Campus Update: UCLA

By Rachel Schlossberg
KOACH Intern

So many exciting things have happened in the KOACH community this year at UCLA. The first week of school was already Sukkot, so we kicked off the year by making gingerbread sukkot in a sukkah! It was clear that people enjoyed constructing edible treats, so a few weeks later, we had "Challahween Following Halloween." Around 30 people attended this well-rhyming program to bake their own challahs. Favorite challah toppings included chocolate chips, cinnamon and sugar, and even sprinkles! Another fun November program was "Shiur and Shanghai," when we were lucky to have a visit from Rabbi Charlie Savenor of JTS. Learning about how Coca-Cola got a heksher while eating kosher Chinese food was an excellent combination. We concluded fall quarter with a relaxed Hanukkah party, where people decorated cookies, played dreidel, and made Hanukkah cards for friends and family, and for residents of a Jewish home for the aging.

Winter quarter came and, with it, Tu B’Shevat! Members of the KOACH community celebrated this Jewish Arbor Day by potting plants into decorated bowls and eating foods representative of the seven species. A couple of weeks later, we had a real Shabbat extravaganza. As part of an uncommon student-cooked Shabbat at UCLA’s Hillel, KOACH took the responsibility of baking desserts for the occasion. Then, we were fortunate to have Ari Kaiman, a rabbinical student at the American Jewish University, spend Shabbat with us. Purim this year fell during finals week at UCLA, but KOACH didn’t want to miss out on all the fun. Therefore, we celebrated a week early by decorating masks, making groggers, and eating hamentashen.

Spring quarter arrived, and Passover preparations quickly ensued. What better way to prepare for Passover than to have a "Hametz Hunt?" In this scavenger hunt, participants followed a series of Passover-related clues in an attempt to be the first one to find the hidden hametz. The prize? To keep the hametz! People say they don’t want hametz before Passover, but when the hametz is a bag of cookies, they change their minds. We plan to finish off the year with a KOACH Shabbaton, a first for KOACH at UCLA. Hopefully this Shabbat away from Hillel will be the last highlight of a fantastic year.

[Posted 6/4/08]