Cooler looking than plastic

…water, obviously. What’d ya think we were talking about, silly? Our well-hydrated friends at Hillel are currently stationed on College Walk, and they’d really love to chat with you about their ridiculously-named new fundraiser, Chugging for Change. Challenge your crazy Columbian friends to chug water for charity—the more change you donate, the more they’ll have to chug. We hear it’s good practice for other chugging endeavors as well.

Hillel will also offer free snacks and hot chocolate until 1 pm for chuggers and non-chuggers alike, though we think you’d do well to take it a lil’ slower with the hot beverages.

Egyptian water bottles via Wikimedia Commons

An artistic rendering of what could be in your stomach now...

Update: If apples and honey aren’t enough to satisfy your sugar craving, scamper over to Barnard, where you can find free dessert until 1:30 in the Altschul lobby.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts tomorrow night, so the legendary nosh purveyors at Hillel are giving away apples and honey on the Lerner Ramps from 11:30-12:30. Fun fact: apples traditionally represent the cyclical nature of life, and honey symbolizes hopes for a sweet new year. If you’re still curious, back in the day, we hopped the September Jewish holidays. L’Chaim!

Honey just looks more appetizing in person via Wikimedia Commons.

No word yet on whether pop art will be present

The Hillel E-Board invites you to join them from 8-9 tonight for the “Once You Pop the Fun Don’t Stop” semester kickoff event. Word on the Facebook page is that there may be a Pop Lock & Drop It contest, so get yourself over to the Kraft Center (3rd floor terrace) pronto to partake in the festivities.

Colorful Czech women (woman?) via Wikimedia

Relaxed

The Hillel Exec Board wants to help you relax. Take a break from all your stressors and enjoy a back rub from Columbia’s Stressbusters, the team of students with magical hands who deliver neck and back rubs to all! Remember when?

Expect “delicious teas, hot chocolate and other serene snacks” from 8–9 p.m. in the 3rd floor lounge of the Kraft Center (right across the street from Schapiro).

Puppy via Wikimedia Commons

Symposin'

Looks like there’ll be stimulating discussion and scrumptious food tonight! Veritas, together with MSA and Hillel, is hosting an “interfaith discussion group primarily between Islam, Judaism and Christianity” at the Intercultural Resource Center (W. 552 114th St) from 8pm-9pm. Expect free food from Cafe Nana, mozzarella ‘n tomato sandwiches and lotsa hummus. It’s like a symposium!

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Try your hand at whipped cream tossing, tonight at 8 pm in the first floor McBain lounge. We can only hope that what happens in McBain stays in McBain, and with colossal self-control, we will now end this post.

Plus: To pre- and postgame all that tossing of whipped cream, head to the third floor of Hillel (606 West 115th St.) for free challah braiding and tasting (or should we say cupping?). The festivities, hosted by Columbia’s Challah for Hunger group, will occur from 5 to 7ish. The litmag Quarto will also have lots of free food at it’s annual S&M (what is it today?!) reading, at 8:30 in 501 Dodge.

If only this were the bike-sharing we meant.

The Bloomberg administration has plans for this cool bike-sharing thing, and they think they have a plan to deal with theft and graffiti. Talk about idealistic! (NYT)

There was an unusually violent fight at Rikers, and officials won’t say why. Bwog suspects inmates are understandably upset that Weezy is gone. (NBC New York)

Other people are picking up on the CUSJP checkpoint protest/counter-protest. We’re a forum for dialogue! (YNetNews)

CUIT is considering switching to Google Apps, but apparently they “[haven’t] heard many student complaints about CubMail.” Also, apparently some people still use CubMail at all instead of forwarding. Come on, people! (Spec)

Update: Those new TSA scanners may cause cancer, according to a Columbia doc. (The Consumerist)

Image via Wikimedia

Hillel is hosting a study break from 8-9 p.m. tonight! Hit up the 3rd floor of Hillel for Trader Joe’s snacks. ‘Cause there’s a new Joe’s somewhere on the UWS. Hillel is at the Kraft Center, at 606 W. 115th Street.

Image via Trader Joe’s

Hillel’s Israeli Cultural Society and your senior class councils (GSSC, CCSC, ESC, and LCSC, respectively) invite you to a seniors only Israeli wine tasting today from 3-5 PM on the 3rd floor terrace of the Kraft Center.

There will be cheese, crackers, and chips and dips along with water and soft drinks for anyone who wants to mingle sans that red and white drink.

And don’t forget, 2 IDs or you will be turned away.

Kosher cuisine specialist Carly Silver reports from 115th Street.

Amid Moroccan tents and colorful cushions lies a Middle Eastern eating experience on our very own campus. Bella Alayof brings international flavors to Café Nana, her kosher restaurant in Columbia/Barnard Hillel.

Born in Uzbekistan, Alayof emigrated to Israel when she was 17 like many Jews making aliyah and moving to Israel. At the time, her family faced limited options. “Most Jewish people, they have two choices: United States or Israel,” she says. “My father and my mother, they chose to come to Israel, not to [the] United States.” After marrying and having four children in Israel, Alayof came to America almost eleven years ago.

As a former accountant in Israel and a real estate agent in the United States, Alayof did not foresee a career in restaurants. However, as the real estate market slowed in the last few years, Alayof’s son bought what would become Café Nana and his mother saw her chance to embark on a new career venture. “I said, ‘Let’s take the café and do the café and I can take everything and handle it, no problem,’” she remembers.
Read more…

Hillel is offering free food at their hizouse for their first event of the year. Reported provisions include “sweets and desserts of all kinds”. Check it out on the 3rd Floor Terrace of the Kraft Center for Jewish Life (606 W. 115th St. across from Schapiro).

Update: There is chocolate fondue. Score.

As we type! Baked ziti, mac&cheese, salad and a Wii. Third floor of Hillel, which is on 115th between Broadway and Riverside, accross from Schapiro.

It’s true! In preparation for Passover Hillel is hosting a BYOC (C for chametz) study break. There will be ice cream. 8-9, 2nd floor of Hillel.

Also in other news, the full schedule for College Days has been announced, meaning a whole weekend of costless treats for you die-hard free foodians.

Hillel sponsored a kosher cooking class two nights ago. Bwog’s Chief Culinary Correspondent Catie Lynch was there.

The vegetarian aspect of Wednesday night’s three-course kosher dinner was largely economic, it was admitted. But rabbinical intern Dina Rosenberg said said she also wanted to be inclusive of everyone’s dietary needs. “Food blends the barriers of Judaism,” Rosenberg explained as she ushered trays of breaded eggplant into the oven. “We have secular, reform, and orthodox students here tonight. It allows us to do something as a community, as well as give something back to the community.”

Read more…

Sure, we reported this a day early, but at least it’s still happening. Columbia/Barnard Hillel, a.k.a. “our HILLEL that Never Sleeps!” is having a free brunch today at 12:30 (i.e. now). It’s on the 3rd floor of the Hillel Building, which is at 606 W. 115th street, right across from Schapiro.

And the extra time has yielded some fruit: event organizers asked us to mention that there’ll be a raffle for free Daily Show tickets. Plus New York cheesecake. Lots of cheesecake.