The month of September is a religious time of year for most Jewish people at Quinnipiac.
The Jewish celebrated Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this month. As two major holidays of the Jewish religion, services and celebrations were held at Quinnipiac University for the entire QU community.
Rosh Hashanah, which began on September 6 at sundown, is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. Translated in Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah literally means “first of the year.”
During Rosh Hashanah, the typical way to greet one another is by saying “L’shanah tovah,” which means “for a good year” or Happy New Year.
One of the most symbolic parts of the Jewish New Year is hearing the blowing of the shofar, which is a ram’s horn, at synagogue.
Jews traditionally do not work during Rosh Hashanah, but they spend most of their day at the synagogue.
Another tradition during this holiday is the eating of apples dipped in honey. This is done to symbolize the wish for a sweet or good new year.
Rosh Hashanah is traditionally celebrated by families gathering together for dinner and spending time with one another.
Here at Quinnipiac, the Jewish organization on campus, Hillel, sponsored a variety of events to celebrate the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
“We celebrated in the morning by having a service that consisted of various readings,” said Jon Kroll, the president of Hillel.”
The service was concluded by “eating apples and honey to celebrate the New Year,” said Kroll.
During the evening hours a service was conducted by the rabbi, which was open to the entire Quinnipiac community.
The second of the Jewish holidays this month was Yom Kippur, which began on September 15 at sundown and continues until sundown of the following night.
Yom Kippur is thought of by many as being the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Yom Kippur means literally “Day of Atonement.”
The day is meant for Jewish people to rid themselves of their sins. Typically, the day is spent at the synagogue where people pray.
Jewish people do not work during Yom Kippur,and traditionally they do not eat or drink from sundown to sundown the following day. The holiday is concluded with a blast of the shofar at synagogue.
Yom Kippur is traditionally celebrated with a big, hearty meal before sundown in preparation for the fast, and is concluded with a meal usually consisting of dairy to break the fast.
Classes were not held at Quinnipiac University on Yom Kippur. Hillel held services and a special meal to break the fast when Yom Kippur ended Monday evening after sundown.
Quinnipiac and Hillel honored the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this month by including the entire QU community.