Hillel celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with over 150 members of the UM community on Sept. 11.
For those who celebrate, the celebratory meal is sweet and sticky. Each part of the meal represents additional wishes for the new year to come. It is tradition to dip apples and challah in honey which represents the wish for a sweet new year.
Rosh Hashanah is more than a holiday, it is a time to be grateful for what you have been given and hope for a prosperous future.
This year Hillel’s celebrations looked different than usual.
There was service on Friday followed by the celebratory feast. On Saturday they hosted a service before lunch and did not blow the shofar — a trumpet made from the bone of a kosher animal — until that evening.
According to Orli Schwartz, one of the student organizers, the celebration was “more special,” because it coincided with Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.
This year both Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah started at sundown on Friday. Shabbat ended as usual on Saturday evening and Rosh Hashanah ended Sunday evening. That meant the blowing of the shofar could not start until Shabbat ended.
Hillel has provided a sense of community through celebrations like these for the past 73 years and this year’s Rosh Hashanah was no exception.
Sophomore Mia Martin feels that, “being away from home during the holidays can be tough, but Hillel and the campus community made me feel supported and accompanied.”
“I’m really grateful I had the opportunity to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with good friends—especially getting to hear the shofar, which is always my favorite part no matter where I am in the world,” Martin said.
This echoes Hillel’s mission statement.
“University of Miami Hillel enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.”
With attendance continuously growing, Hillel continues to create a space that is open to all members of the UM community.