Syria, last week published pictures of the “crucifixions” of two men accused of being bandits, and of a woman being stoned to death, allegedly for adultery.

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Israel’s chief rabbi schools Californian Jewish students

David Lau fields questions on terrorism, ultra-Orthodox in the IDF and Israel’s fragmented society

BY KELLY HARTOG for Times of Israel

Rabbi David Lau is accustomed to being a pioneer. The youngest candidate ever elected to the post of Israeli chief rabbi, he also was the first to harness the power of the Internet for answering questions on Jewish law. Additionally, Lau is a reserves major in the IDF’s intelligence corps

This week he participated in an unprecedented meeting, sitting down for a frank question-and-answer session Sunday with 40 Jewish student leaders of different denominations from a slew of Southern California campuses.

While the student leaders were initially deferential and somewhat awed, they soon settled in and grilled the rabbi with probing questions.

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