Students celebrate High Holiday season

With the onset of fall comes cooler days, changing leaves and, for many students, the Jewish High Holidays.  With Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 8 and Yom Kippur on Sept. 17 and 18, this month Hillel co-president Zach Fenster, ’12, is well-occupied by more than just the back-to-school routine.

“We’re really busy,” Fenster said of the group’s organizing leaders during this holiday season. Hillel, the College’s Jewish student organization, regularly offers Friday prayers, group meals, philosophical discussion groups and meditation sessions, but it kicks into high gear for the High Holidays with a range of special activity offerings.

Services on both Friday and Saturday were offered for Yom Kippur, and this year the group organized a pie baking and eating event with apples from a local orchard, geared toward welcoming new first-year faces. After the success of last year, this year there will also be a celebration of Sukkot, the harvest festival, with events in the organic garden, including a bonfire and sleepover.

As this busy time of year also falls at the beginning of the academic calendar, the High Holiday events generally attract a larger group of participants than events throughout the rest of the year.

“The community always grows most at the beginning of the year, but people are welcome to come any time,” said Fenster. “We always love to see new faces.”

“As a first-year, I didn’t know what to expect from the High Holiday season,” said Mori Rothman ’11, an active member of Hillel. “The active Jewish community is small, but I was surprised [by how] good.”

In addition to organizing celebrations for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Hillel offers an opportunity for religious reflection and community throughout the year.  The popular “Jews News” e-mail list is sent to approximately 300 students, but regular Friday night dinners usually include about 30 more or less regular members.

“Friday night dinner is our bread and butter,” said Fenster.  “There’s a laid-back family atmosphere.  It’s a great way to relax and decompress.”

“There’s an amazing sense of community, connection and reflection,” said Rothman.  “I get to find ways to be more present for myself.”

It is this sense of community that draws many members to Hillel, as it can serve as a bridge between life on campus and life back at home.

“Hillel has become my home away from home,” said Fenster. “Hillel doesn’t have to dominate one’s life to have an effect on the student or for the student to have an effect on the community.”

As an organization, Hillel has grown and developed since its inception.  Rabbi Schiffer has been working with Hillel for the past 10 years, and the group has grown substantially during that time.

Hillel has its home in the small kitchen in the Freeman International Center, but with Rabbi Schiffer’s help got permission to utilize the annex space next door.  With expanded space for club involvement, the group has become progressively more organized and active on campus.

“Hillel in general is more robust than when I arrived,” said Rothman.

Recently, the group has gravitated towards more philosophical and religious reflection in addition to community gathering, which is giving Hillel a broader reach to the student body.  Rothman noted that Hillel’s committed members are dedicated equally to “religious innovation and community.”

“There has been a shift towards more intellectual and spiritual analysis,” Rothman said, which has expanded Hillel’s purpose from more of a community-based group to a place of dynamic religious discourse.

“Every year we try to continue what we’ve been doing and also enrich Hillel life in whatever way we can,” said Fenster. “This year we’re trying to have more discussions and other experiences in addition to services.”