Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is an important holiday in the lives of Jews at Duke and around the world. The holiday, which began sundown on Wednesday and concluded Thursday evening, required much preparation.
It begins the ten days of repentance, which leads up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Rosh Hashanah is known for its food, celebration and sense of Jewish community.
“We do both conservative and reform services,” said Rabbi Jeremy Yoskowitz, the associate director of Jewish life at Duke. “We are very blessed that as much as can be done by students is done by students. For example, all the Torah readings are done by students.”
An assortment of food is also prepared for the new year festivities. The Freeman Center laid out apples and honey, pomegranate, carrots, dates and the heads of fish.
“The idea is that the New Year should be as sweet as the apples and honey you eat,” Yoskowitz said.
The holiday is also known for the type of community drawn to it. Jewish students are often extremely supportive of Rosh Hashanah and do as much as they can to ensure they enjoy the best experience possible.
“Due to the pressure of midterms, it was difficult to practice the Jewish traditions," said freshman Adam Abelson. "We did make Jewish food in our dorms, however."
Another freshman, Nicole Savage, was able to attend the holiday dinner, but could not attend services because of academic pressures.
“They allow you to miss classes,” she said. “But I didn’t want to miss them because of midterms. It was kind of a bummer that you had to pay, but other than that, everything was great. It was really nice being surrounded by a fellow Jewish community and engaging in traditions I didn’t have to miss because I wasn’t home.”
Yoskowitz noted the strength of the community at Duke, despite the size.
“There’s a tremendous awareness here,” he said. “My father once said that in his 47 years in the pulpit, he has rarely seen a congregation as intense, focused and engaged as the students here, which I think is a testament to the remarkable intensity to which Duke students approach things. They take their work and their faith equally seriously, and it really shows.”
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