According to Essex Ed, Turtle Back Zoo’s groundhog, everyone should gear up for an early spring. There’s no better place to start than the warm West Orange Jewish community at its annual Discover West Orange shabbaton. Discover West Orange, including the shabbaton, is a partnership between two of the community’s Modern Orthodox shuls: Congregation Ahavas Achim B’nai Jacob and David (AABJ&D) and Congregation Ohr Torah. This year, members of the community will be on hand to welcome visitors during Shabbat Zachor, March 6-7.

The most important election that you may never have heard of is currently taking place. Every 5 years, 145 delegates are elected to represent the Jews of the United States at the World Zionist Congress. This important organization – the international Parliament of the Jewish People – sets policy for important Israeli and diaspora organizations, including the Jewish Agency and KKL.  It controls a budget of $4 billion over the next 5 years and its allocation can influence Jewish education and identity around the world.

The Career Center, in partnership with the Office of Alumni Affairs, is thrilled to announce the launch of its new Yeshiva University Mentoring Volunteer Program, or YU-MVP. This algorithm-based “matching for mentoring” platform will pull from over 25,000 alumni around the globe to create a network of volunteer mentors dedicated to offering undergraduate students professional career guidance.