Stef

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Stef Dan

• How UW Hillel Has Made a Difference in Our Lives

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Where I Came From

• The void after Bar Mitzvah
• Arrived in Seattle at age 26
• Ambivalent about Judaism
• Needed a place for High-Holidays
• Found much more

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My Reconnection

• Hillel reached out to me Grads Plus Hike
• Grads-plus board member giving back
• Made friends and built Jewish community
• 9 years later still have same friends!
• Started on same day as Dan Cory
• I helped start a Jewish hiking group

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The Wandering Jews

• One Grads-Plus hike
• We were new here
• We wanted more
• We started a group
• 300 members at height
• Many lifetime partnerships
• Many children

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The Biggest Impact Hillel Had for Me
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The Biggest Impact Hillel Had

• Dan wanted more Jewish activities
• Stef started undergrad drama group
• Stef needed a designer
• Stef found Dan
• Dan was happy to be found
• Many late nights
• Building and painting sets
• Bonfires on the beach

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Hillel Continues to Enrich Our Life

• We make Shabbat special and social
• Deliberate Judaism
• Grappling with Kashroot
• How will we raise our kids?
• Continuing involvement
• Tzdakah
• Learning
• Joined a shul Kol HaNeshama

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What UW Hillel Means to Us
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What We Gained From Hillel

• Life-path changing
• Life-long friendships
• Hillel extends beyond the building

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What Makes UW Hillel Special

• Innovative nurturing programs
• Spontaneous connections
• Personal initiative
• Hillel gives us power to define Judaism
• Joining a synagogue
• Negotiating our own path
• Reaching out to more people
• Rabbi Dan! (of course)

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What UW Hillel Means to Us

• Relevance
• Connection
• Belonging
• Spontaneous
• Inclusiveness
• Learning
• Joy