High Holiday Roundup
What makes observing the High Holidays at Hillel special?
From service-oriented programs like Reverse Tashlich to apples and honey taste tests to a variety of traditional and creative services, Hillel students and staff members have been celebrating growth, joy, and wellness in the new year.
We have been inspired by the thoughtfulness and passion that campus communities brought to the High Holidays, so we gathered a snapshot of celebrations at campuses across the globe.
At Purdue University Hillel, students have been focusing on committing to compassion and self-care in the new year. Executive Director Melissa Frey wrote a Blessing for Self Care that helped center many of those conversations, including a Yom Kippur discussion on “Why Gratitude is a Jewish Value.” You can find more photos and musings from Purdue Hillel here.
Students from Emerson College and Suffolk University, two Boston campuses of Hillel Council of New England, celebrated the new year with a canoeing trip. Springboard Ezra Fellow Rachel Sturges led the group in Torah study and the ritual of Tashlich along the banks of the Charles River. This program supplemented the variety of service and meal options offered at these two campuses and across Hillel Council’s three other campuses throughout both days of Rosh Hashanah.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Hillel students came together to celebrate the ritual of Tashlich. They meditated together on areas of their life where they would like to seek improvement in the new year.
The Hillel Lviv and Hillel Kharkiv communities gathered together for Rosh Hashanah at the lake, where they discussed goals and hopes for the new year and shared a holiday meal with foods traditional to their communities. Hillel members also participated in a service trip for the High Holidays, during which they brought local families together for a day of fun and celebration.