There’s something so absurd, yet beautiful about Friday night shabbat in Isla Vista. If you have ever been in Isla Vista on a Friday night, you would have noticed the theatrical display of drunk college students wandering the street, loud music, people moving in every direction, and packed parties in every corner of the square-mile neighborhood...

Spending Shabbat in is often a therapeutic way to restart the week and prepare to return to work or school. Calling a friend or loved one to schmooze over dinner and watch the candles flickering out is the perfect way to unwind.  People around the world celebrate Shabbat differently, and each group's tradition is just as valuable and interesting as the next. We can get a glimpse into people’s homes this Shabbat and learn about their traditions and their love for one another.

On the weekend of November 7th-9th, families and loved ones of UCSB students gathered to attend various events held on and off campus over the weekend...

Thanksgiving break rolls around and the streets of IV are empty. For most college students, this is the time to go home and be with family...

This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity to travel across Israel with a cohort of Jewish and non-Jewish student leaders on our campus. What sets this trip apart from other Israel tours is its emphasis on absorbing nuanced perspectives about the land, and what it means to live there...

On Rosh Hashanah it is written. Inscribed in the tree of life that is  Chopped and pulped and dried  Into pages that cannot settle  In the 4 pm wind. Flipping like God’s breakfast Shuddering at every disturbance  Easy to anger, easy to love, Hard to promise.  We commit imperfection But God says we’re forgiven  If we throw things about it.  Usually it’s bread, toasted and crumbling from open fists. Every time I rest my head  On God’s shoulder,  He shrugs me off, tells me to co

A lot has happened this month. As a Jewish community, we have reflected on a year past, celebrated the new year with Sukkot and Simchat Torah...

Ah, Tishrei, we have made it through our first month of a new Jewish calendar year. We have cast our sins into the ocean, and the tide washed them right back up...

A Retelling of the Jewish Folktale That Inspired Tim Burton’s “The Corpse Bride”

Being a Jewish student at UCSB at any point in time is difficult — navigating keeping kosher in the dining halls is difficult, you have people in the Arbor proselytizing and trying to convert you to Christianity, and of course, there is an antisemitism problem on college campuses all throughout the country...

As fall quarter begins at UCSB it's common to greet returning friends with a simple “how was your summer” or “what did you do over summer"...

On October 7th, many different Jewish Organizations at UCSB worked together to put on a beautiful vigil to honor those we lost to the October 7th massacre two years ago. Here are the speeches a few students gave for anyone who may have missed it or would like to read the beautiful work again.