The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah took place today and the Jewish community of Wheaton has planned some unifying services to help celebrate the Jewish New Year. The group Hillel, along with other students on campus, either attended a service tonight at 6:30 p.m. or will attend one tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
The Jewish New Year is a time for remembrance and cleansing for those that celebrate it. Students will likely reflect with each other and look to see how they can improve themselves as people and in relationships that they have with others.
“Over the next ten days we must make amends with all those we have wronged,” said junior Gavi Cohn, a member of Hillel. “[Then] on Yom Kippur we ask God for forgiveness.” Cohn also noted there is a level of happiness to the holiday and an acknowledgement that nobody is perfect.
The Jewish community has remained very calm during such a charged time on the Wheaton campus. Last weekend, anti-Semitic posters, among other things, were found in the Meadows West dorm. However, Cohn feels this won’t interfere with the upbeat nature of the services. “Jews have been faced with hate and adversity throughout our existence. So a couple of rude posters don’t do much,” Cohn said.
Cohn also commented on how proud he was of the reaction the Jewish community had. “I think it’s indicative of how we just roll with the punches and keep going with business as usual.” Cohn said, “Rosh Hashanah is an absolute fixture in the calendar and no amount of ignorance is going to stop that.”