Jewish holidays, discussion with Hoss Brown
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Chanukah are some major Jewish holidays that will be celebrated in the upcoming months.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year is celebrated on Sept. 19 and is a time of rejoicing and introspection. Customs observed during Rosh Hashanah include dipping apples in honey and casting sins into a river. The holiday can last between one and two days
Yom Kippur, which takes place on Sept. 28, is the current Jewish holiday. This holiday is celebrated for atonement and penance, during which the sins from last year are being confessed. The holiday lasts for 25 hours and consists of fasting and prayer.
Hoss Brown, assistant director of Student Life and Diversity Initiatives, discussed Yom Kippur and its purpose. “Yom Kippur is the most important holiday in Judaism,” he said. “Yom Kippur means ‘Day of Atonement’. It is to focus on self-reflection of choices, seeking atonement and repentance for the bad choices.”
Brown stated “to me, as a Jewish male, Yom Kippur is about reflecting on where I’ve been and what I’ve done this last year, and asking myself, ‘how can I become better?’”
Following Yom Kippur is Sukkot, taking place on Oct. 3. “Sukkot” is a Hebrew word that means “booths” or “huts.” The holiday represents giving thanks for the fall harvest.
It also commemorates the wandering of the Jews in the desert for 40 years after receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai.
During Sukkot, fruits and branches are waved during services, and people live temporarily in huts.
The last major Jewish holiday of the year is Chanukah, which occurs on the 11 of December and lasts for eight days. It is a remembrance of the deliverance and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem. Customs observed during this holiday include playing with a dreidel, eating fried food, and lighting candles.
The first major Jewish holiday of 2021 will be Passover, which begins on March 28. This spring festival memorializes the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. During this holiday, which can last from 7 to 8 days, leavened grain products are avoided and the Exodus story is recited.
Brown talked about the ways that we can make space for Jewish students on campus and the importance of understanding Judaism as more than just a religion.
“I think one of the biggest ways we can support our Jewish students is to acknowledge that we [Jewish people] exist on campus. It’s also important for us to know that Judaism is more than a religion – it’s an ethnicity and culture that comes with its own set of beliefs, food, languages, philosophy, history and more,” Brown said.
Brown closed with this final statement: “Jewishness is deeper than a faith system; however, Jewishness is also an identity that’s not always apparent from surface level appearance. With that said, non-Jewish individuals should take note of their assumptions of others and not assume that all others are Christians.”
