Jewish census promotes unity, charity

By Melody Wang

Daily Bruin Contributor

With an endless torrent of advertising stressing the importance
of the Census 2000, the Half Shekel Campaign Census comes as no big
surprise.

In an effort to unite Jewish students, faculty and staff, Jewish
students began administering the first Jewish census on campus May
1 and will continue the project through Friday.

The United Jewish Communities gave each of five universities,
including UCLA, $5,000 to fund the census.

After UCLA received the grant for the census, all of the Jewish
groups on campus came together to sponsor the event.

“We can’t do this without the support of
everyone,” said Rachel Metson, media relations chair.

Planners said the census is meant to determine the needs of Jews
on campus and can be filled out at the Jewish Student Union table
on Bruin Walk.

“There are a lot of Jews not getting what they need from
the Jewish services on campus and we need to cater to all types of
Jews,” said finance chairwoman Mayim Bialik.

Campaign Chairman Daniel Inlender added that because a new
Center for Jewish Life will begin construction at the end of the
summer, the census will be helpful in determining which services
the center should provide.

Inlender said another goal of the conference is
“tzedakah,” the Hebrew word that emphasizes the
charitable component of the census.

After taking the census, each participant will be asked to wear
a yellow and blue pin, and to donate money to feed people in
developing countries.

“The donations are a symbolic token that they were
counted,” Inlender said.

While it costs $18 to fill and ship a box of food, census
planners understand that many students may not be able to
contribute this amount, and so they encourage everyone to give at
least $1.

“It’s not about what you contribute, it’s that
you do,” Bialik said. “And we really believe that,
we’re not just saying it.”

Inlender said the tradition of donation dates back to the census
days from the Exodus when Jews, according to the Bible, were asked
to contribute a small amount of money, such as half a shekel, to
the community.

“Half a shekel wasn’t a huge amount, but the idea
was the community was not complete without the other half,”
Inlender said.

In addition, to seeking monetary contributions, UCLA Jewish
students are also holding different social events and celebrations
during the three-week census.

On May 7, participants attended a Dodger game and volunteered at
different locations in the Los Angeles community.

“It’s important to note that not all the
participants at the community service events are Jewish,”
Inlender said. “I think it’s important that we’ve
reached out to non-Jewish people.”

Bialik said United Jewish Communities funded the universities
based on leadership skills of students and the impact of on campus
Jewish life on the surrounding community.

“Daniel is a phenomenal leader which I think is part of
the reason we were chosen,” she said.

Census planners said they hope to administer the census again in
the future, but are not sure if the United Jewish Communities will
give funding to the same university twice.

“The fact is even if we only do the census once, I think
it’s going to be powerful,” Bialik said.