Quadmania, one of UMBC's longest running traditions, is an outdoor festival and concert - usually one or more days filled with rides, games, food, vendors, student organizations, and fun! The event also features live music throughout the day, wrapping up with a concert by a national headlining band. Read more »

Let's face it, Matzah pizza is maybe the most delicious recipe you can make that's Kosher for Passover. Matzah can be terribly boring, especially after 8 days of the stuff. Try this delicious matzah pizza cooked by SAEPi to spice up Kosher for Passover Tea with Tanya this Tuesday. Read more »

Because of their frantic and hasty departure, the Jews could not take the time to let their breads rise before baking. As a result, during this eight-day holiday—also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread—there are strict prohibitions against foods with leavening or yeast. That restriction normally leads to a seder dinner featuring traditional dishes like matzo ball soup, gefilte fish, and brisket. In place of bread, matzo, an unleavened cracker-like food, is permitted. Other baked foods, also unleavened, are made with the flour and meal from ground matzo.

Chametz (Hebrew: חָמֵץ‎) (also Chometz or Chumetz) refers to bread, grains and leavened products that are not consumed on the Jewish holiday of Passover, as well as all food items that are not specifically marked "kosher for Passover." According to Jewish law, Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. Read more »

One of the names for Pesach is the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The story of the exodus from Egypt relates that the Israelites left Egypt hurriedly and the dough they had prepared had no time to rise, so they baked it into matzah, unleavened bread. One of the important precepts of this festival is the abstinence from eating leaven - any baked goods prepared with flour and allowed to rise, or prepared foods containing flour. Instead of bread, Jews eat matzah. Religious (and traditional) Jews observe this aspect of the festival meticulously. Read more »

H2H - To be continued....

After participating in Harbor 2 Harbor, a special exchange program sponsored by the JDC, Hillel and the Associated Odessa Hillel activists started to think about the future of relationship between Odessa and Baltimore Jewish communities. One of the purposes of the trip was to strengthen the links between the communities. Project participants have seen a lot, learnt about new things, but also strengthening the links should be reflected in specific cases and general projects. While it is too early to speak of follow through on the project as a whole, there is one specific case we wish to highlight: Read more »

Passover is coming sooner than you think and if you want to SIGN UP for the new-and-improved KOSHER-FOR-PASSOVER MEAL PLAN, you must do so by Friday, March 27! It's just $5 per meal if you're on a meal plan for that meal, and $10 per meal if you're not.
We will also have a Second Night Seder on campus, so let us know if you are in!
For more info email Tanya or Rabbi Jason Read more »

What do you think is a perfect end to winter? Watching TV near by the fireplace, successfully passing your exams, a hot latté from Starbucks? Hmm... maybe...

How about 3 days of sunshine in CA with your fellow Jews, tons of food and late concert madness while East Coast is freezing and buried under tons of snow?

That's exactly what some UMBC Hillel students chose to do out of all their options: Read more »

"We are connected by our Jewish heritage. There are many things that we do differently in each city, but there are many ways in which we are the same"

Read more about the visit at hillel.org. The article by Jeff Rubin, Associate Vice President for Communications in Hillel International
How do you teach the concept of klal yisrael, Jewish peoplehood?
Last week, I saw how one Jewish community makes klal yisrael come to life for students.

Pictures are here - Read more »

UMBC Students Matt Glassman, Mike Ball, and Vivian Ekey at 5:15 AM Inauguration Day.Many students braved the cold to head down to DC to witness the Inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as our nation's 44th President.

While the logistics getting there were a bit of an adventure in public transportation, city-planning, and communication between law enforcement and the public, there was a general feeling of awe in the air to be present for this moment in the history of the United States. Read more »