Hillel Ontario

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Biomedical Innovation Night

by | Feb 18, 2021 | Jewish Life at Ryerson | 0 comments

Four years ago, a dedicated group of Jewish student leaders from Hillel Ryerson founded Biomed-IN, a program focussed on providing Canadian students and young professionals a global perspective of biomedical innovation, from around the world, including Israel, while connecting them directly with Toronto-based companies and researchers.

Now, more than triple in size, this initiative garnered some 150 attendees, and benefited from an invaluable partnership with Ryerson’s Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, Faculty of Science, and the Ryerson Science Society. Collaborations such as this serve to foster a greater sense of interconnectedness between the Jewish community on campus, and university infrastructure – and ultimately create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for supporters of Israel on campus.

“I first attended Biomedical Innovation Night (Biomed-IN) last year, which was the third year since its creation. It was a wonderful opportunity to network with industry professionals unlike any other I had encountered throughout my time as an undergraduate Biomedical Sciences student at Ryerson. I also learned invaluable information about following one’s goals and the startup ecosystem and future of healthcare in Israel and Canada. I left the conference feeling inspired and motivated about the change and influence I could take part in, and excited about my future in the Biomedical field.

This year, I knew I had to apply to be part of the student-led team that brought such an amazing event to life! I had an incredible experience working with the other team members to create a one of a kind learning and networking experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. I hope to be a part of the team for years to come, and I am so eager to watch Biomed-IN grow and continue to impact undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and alumni from Unity Health and Ryerson University.” – Ravital, Hillel Ryerson

Hillel Ryerson is proud to continue to support this incredible program, and we look forward to sharing in its continued success for many years to come.

For more information on the Biomed-IN, you can visit their website here.

Parshat Vayishlach

Parshat Vayishlach

by | Nov 18, 2021

In this week’s parsha, Parshat Vayishlach, the Torah tells us about the famous story regarding Yaakov and the angel that he fought. One night, Yaakov went to sleep and in his dream, he finds himself fighting someone. The famous commentator Rashi states that this person that Yaakov fought was the angel of Esav, Yaakov’s brother. The fight lasts all night and ends with the angel tearing out Yaakov’s sciatic nerve and then blessing Yaakov, giving him the name Yisrael, because Yaakov struggled with both man and G-d and prevailed. At the end of this portion in the Torah, we are commanded not to eat the sciatic nerve, as a memory of Yaakov’s struggles.

The Sefer HaChinuch, a 13th century Jewish text that discusses the 613 mitzvot in depth, writes that the prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve is a commandment about Jewish survival. When we, as Jewish people, eat kosher food and refrain from eating the sciatic nerve, we are reminding ourselves of the struggles that Yaakov went through and despite all those struggles, he still survived. It is no coincidence that the Jewish people are called Bnei Yisrael, Children of Israel, which was the name that Yaakov was given after fighting with the angel throughout the night. We emulate Yaakov and use his name Yisrael to remind ourselves that despite any struggles, trials and tribulations, we will prevail and survive. Yaakov teaches us how to deal with struggles that we have with other people and with G-d and as long as we remember that we are the children of Israel, we should be blessed with a bright future!
Written by Ilan Shields
A Hillel Summer: Keeping Spirits High

A Hillel Summer: Keeping Spirits High

by | Jul 15, 2021

My name is Stacey Ianco and I am going into my third year at Ryerson’s Ted Rogers School of Management. Hillel has been my home away from home, and has helped me embrace my Jewish culture, enhance my Jewish identity, and meet new people.. 

This year has been like no other we have experienced. Throughout these challenging times, I have felt lucky to have remained connected with my fellow students – especially through my involvement in Hillel. 

Especially given the year we just experienced, Hillel has been vital to my Jewish campus life. That’s why I was so excited to hear that Hillel programming was going to continue during the summer.

Hillels Ryerson, York and UofT teamed up to create the Summer in the 6ix program, and I knew I wanted to participate. 

In addition to receiving some really cool swag, Summer in the 6ix connected me with activities and programming I

 could engage in alongside (virtually) other Jewish students across the GTA. We baked and decorated delicious sugar cookies over a Hillel Zoom meet, sharpened our knowledge and competed with other Hillel students in bi-weekly trivia games, and customized our Hillel t-shirts with tie-dye. In a summer characterized by distancing and separation, Hillel brought me closer to my community.

To be sure, this has been a difficult year for so many reasons. I am so appreciative of all that Hillel does for Jewish students across the province. Especially this year.

I will continue to be an active member of Hillel for all my years of university and the future. Hillel has given me the confidence I need to be a proud Jewish woman and has enhanced my university experience in many ways. 

I look forward to being able to create more special events to include and connect every Jewish student in Ontario for many years to come.

Stacey I., Hillel Ryerson Student Leader

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