What did YOU do last weekend?

I have no clue about you, but I do know how about 150 college students and young adults spent the weekend at the 2nd Annual Camp Jewlicious at the Brandeis Bardin Institute in Simi Valley, CA. They swam, rode mountain bikes, climbed walls, rappelled, rode horses, tie dyed t-shirts, enjoyed Shabbat, had some great conversations, enjoyed some excellent speakers, made candles, baked challah, enjoyed some great music and generally partied like rock stars. Well, I mean if rock stars partied on lush 3000 acre properties amongst pheasants, squirrels, lizards and coyotes.

Camp Jewlicious was fun, meaningful and a great experience all around. Big ups go out to our entertainers: Rav Shmuel, Natan Winkler, Mikey Pauker, Josh Kramon, Hyim and DJ Shachar; Big ups also to our staff and volunteers as well as the staff at Brandeis Bardin. But mostly, a big thanks to our participants. OK, I know that’s kind of odd. I mean we worked hard and they reaped the benefits by simply showing up and enjoying the program, so why thank them? I guess it’s because we work hard for them, and when they show up and enjoy themselves, it’s like instant validation, a direct shot of dopamine to our collective cerebral cortex.

But yeah, don’t take my word for it. Check out all the photos on Flickr below. People seem to be having a good time, right? Right!

www.flickr.com Jewlicious’ Camp Jewlicious 2011 photoset

Special thanks to our sponsors without whom none of this would be possible. These are The Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles and the Valley Alliance Of The Jewish Federation Of Great Los Angeles, Stanley and Joyce Black, Adam and Gila Milstein, The Israel Leadership Council. Further support came from JConnectLA, MASA Israel, Birthright NEXT LA, Birthrigh Israel, Jews For Judaism, San Diego Jewish Federation, Nefesh B’ Nefesh, and Jimena.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

7TH JEWLICIOUS FESTIVAL BRINGS RECORD ATTENDANCE TO LARGEST INDEPENDENT JEWISH FESTIVAL WEEKEND
The Nation’s Beloved Jewish Cultural Event Inspired Communities, Students, and Young Professionals and Featured Renowned Jewish Musicians, Artists, Speakers, and Change-Makers

Gala Kick-Off Event, “Night of Unity,” at El Rey Theater Honored Community Leader Rhoda Weisman

LOS ANGELES (March 4, 2011) – Record-setting crowds of over thirteen hundred participants enjoyed the seventh annual Jewlicious Music Arts and Culture Festival, February 24-27, 2011 in Los Angeles and Long Beach. The nation’s largest independent Jewish cultural event, the three-day Jewlicious Festival, reveals a hip, modern perspective to a revered culture with world-renowned musicians, artists, speakers, community organizers, change-makers, and other leaders. The massively popular festival attracted its largest attendance since its founding in 2005, with participants from around the country.

The festival began with a Gala Opening, Night Of Unity, on Thursday, February 24, a benefit event featuring a special performance by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Peter Himmelman actor/comedian Elon Gold. Other performers and celebrity guests included David Fishof (Rock N’ Roll Fantasy Camp on VH1), Scott Mendelson (World’s Strongest Man), Jewish community leaders, philanthropists, and entertainers. The Night of Unity honored Rhoda Weisman, an internationally recognized community leader, organizer, and activist.

The Jewlicious Festival culminated on Sunday, Feb. 27 with a unique and live webcast performance and Q&A session with international Grammy-nominated music sensation Matisyahu, who was unable to travel to the festival due to weather-related travel disruptions in Canada Other entertainers during the festival included The Sklar Brothers, Moshe Kasher, Fool’s Gold, Acharit HaYamim, Soulfarm, Leerone, and Kosha Dillz.

Some of the most popular sessions were standing-room-only, including presentations by David Fishof (creator of Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp now on VH1) and Tahlia Miller (filmmaker and wife of Matisyahu) speaking about “Chemical Love.” Other prominent presenters included Emmy Award winning Filmmaker Ezra Bookstein, award winning blogger David Abitbol, activist Eyal Aranoff, Media Strategist for Repair the World, Dan Seiradski, and storyteller and author of “Cool Jew” Lisa Klug.

Throughout the three-day celebration, guests enjoyed amazing food and spirits provided by corporate sponsors Asahi beer, Diagio, Rockstar, Baron Herzog, Jeff’s Gourmet Sausages and Pat’s, Los Angeles’ longstanding and beloved kosher dining establishment. In addition to the Sabbath banquets, workshops, wine tasting, Jewish meditation, henna tattoos, dance, yoga, and swimming, attendees also participated in an impromptu karaoke party on Saturday night from 2:00 to 6:00 a.m.

“The 2011 Jewlicious Festival exceeded all expectations,” noted Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, founder and director of the Jewlicious Festival. “Students, community leaders, and renowned entertainers from around the globe came together in this celebration of our shared heritage and culture. With this success, we are even more excited for our second annual summer festival, Camp Jewlicious, August 19-21st, where we take the magic of Jewlicious to Summer Camp.” he added.

About Jewlicious

Letter From Long Beach, CA

By Gordon Haber

I’ve just spent my entire weekend at the sixth annual Jewlicious Festival in Long Beach, Calif., and I’m exhausted. Between sundown Friday and Sunday afternoon, I have eaten Jewish food, exercised with a Jewish boxer, laughed at Jewish comics and listened to Jewish music. I have talked about the Jewish past and argued about the Jewish future.

I have met Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews, Persian Jews, African-American Jews, Sephardim, Hasidim and people who converted to Judaism. All weekend, every single conversation was in some way related to Jews, Judaism or Jewishness. I feel like an over-stimulated child, or maybe like I’ve spent 48 hours in a mikveh.

Which is exactly how the festival’s organizers wanted me to feel. Not the exhaustion, but the metaphorical immersion. Jewlicious, which ran from February 19 through 21, is designed to touch on a huge variety of topics and to appeal to young Jews with a wide range of backgrounds and interests. All this sounded great to me. But I must also admit that beforehand, I felt a little dubious.

A glance at the event’s Web site, with its ’70s-style scripted logo and picture of a cute girl in an “I ♥ Hashem” T-shirt, suggests a certain packaged irony, an attempt at a more religious version of Heeb magazine’s hipster Judaism. This is not the end of the world (after all, I’ve written for Heeb), but the organizers of Jewlicious. What was their aim or agenda, other than getting Jews to meet other Jews and talk about Judaism?

But first, the experience. Although I wasn’t really there to participate, I loved mixing with Jews who came from all over and have different kinds of observance. (It’s not every day you get to hear about Adorno from a Canadian Breslover Hasid.) And I’d have to be hard-hearted indeed to grumble about Jews enjoying themselves in a Jewish setting.

Two moments stand out in my mind. The first was on Friday night, when the festival director, Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, was introducing Yuri Foreman, the WBC super-welterweight champion, and Matisyahu walked in. Suddenly it was like a frum celebrity harmonic convergence. And the second was on Saturday night, when I stepped out of the concert for some air and met a youngish Persian Jew from the Valley, who was practically glowing with happiness. “The musicians are amazing,” he said. “And it’s unbelievable, the diversity.”
But how diverse was it? While Bookstein told me that his organization’s surveys showed a neat divide between Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and “unaffiliated” Jews, my own (admittedly anecdotal) survey suggested that the attendees were mostly observant. The audiences for the bigger shows — the concerts and comedy — were a sea of yarmulkes, and all weekend the hallways resounded with the swishing of long skirts. So instead of broad diversity, it might be more accurate to say that there were all kinds of observant Jews.

And although according to David Abitbol, a Jewlicious.com blogger, the festival has grown “edgier,” that’s a relative term. Yes, at the Saturday night show some of the comics got pretty raunchy, but I would have loved to have seen what a really edgy Jew, like Heshy Fried of www.frumsatire.net, would have done with 15 minutes. And yes, there was a panel on Queer Jews, and another on medical marijuana, but I wonder if that was more about the sheer unavoidability of these topics. Observant Jews can no longer pretend that issues like homosexuality and drug use do not exist. Especially the latter: I had a lovely chat with one nice young bearded man while he got high in the parking lot.

Back to the question of why Jewlicious is doing this. On Sunday morning, I managed to corner Bookstein, and I asked him. “To help prevent a generation from opting out,” he said. “From disassociating themselves from Judaism and leaving the Jewish community behind. My philosophy is that this is a great way to build a dynamic and creative Jewish future.”

Now, let me say without reservation that I am all for a dynamic and creative Jewish future, and that Bookstein practically radiates positivity and good will. But most of the kids who showed up at Jewlicious reminded me of that anonymous quotation, “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.” I did meet a few attendees who were secular, and a few who were interested in, or in the process of, becoming more religious. But I met many more who were already religious and looking to meet a nice Jewish boy or girl, or learn some Torah, or just hang around and have a good time. In other words, rather than saving the Jewish people from the Horrible Fate of Assimilation, Jewlicious seems to be reinforcing the cohesiveness of the existing community.

Over the course of the weekend, I was irritated many times. The application of tech buzzwords to religion (Open Source Torah! Judaism 2.0!) got on my nerves. As did the resolute belief that the Internet would save Judaism. As did the subtle but persistent message, “You’re great the way you are, but wouldn’t it be more great if you were like us?” As did the ferocious networking on the part of the some panelists, who could not go three steps without hocking something. Finally, I wish Jewlicious (and everybody else) would stop trying so hard to make Judaism seem cool. It’s our heritage, not a vintage T-shirt. For all these reasons, next weekend I’m going out for a beer with a buddy of mine who was raised Christian and is now a diehard atheist.

But next year, you can bet your life I’ll be back at Jewlicious, if they’ll let me.

Gordon Haber is a frequent contributor to the Forward.
Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/126292/#ixzz18uHmJv7W

We are all about Open Source

Learn all about TIKKUNFEST it’s goals and how it works. From collecting clothing and food for the needy, to fixing up the street, TIKKUNFEST is going to repair the world, one block at at tim

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JEWLICIOUS IS REPAIRING THE WORLD
ONE BLOCK AT A TIME!

Jewlicious Presents Tikkunfest, a Unique Community Service Festival Spreading Over 18 Blocks of Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 24, 2010

TIKKUNFEST Press Release PDF

LOS ANGELES (October 11, 2010) – Jewlicious, the popular three-day festival that takes place annually and features an impressive roster of the most talented musicians, comedians, and other artists producing contemporary Jewish culture, is bringing Tikkunfest to Los Angeles on Sunday, October 24 from 1:00 – 7:00 PM. The event will be a day of community service and social action culminating in a free concert for volunteers (non-volunteer concert goers will pay a $10 ticket fee).

Tikkunfest will spread out over 18 blocks of Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. Volunteers will plant fruit trees and herb gardens in custom made planters, paint, clean up garbage, repair items, collect clothing and food for the needy, assist seniors, and promote community involvement. The event supports Wolrdwide Jewish Social Action Month and The LA Green Mile, which began a few years ago to help clean and revitalize the section of Pico Boulevard that runs through the most thriving part of Jewish LA.

TIKKUNFEST was made possible by a generous Cutting Edge Grant from the Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles, to support expanding Jewlicious Festival programming. Sponsors for event include The Jewish Community Foundation Los Angeles, The Office Of Council Member Paul Koretz, and JConnect. Partners include Progressive Jewish Alliance, JConnectLA, Uri L’Tzedek, Repair The World, & Craig N’ Co. The event, however, is still accepting additional sponsors and donations, particularly for the Pico Boulevard beautification efforts.

Volunteers can register in advance at http://tikkunfest.com/ or onsite at the festival. Others who want to participate can sponsor planters, supplies, the concert, water and snacks for volunteers, or dedicate a tree or herb garden for a friend or family member. All donations and sponsorships will be tax-deductible.

“The Jewish obligation for Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, seems overwhelming when faced with the enormity of the problems,” said Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, co-founder and director of Jewlicious. “TIKKUNFEST brings good down to the community level. The festival will inspire volunteers and everyone in the community, and will show that we can make the world a better place, one block at a time.”

Noah Bleich, founder of the LA Green Mile Project, commented, “With JConnect, Jewlicious, and the other numerous sponsors and volunteers, Tikkunfest promises to be an exciting and meaningful event. The need to bring our various communities together is greater than ever, and we’re honored to be a critical part of that process.”

To learn more about Tikkunfest, please visit www.tikkunfest.com.

About Jewlicious
Jewlicious is the leading brand in the world focusing on inspiring Jews via online media and festivals. Jewlicious publishes the most visited Jewish Blog, Jewlicious.com, creates world-class music festivals, operates college campus chapters, and has a line of Jewlicious apparel. The organization inspires young Jews to be active in the community, develop grassroots leadership, and connect young Jews to social and sustainability movements. Jewlicious is empowered by JConnect, a 501c(3) registered not-for-profit, and has offices in LA and Jerusalem.

# # #

Media Contact:

Jeannine Schechter Jacobi
Fresh PR
310-857-6994
jeannine@freshpr.net

Are you a College student who is planning on making Aliyah in the future? Are you a natural leader?

The Jewish Agency for Israel is seeking the best and brightest for its new Aliyah Campus Fellowship.

Fellows will help build a “Pre-Aliyah Community,” a social and support group for students considering Aliyah, and also take part in training seminars and a subsidized pilot trip to Israel. Fellows will be the designated Aliyah student representatives of the Jewish Agency on campuses throughout North America. Fellows should be student leaders, interested in making Aliyah, and in engaging their peers by implementing Aliyah activities on campus. Students will receive a $500 stipend for their efforts, and grants for programming.

Deadline to Apply: July 15th, 2010.

Interested? Contact: Yoni Mann at (212) 339-6981 or yonim@jafi.org

Our very own Eli Winkleman, founder of Challah for Hunger and long-standing Jewlcious Festivals Almuni , is up for a $20,000 grant for her revolutionary social initiative Challah for Hunger.

Challah for Hunger (CfH) raises awareness of and money for hunger and disaster relief through the production and sale of challah bread. Chapter volunteers gather on a regular basis to make challah–often from scratch–which they in turn sell to their communities. The chapters produce challah in a variety of flavors: plain; chocolate chip; peanut butter and chocolate chip; parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cinnamon sugar; and many more. Fifty percent of each chapter’s profits are donated to the national CfH cause–the American Jewish World Service’s Sudan Relief and Advocacy Fund. The remaining fifty percent may be donated to an organization chosen by the chapter.

We only need 2oo more votes—–You can help Eli win $20,000 by voting here!!!

Jewlicious Festival is proud to announce the arrival of the a new version of the in-demand Israeli Keffiyeh—–the I.D.F edition! This keffiyey was designed by Dveykus and is in the classic army-style of I.D.F apparel.

Jews indigenous to the Middle East have worn some variation of the “kefyah” (cap/kippah) and keffiyah (head/neck scarves) for thousands of years. The original purpose of the scarves, was to provide protection from the sun and sand.

You can get yours now at http://www.thekef.com!

Jewish Federations of North America, aka JFNA, aka The Fed (remember the one’s who created the Jewish Community Hero’s Contest?) have a new campaign they launched called “What’s Your #ISH?”

JFNA is the umbrella org for all the Federations of North America and in that capacity feel responsible for every Jew. Everywhere. Really. I mean I have met these people, and they are serious about loving Jews all over this planet. Check out the video and pass it along to a friend. The video is pretty hilarious.