Spring Break
Hillel celebrates Jewish high holidays
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: News
10/01/08 - University of Rhode Island students, faculty and the general public attended religious services to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, yesterday in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
The service lasted approximately one hour, led by Hillel Director Amy Olson.
Attendees wore various garments ranging from jeans to cocktail dresses, and greeted their friends with the traditional "L'shanah tovah," or "happy new year" in Hebrew as they filed into their seats.
"It's more important that people come, [rather] than [not, and think to themselves] 'oh, I'm wearing jeans, I shouldn't come,'" Olson said. "If they can only come for a few minutes, then they should come for a few minutes. They shouldn't feel like they can't come at all."
According to the Web site www.jewfaq.org, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as Yom Truah, "a day of blasting the shofar."
A "shofar" is the holy ram's horn blown on the Jewish high holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri.
"The Jewish calendar is mostly a lunar calendar," Olson said. "It is somewhat adjusted [as] there is a leap month that is put in just to keep the holidays in their proper seasons."
Olson said Rosh Hashanah is Jewish holiday in which Jews are asked to think about how they can improve their behavior and do good deeds in the New Year.
Aveinu Malkeinu is a traditional prayer Jews sing on the holiday that evokes an "image of coming before God ... [who is] writing your fate in the book of life of what is going to happen to you over the course of the next year and over the next period of several days before Yom Kippur, 'the Ten Days of Atonement.'
At the conclusion of Monday night's religious service, a traditional meal of apples and honey, chicken, glazed carrots, salad, Challah--traditional Jewish bread- sweet apple pastries and honey cake were served.
The Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur religious services do not have a fee associated with them; however, non-students are asked to make a donation to the URI Hillel chapter. All donations received help support various programming activities for students.
Hillel is planning other events to celebrate the Jewish high holidays. Today, there is a service at 9:30 a.m.
Oct. 8 at 6 p.m., a Kol Nidre Service will be held, and the following day, there will be a 9:30 a.m. service and a 5:30 p.m. service held. All services will be held in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
The service lasted approximately one hour, led by Hillel Director Amy Olson.
Attendees wore various garments ranging from jeans to cocktail dresses, and greeted their friends with the traditional "L'shanah tovah," or "happy new year" in Hebrew as they filed into their seats.
"It's more important that people come, [rather] than [not, and think to themselves] 'oh, I'm wearing jeans, I shouldn't come,'" Olson said. "If they can only come for a few minutes, then they should come for a few minutes. They shouldn't feel like they can't come at all."
According to the Web site www.jewfaq.org, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as Yom Truah, "a day of blasting the shofar."
A "shofar" is the holy ram's horn blown on the Jewish high holidays Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah falls on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri.
"The Jewish calendar is mostly a lunar calendar," Olson said. "It is somewhat adjusted [as] there is a leap month that is put in just to keep the holidays in their proper seasons."
Olson said Rosh Hashanah is Jewish holiday in which Jews are asked to think about how they can improve their behavior and do good deeds in the New Year.
Aveinu Malkeinu is a traditional prayer Jews sing on the holiday that evokes an "image of coming before God ... [who is] writing your fate in the book of life of what is going to happen to you over the course of the next year and over the next period of several days before Yom Kippur, 'the Ten Days of Atonement.'
At the conclusion of Monday night's religious service, a traditional meal of apples and honey, chicken, glazed carrots, salad, Challah--traditional Jewish bread- sweet apple pastries and honey cake were served.
The Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur religious services do not have a fee associated with them; however, non-students are asked to make a donation to the URI Hillel chapter. All donations received help support various programming activities for students.
Hillel is planning other events to celebrate the Jewish high holidays. Today, there is a service at 9:30 a.m.
Oct. 8 at 6 p.m., a Kol Nidre Service will be held, and the following day, there will be a 9:30 a.m. service and a 5:30 p.m. service held. All services will be held in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
