Hillel gives students feel of home during Rosh Hashana

For sophomore Rachel Kaplan, the most memorable part of Rosh Hashana is about being with family. Originally from a suburb of Chicago where public schools are closed on Jewish holidays, Kaplan now has to celebrate the Jewish New Year at IU. \n"It's hard to be here, because it's not the same without family traditions," she said. \nRabbi Sue Shifron said because the holidays fall in the middle of the week this year, many students are unable to be with family. \n"If you see friends celebrating the holiday, wish them a happy new year and be supportive. It's difficult to be away from home," she said. \nFor Jewish students who stay in Bloomington during some of the most important holidays in the Jewish faith, the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center is offering alternatives to going home. \nThis year, Rosh Hashana is celebrated from sundown Monday to sundown Wednesday. Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, is celebrated from sundown Oct. 12 to sundown Oct. 13. Reform, conservative and alternative services will be held throughout the holiday. This Tuesday, students can participate in Tashlich by symbolically throwing sins into the Jordan River. \nShifron said the reform services tend to be mainly in English, while conservative services are almost completely in Hebrew and are more traditional. The alternative service is for students who want to observe the holiday, but don't feel comfortable with the other services. \n"In the alternative service we recognize that many students don't celebrate the holidays in a traditional way," Shifron said. At that service, students can pray, reflect and write about their thoughts."\nDuring Rosh Hashana, Jewish students typically eat apples dipped in honey to bring a sweet new year. A week later, during Yom Kippur, they will fast as they reflect on their lives.\n"It's an interesting dynamic, to go from a huge celebration for Rosh Hashana, and then have your day of judgment on Yom Kippur," said senior Rachel Wilder, vice president of student leadership at Hillel. \n"You fast all day so you can focus on your prayers and show signs of modesty," she said. "You're down to your purest self. It's just you and God and the people around you."\nShifron explained that Yom Kippur is a day to ask forgiveness from God and people who have been wronged, and also to reflect on how to change life for the better. \n"We have to make amends, and have the intention that we won't make the wrong action again," she said.\nWilder said she has an exam during the second day of Rosh Hashana, and can't be with family. She hopes students and her professors will recognize many students at IU are in a similar situation. \n"These are our holiest days," Wilder said. "A lot of non-Jews think of the winter holidays as the major holidays, and a lot of Christians will think of Hanukkah as the main holiday, (but) Yom Kippur is the most important"