Some student groups and a study program are linking together happiness and sadness to send a message this month.
In light of Jewish Heritage Month, Hillel Jewish Student Center and MSU’s Jewish Studies Program are sponsoring several events to spread awareness and education while honoring Holocaust survivors.
“We’re crossing genres with our events,” said Shira Weinstein, programs director for Hillel. “We’re combining art, religion, culture and Israel and playing them off of each other. We’re having a day of remembrance met with a day of celebration and transitioning from one day to another.
“I was surrounded by (Jewish culture) in my community and schools all my life and it feels good to have students come to me and say ‘We need to do something.’”
Julie Schwartz, programming vice president for Hillel, is organizing a Jewish art show April 15. She hopes people will see the creativity within the Jewish community through these events.
“We wanted to show what Jewish students and the community have to offer,” the interdisciplinary studies in social science senior said. “We wanted to have programs not on a religious or cultural level, but ones that represented a broader part of the MSU community.”
The Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony will feature Miriam Winter, a Holocaust survivor and author of “Trains: A Memoir of a Hidden Childhood during and after World War II.”
Her book tells about Winter’s memories of her life while in hiding during the Nazi regime. At 8 years old, she was given to her cousin, who then passed her to a complete stranger on a train. In exchange for a place to hide, Winter was treated like a slave until she was 15.
An Israel Rally will take place at the rock on Farm Lane and will feature a memorial lecture, candlelight vigil, poetry, music and readings all dedicated to encouraging a peaceful Israel.
Steve Weiland, director for MSU’s Jewish Studies Program, said Jewish Heritage Month is good for everyone to recognize.
“Half of the students in the Jewish Studies Program are not Jewish and that’s true with Jewish studies programs around the country,” Weiland said. “A lot more people are interested in studying Jewish culture than people realize or recognize and many non-Jews have discovered an interest.”
