We hope that you will take advantage of the many wonderful opportunities offered by the Asbell Center for Jewish Life. The Asbell Center, located in an historic building on High Street, sponsors Shabbat and holiday celebrations, cultural programs, lectures, discussion groups, and social justice projects. In addition to serving as the home base for Hillel, the Asbell Center also hosts the kosher cooking club and the Jewish men’s group, both of which started just last year. 

Our building features a kosher kitchen, a beautiful sanctuary with stained glass windows, a third-floor lounge with TV room, and a living room/dining room where meetings, meals, seminars, and film screenings are held. We are introducing electronic card access this Fall, so that students will be able to use the building in the evenings and on weekends to do homework, plan activities, or just hang out!

In line with the college’s emphasis on “engaging the world,” we encourage students to travel to other places in order to experience different aspects of Jewish life. As a “Small and Mighty” Campus under Hillel International, we have slots for birthright trips to Israel—don’t miss the opportunity to spend ten days in the Jewish homeland!  For the third time, the Asbell Center is organizing an amazing Alternative Spring Break social action trip to South America under the auspices of Hillel Argentina. And throughout the year, we will offer exciting Jewish-themed day trips to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.

There will be a number of options for the High Holidays. The local Reform congregation, Beth Tikvah, sponsors lay-led services on campus for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We will also obtain High Holy Day tickets to different Harrisburg-area synagogues and provide van transportation to those services. We will have two Rosh Hashanah dinners, one in the Asbell Center and one in the home of a local Carlisle family who host dozens of students each year. And we will have many other holiday celebrations as well, including a Break-the-Fast for Yom Kippur and a Sukkot observance at the college’s organic farm.

We hope to meet many students at some of the Orientation activities, including the cooking and art workshops on Friday, August 27th in the Asbell Center, the Shabbat service on Friday evening, August 27th in the Asbell Center, and the bagel brunch on Sunday, August 29th at 11:15 in the Depot!  Please see the Jewish Life Fall 2010 information below for details:

ASBELL CENTER FOR JEWISH LIFE FALL 2010 

Events and holidays are open to all!!  Please stop by to visit our newly updated building and student lounge. 

Friday, August 27^th, 1:00pm                        Discovering Dickinson 

Asbell Center                                                 (Cooking and Art workshops) 

Friday, August 27^th, 6:00pm                        Hillel Shabbat Services 

Asbell Center                                                 (Refreshments to follow Service) 

Sunday, August 29^th, 11:00 am                   Tour of the Asbell Center 

Asbell Center 

Sunday, August 29^th, 11:15am                    Jewish Life Bagel Brunch 

Depot 

Wednesday, September 8th, 7:00pm        Erev Rosh Hashanah – Oneg to follow 

Memorial Hall                                                (For details please go to  

                                                                        http://www.dickinson.edu/student-life/resources/asbell-center/content/High-Holy-Days/ 

Wednesday, September 8^th, 6:00pm         Rosh Hashanah dinner Celebration 

Asbell Center                                                 (Please email loudonl@dickinson.edu to make reservations) 

Wednesday, September 8^th, 6:00pm         Rosh Hashanah dinner Celebration at Mr. & Mrs. Levin’s home 

                                                                        (Please email loudonl@dickinson.edu to make reservation) 

Thursday, September 9^th, 9:30am             Rosh Hashanah Morning Service 

Memorial Hall                                                (For details please go to 

                                                                        http://www.dickinson.edu/student-life/resources/asbell-center/content/High-Holy-Days/ 

Friday, September 10^th, 9:30am                Second Day Rosh Hashanah Service 

Asbell Center                                                (For details, please to  

                                                                        http://www.dickinson.edu/student-life/resources/asbell-center/content/High-Holy-Days/ 

Please go to http://www.dickinson.edu/student-life/resources/asbell-center/content/High-Holy-Days/ to view Harrisburg Services and van transportion info.  Please email loudonl@dickinson.edu to make reservations. 

Friday, September 17^th, 7:00pm                Kol Nidre 

Stern Center 

Saturday, September 18^th, 9:30am           Yom Kippur Morning Service 

Stern Center                                                 Yizkor Service – 11:00am 

                                                                         Chanting and Meditation Service – 4:00pm 

                                                                         Evening Service – 5:30pm 

Saturday, September 18^th, 7:15pm           Break-the-Fast 

HUB SR-201-202 

The KOVE: Certifiably delicious (Kosher-Vegan Food)

With entrees such as falafel chicken, citrus London broil, soy burgers and lentil and brown rice casserole, Dickinson's new kosher-vegan food station offers mouth-watering mealtime alternatives that extend far beyond stereotypical kosher fare.

“When you walk down Giant’s kosher aisle, what do you see? A couple of jars of gefilte fish, matzo soup and egg noodles. But there’s so much more to the kosher diet,” observed kosher-food expert Louise Powers. “Anyone can eat kosher food, and we want to be sure it is tasty enough so anyone may want to. Food can be kosher and delicious.”

Powers and colleague Ricki Gold are kosher-food inspectors, or mashgiachs, from Star K, a nationally recognized kosher-certifying agency based in Baltimore.  They direct the new kosher kitchen at Dickinson, ensuring that all kosher and vegan food served at the new food bar meets their rigorous standards.

Dubbed the KOVE—a clever blend of “kosher” and “vegan”—the food bar offers one vegan entree and one kosher dairy, meat or fish entree at lunch and dinner. Thursday nights feature international kosher and vegan cuisine, and students enjoy comfort-food offerings on Sundays. Kosher entrees will also be available at college events, such as the upcoming barbecue. “The food also meets halal requirements, because we follow such strict guidelines,” said Gold.

All of the food is prepared under Powers' and Gold's watchful eyes. The two inspectors begin with certified-kosher ingredients, including meat, chicken and other ingredients from a Baltimore-based company, as well as from Harrisburg’s Feesers Foodservice Distributor. When possible, they use produce from the Dickinson College Farm and other local outlets.  

“We have to check all leafy vegetables—lettuce, spinach, broccoli—for insects, using a light box and magnifying glass. We also check eggs for blood spots. These are things that most people are not aware of, but we need to be very careful,” said Gold.

To ensure that all meat and dairy food is kept separate, the mashgiachs also supervise the chef in Dickinson's new kosher kitchen.

That kitchen appears to have been decorated by a harlequin jester: One half of the room, where meat is prepared, is painted red; the other, where dairy dishes are created, is blue. Each side features a complete set of major and minor appliances, dishes, utensils, cookware and bakeware—all color-coded, to avoid confusion when it's time to put the dishes and utensils away.

Powers notes that their hard work is more than worth it—and not just to those who keep kosher for religious reasons. “Many students who don’t keep kosher often enjoy the food, either because they perceive it to be more healthy, or because they just like the taste,” said Powers, explaining that the KOVE will feature college standbys, such as kosher hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza, as well as healthier options, such as salads and salmon brushed with a Jack Daniels sauce. “We’re hoping everyone will give it a try.”

To read the entire article on the new food stations and seating arrangements at the dining hall, please follow the link below:

 Read the article “Radical Dining”