Welcome to Brandeis Conejo Valley/San Fernando Valley Chapter

  "National Chapter of the Year" 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2019 and Louis Brandeis Award 2018

BNC - A BRIDGE FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE
Last Updated: January 12th, 2024






Happy Chrismukkah!

Chrismukkah is a pop-culture portmanteau neologism referring to the merging of the holidays of Christianity's Christmas and Judaism's Hanukkah. It first arose in the German-speaking countries within middle-class Jews of the 19th century. After World War II, Chrismukkah became particularly popular in the United States, but is also celebrated in other countries.

The history of an informal merger between Hanukkah and Christmas dates back to 19th century Germany and Austria. In German it is called Weihnukka, a combination of the words "Weihnachten" (Christmas) and "Hanukkah".

In the 19th century, Christmas had established itself in the German-speaking countries as a festival in which, in addition to the spiritual significance, values such as family and charity were in the foreground. Christmas customs such as the Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, gifts or Christmas dinner were perceived more as a seasonal than a strictly Christian tradition. The proximity of the beginning of the Hanukkah festival to Christmas and the adoption of various traditions such as a decorated tree or gifts led to a mixture of traditions that were referred to as Weihnukka at the time.

Modern Jewish families in particular adopted elements of the Christmas tradition in the Hanukkah festival. For example, Hanukkah gifts or money became common in the 19th century. Many families from the assimilated German-Jewish bourgeoisie celebrated Christmas directly as a purely secular winter festival. The first historically documented Christmas tree was erected in Vienna in 1814 by the Jewish socialite Fanny von Arnstein, who had brought this custom from Berlin. The founder of Zionism Theodor Herzl also celebrated Christmas or at least allowed a tree to be set up in his house for his children and suggested the name "Hanukkah Tree". After the Shoah and the associated near-extinction of Jewish life in central Europe, cultural life increasingly shifted to the United States. Here it became common to celebrate both festivals due to interfaith marriages between Jews and Christians and the associated wish of both partners to maintain their respective festivals and customs.
Message from your co - Presidents:

Welcome to Conejo Valley/San Fernando Valley Chapter!

Dear Chapter Members,

Janet Brasler, our chapter co-President for the past 2 1/2 years, recently moved out of the area to be near her family. Elaine Bercy, one of our past co-Presidents graciously agreed to step in to replace Janet for the remainder of the current term. This change was granted approval by our board of directors.

Elaine's competency and expertise will be a valuable asset to the position of co-President. Please join me in welcoming Elaine to the co-Presidency.

As we support one another in kindness, friendship and good will, we invite others to join in our efforts. Consider finding out more about our Conejo Valley/San Fernando Brandeis Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee on our web site.

We are excited about our new event: a festive Holiday Celebration in December and upcoming University On Wheels in January.

Penny Greenblatt co-president (click here to send email directly to Penny) penny935@aol.com
Elaine Bercy co-president (click here to send email directly to Elaine) cyberbercy@aol.com

THIS IS THE TIME OF THE YEAR!!!

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BRANDEIS NATIONAL COMMITTEE
CONEJO VALLEY/SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHAPTER
PRESENTS TO YOU ,
THE FOLLOWING BOARD 2024-2025

(CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE PROPOSED BORAD)

Board installation took place on June 6, 2023 at Temple Etz Chaim

Welcome New Board!


(click here to learn more!) https://www.brandeis.edu/75/

Global Service Initiative

Celebrate Brandeis at 75 by making a difference in your community.
To celebrate Brandeis at 75, all are invited to take part in a community challenge, designed to make a positive mark on the world. Sign up for the acts of community engagement you'll complete during our anniversary year ending June 2024 and help repair the world.

 Here's how to get involved.

The Community Challenge

75,000 Acts of Repairing the World in the 75th year!
For 75 years, Brandeis has been cultivating students to leave our campus and to change the world. Brandeisians have impacted the local and global landscape since 1948. We have prepared students to identify the unjust, speak up for change and to DO the work. This year we are asking you to track your impact and to share it with us. Help us show how Brandeis is repairing the world. We are challenging our community to perform a combined 75,000 acts of repairing the world throughout the year. To get involved, visit our directory of engagement opportunities. Or, if you already regularly engage with your community, tell us about it. We want to show the amazing impact Brandeisians have, all around the world. Pledge your act of community engagement and help us track these amazing efforts!

Important: Please include every event you participated in (as an individual or as part of a group/organization) since July 2023 in which they donated time to an organization that helps repair the world in some way. Please send info on these types of events through the end of June 2024. If it's a group participation event, only one person from the group needs to send the info.

Here is a list of the info Brandeis is looking for:
1) Description of activity and the date
2) Length of activity (# of hours)
3) Number of people involved (can include highlighting the number of BNC affiliated people)
4) Organization sponsoring the activity/organization the group of volunteers donating their time is supporting
5) If activity includes collecting items, the number of items (or bags, if the items are in bags) donated
6) Total hours donated by the volunteer/volunteers

If the volunteer can share photos of the event, that's always appreciated. If there are people in the photo, they can include their names (with their permission).

Brandeis doen not requires ALL this info in order for it to "count" toward their goal of 75,000 acts of "TIKUN OLAM" (Hebrew — tikkun olam means "world repair"), but the more information provided about the event, the better. Definitely a description of the activity, the number of people involved, and the hours should be included at a minimum.

Our chapter coordinator for this Global Service Initiative is Beth Doshay (email: mspsy2kids@aol.com)

Please email Beth Doshay the information, and attach photos. She will then forward the info on to Brandeis National.
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The Legacy of Louis: Inspiring Inquiry
The Brandeis National Committee is proud to announce its newest campaign, The Legacy of Louis: Inspiring Inquiry, as the university nears its milestone 75th anniversary in 2023.

The Legacy of Louis: Inspiring Inquiry will reinvigorate the Brandeis Library's mission to empower its community to become scholars, creators, and innovators through the creation of two interactive additions to the Library. The first will be the construction of a research archive of original letters, photographs, documents and family objects that shed light on the life and the lasting contributions of Justice Louis D. Brandeis.

The second addition to the Brandeis Library will be the creation of a new Judaica reading room in the library. This space will provide the Brandeis community with a place to engage with Jewish texts outside of the typical classroom and religious environments. By presenting Jewish texts in conversation with writings from cultural and religious traditions from around the world, the room will serve scholars and students alike.

In 1948, the BNC (formerly BUNWC) was founded alongside the university to provide philanthropic support and now nearly 75 years later, continues to support the mission and principles upon which Brandeis was founded.

We look forward to sharing more information and learning opportunities for the Legacy of Louis: Inspiring Inquiry soon!
BNC Launching the BNC Online Chapter!

It's beginning of 2022 and Brandeis National Committee launching the BNC Online Chapter!

The Brandeis National Committee Online Chapter is both its own chapter and an extension of the inclusive virtual community that was created by active chapters and members from all over the world. In this way, the Online Chapter is a unique experience for new members and an added benefit to current members of the Brandeis National Committee.

The virtual community that has been fostered by chapters and members of the Brandeis National Committee since 2020 has kept us all together during a very challenging time and it is our hope that the Online Chapter will continue to foster connectivity between BNC members and chapters around the world.

If you would like to know more about the BNC Online Chapter, CLICK HERE!

Merle Carrus P'12
BNC President
Introducing the Jewish Experience

Today, as we prepare to welcome the beginning of the Jewish New Year, I am delighted to announce the launch of the Jewish Experience, Brandeis' new website and multimedia platform dedicated to exploring Jewish history, culture, and traditions. It features exciting faculty research, alumni profiles, and thoughtful examinations of questions of identity and community relevant to Jews — or anyone interested in Jewish issues.

Brandeis is distinct from all other colleges and universities. Envisioned as a 'gift from the Jewish community to higher education,' it was founded as a symbol of freedom and opportunity to all academically-qualified individuals, no matter their background. At a time when Jews were prevented from attending the leading colleges and universities in the United States, the vision that underpinned our founding was radical. Engaging and honoring this founding ethos is an integral part of the Framework for the Future. As part of this endeavor, the Jewish Experience seeks to illuminate the great wealth of scholarship and knowledge about Jewish issues and Judaism - in all its diversity and richness - on campus and beyond...

TO VISIT THE WEB SITE - CLICK HERE!

Ron Liebowitz
President
Contact Barbara Peifer for Tributes (email directly) barbsgr88@aol.com.