Jewish students celebrate New Year at start of High Holidays
Published on Fri., September 26th, 2008
Honey Cookies
Yield: About 3 dozen
1 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
6 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
Cream the margarine and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs, honey, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour and baking soda and mix into a thick dough. Chill until firm. Pull off small pieces and roll into 1-inch balls. Place onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350°F degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Source: Food Network
This Monday Jewish students will ring in the Jewish New year with horns and food at a celebration dinner hosted by KU’s Chabad group.
Rosh Hashana, one of the two most important Jewish holidays, encompasses the first two days of the Jewish New Year and marks the start of the High Holidays — the ten-day period of penitence and repentance before Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
Charles Goldberg, Chicago senior and recruiting coordinator for KU’s Chabad Jewish Student Group, said the holiday dinner and traditions weren’t just about religion, but were celebrated by secular Jews as well.
“Regardless of how religious you are, if you’re Jewish, you celebrate Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur,” he said. “They just sort of define who we are.”
Even Jews who don’t define themselves as avidly religious celebrate the two holidays, according to Goldberg. He said that these people are called High Holiday Jews, because they only practice during the holiday.
In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year.” According to Jewish tradition, the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the time when God decides the fortune of the world for the next year. The Jewish calendar runs on a lunar model, and Monday evening will mark the beginning of the Jewish year 5769. Rosh Hashanah also marks the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, according to the book of Genesis in the Jewish Torah.
The holiday is rich in tradition and symbolism. According to Chabad’s Executive Director, Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, every part of the celebration, from the food to the music, is symbolic. One of the unique customs is blowing a ram’s horn, called a shofar.
“The horn produces a pure cry, a simple sound calling out to God,” Teichtel said.
Jews throughout history have sounded this horn to usher in new years, new moons and also to announce war.
Another tradition is sharing a meal containing special foods, such as apples dipped in honey, and traditional Jewish foods, such as round challah bread. Teichtel said the purpose behind the honey was to symbolize the hope for a sweet year. Practitioners spend most of the holiday in prayer at either a synagogue or with a group under the direction of Rabbi.
This year the KU chapter of the Chabad Jewish Student Group is hosting services during the holiday and the traditional New Year’s Eve meal because many students couldn’t take time off in the middle of the week to go home.
“This is a time where Jews all over the world travel to spend time with their families,” Tiechtel said, “so we host a meal with traditional foods to give the holiday a homey feel.”
Gathering as a community has been an important Jewish tradition since Judaism’s founding, according to Jason Oruch, Plano, Texas senior and vice president of KU’s Hillel group.
“We stand by each other and stick together,” Oruch said. ”We always have.”
The schedule of services can be found at www.Jewishku.com. The New Year’s evening meal will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29 in the Big 12 Room in the Kansas Union. All students, regardless of their religion, are welcome to attend, Tiechtel said.
— Edited by Brieun Scott
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