The Jewish community united across campus Wednesday night to pray, dip apples in honey and gather with friends to celebrate the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
The Orthodox Community at Penn and the Conservative Jewish Community held services at Hillel Wednesday night and will hold services Thursday and Friday, as well as the regular Shabbat service on Saturday. Kesher at Penn, the Reform Jewish community, held services in Harrison Auditorium at the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
In addition, Friday the Jewish groups will head to the Schuylkill River to take part in the tradition of Tashlich, which involves throwing pieces of bread into a body of water and reciting a prayer.
The act symbolizes casting away the sins of the previous year and is an important custom reflecting the emphasis on repentance during the Ten Days of Awe, the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Kesher is also having a potluck dinner Thursday night at the Sigma Nu fraternity house. “We have some sort of dinner every year during the High Holidays because … we think that the dinners really help to create a sense of community,” College senior and Kesher Chairwoman Laura Heller wrote in an email.
According to Orthodox Community at Penn Co-Chairwoman and College junior Rita Wahba, most Orthodox students will be going home for the holiday, but the students that are staying on campus will be getting together or going to a rabbi’s house for lunch.
In previous years, the timing of Rosh Hashanah coincided with the very first days of classes, which caused a great deal of frustration for students. Although this year Rosh Hashanah falls a few weeks later, “it’s always difficult for students to balance classes with religious life,” Heller wrote. “I think professors are generally very understanding of students missing class for the Jewish holidays — people do have to make the decision of classes versus services, and a lot of them end up choosing some combination of the two.” Heller expects more students to be on campus for Rosh Hashanah this year because it falls mid-week, and Yom Kippur occurs over fall break next week.
“Rosh Hashanah is a great time to be with family and friends,” Wahba said. “It’s a chance to reflect on the past year and start the new year right.”
Other Jewish groups on campus marked the holiday as well. On Tuesday, the Lubavitch House set up an exotic horn and shofar display and handed out apples and honey — a favorite holiday treat symbolizing a sweet new year — on Locust Walk. The Jewish Renaissance Project also hosted a holiday dinner Wednesday in Claudia Cohen Hall.
College sophomore Jeremy Salinger, who helped organized the Conservative Jewish Community’s Wednesday evening service, said that “being at Hillel together with everyone really made it feel like home away from home — with great food to top it all off.”
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