BRODY JEWISH CENTER - HILLEL AT UVA
  • About Us
    • Community Partners
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Impact Report
    • FAQ
  • Student Life
    • Sign up Student eNewsletter
    • Story Showcase
    • Student Leaders
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Our Space
    • Passover
    • Jewish Studies Program
    • High Holidays
    • Jewish Resources
    • Incoming Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Blog
    • Calendar
  • Community
    • Community Newsletter
    • Parents >
      • Parent to Parent >
        • Chanukah Basketball Watch Parties
    • Young Alumni
    • Rent our space
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Give through UVA
    • Commonwealth Kiddush Cup
    • Capital Campaign
    • Jefferson Society
    • Eleventh Annual Brody Jewish Center Raffle

Krav Maga boosts students' confidence, strength

11/21/2014

 
Picture
Sunday afternoon, both laughter and the jarring sound of bodies hitting unknown objects could be heard at the Brody Jewish Center. No, students were not punishing themselves for waiting so long to start their final projects. Hoos for Israel was hosting a Krav Maga workshop, and students were constructively taking out their academic frustration on punching targets (well, at least I was doing this)!
Hoos for Israel decided a few months ago that it was necessary to include an Israeli cultural event in our menu of semester programming. We wanted an engaging, interactive event, and our Krav Maga workshop definitely delivered. We contacted Charlottesville Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (which teaches many forms of martial arts), and Gordon Emery and David Sanders kindly came out to the BJC to give us a two-hour crash course in Krav. During the lesson, we learned awareness training, effective striking techniques, footwork patterns, escape maneuvers, and many other basic moves.

Krav is unique in its practicality; it emphasizes always being aware of one’s surroundings and to take care of the immediate threat. Besides being employed by the Israeli Defense Forces, Krav is useful for everyday street protection. Founder Imi Lichtenfeld said he wanted to instruct Krav, “so that one may walk in peace.” I think I correctly speak for myself-- and everyone else who attended the course-- that we walked away feeling a little more confident in our ability to defend ourselves. I know that I will definitely be looking into Charlottesville Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s Krav course next semester due to the success of the event.

-Kayla Pomeranz
Class of 2016

Improv Group Brings Students out of Comfort Zone

11/14/2014

 
Picture
Thursday, First Year Connection hosted an event that featured the university’s premiere improv comedy group, The Whethermen! One of our Peer Network Engagement Interns, Zach Gelfand, is a member of the group and helped organize the event. When everyone first arrived, we enjoyed lots of pizza and mingling! We had a great turn out and were excited to see so many people come out to the event!

When the Whethermen came on to preform they began with a few of their own skits. In the first one, the audience had to call out a random family member for the performers to act as. In the next skit, the audience had to come up with any title for a movie that the Whethermen could act out. It was quite the experience to see a live performance of the next blockbuster, “The Door Hinge.”

After a few more improve skits, the Whetherman brought us into the action. We started off with a game to get us warmed up, and then they got us acting! As someone who had never stood in front of a bunch of people and acted, it was a pretty fun experience! We had to think on our feet, but even if we weren’t funny everyone was laughing at the silliness of it all. It was nice seeing my friends step out of their comfort zone and be imaginative! Overall, my nerves about hosting this event went away, and I ended up having a great time... and even got into the action myself.


-Sam Magnes
Class of 2017

Wa-Jews welcome Fall with Pumpkin Carving, Games

11/10/2014

 
Picture
Last week, the Peer Network Engagement Interns, along with the Jewish Social Council, hosted Fall Fest on the Lawn. This event included pumpkin carving, corn hole, Frisbee, homemade cookies, cheesecake and lots of Wa-Jews. What else could you want on a Thursday afternoon?


We all split up the tasks of who was going to supply what, and who was going to be there to set up, clean up, and host at specific times. I had the huge responsibility of providing the cookies – the baking of them was a fabulous study break, and no one is going to complain about nibbling on some of the extra cookie dough! Rachel Ross brought the pumpkins, and people signed up in teams to carve the pumpkins eloquently. Someone created a “V” with a saber. One pumpkin read “Go Hoos!”, and another person carved out a crescent moon. There were some other very clever designs for the pumpkins, as well. 

Since the event was during a two-hour period, people trickled in and out as the afternoon rolled on. First through fourth-years attended, and it was great to see some intermingling between the first-years and some upperclassmen. Personally, my friends and I bonded with some new friends over Taylor Swift's amazing new album that was just released. If that doesn't create a lasting friendship, I don’t know what will!

​-Dana Wilson, Peer Network Engagement Intern
Class of 2017



    The Brody Jewish Center, Hillel at the University of Virginia, is the focal point in a renaissance of Jewish life for the 1,000 Jewish students on Grounds. ​

    Archives

    September 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    AIPAC
    Alternative Break
    Ben Edgar
    Birthright
    BJC
    Brazilian
    Brody Jewish Center
    Bystander Intervention
    Charlottesville
    Engagement Interns
    Environmentalism
    Etai Pinkas
    Fall Fest
    First Year Connection
    Freedom Seder
    Golan Heights
    Green Dot
    High Holidays
    High Holiday Services
    Hillel At UVa
    Holocaust
    Hoos For Israel
    Hug And Wrestle
    Humpback Hike
    Israel
    JEI
    Jewish Conversation
    Jewish Leadership Council
    Jewish Women's Group
    Jiu Jitsu
    JSJC
    J Street UVa
    Krav Maga
    Leadership
    Leadership Retreat
    Mark Strauss
    Mississippi Delta
    Passover
    Peer Network Engagement Intern
    PNEI
    Pro-Israel
    Rosh Chodesh
    Self-defense
    Shabbat300
    Shabbat Around Grounds
    SHAG
    Sleepout For The Homeless
    Social Justice
    Spoken Word
    Sukkot
    Sunrise
    Sustainability
    Taglit-Birthright Israel
    University Of Virginia
    WaJewWa
    Whitney Perlen

    RSS Feed

The Brody Jewish Center
Hillel at the University of Virginia
1824 University Circle
Charlottesville, Va - 22903 

(434) 295-4963     -     info@brodyjewishcenter.org

Connect with us on social media!

Get the most up-to-date news, photos, and information.
The Brody Jewish Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. ​ 
 
© 2019 Hillel at the University of Virginia
  • About Us
    • Community Partners
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Impact Report
    • FAQ
  • Student Life
    • Sign up Student eNewsletter
    • Story Showcase
    • Student Leaders
    • Alternative Spring Break
    • Our Space
    • Passover
    • Jewish Studies Program
    • High Holidays
    • Jewish Resources
    • Incoming Students
    • Prospective Students
    • Blog
    • Calendar
  • Community
    • Community Newsletter
    • Parents >
      • Parent to Parent >
        • Chanukah Basketball Watch Parties
    • Young Alumni
    • Rent our space
  • Support Us
    • Donate Now
    • Give through UVA
    • Commonwealth Kiddush Cup
    • Capital Campaign
    • Jefferson Society
    • Eleventh Annual Brody Jewish Center Raffle