UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 4, Page D-2
September 22, 1994
Diversity
Jewish High Holy Days encourage personal reflection

     The main focus of the contemporary Jewish calendar year are the
High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
     This year, the holidays began during the first week of classes,
when Jewish students celebrated the start of the Jewish year of 5755.
This is a peroid of intense introspection.
     According to Rabbi Stephen Booth of the University's Hillel
Center, "We are instructed to take a serious inventory of our souls to
see where we may have missed the mark during the previous year, what
we can do to set things right, and how we might redirect our actions
for improvement in the year to come." Jewish tradition teaches that
redemption is a continuous possibility. Every time a new year begins,
Jews return to their roots, examine their accomplishments and reset
their sights, beginning with self-introspection.
     Immediately after the rituals of the High Holy Days, which
includes celebration, prayer and fasting, Jews begin to build a
Sukkot, a fragile structure decorated with fall fruits and vegetables,
which symbolizes a perfect world of plenty. The holiday is somewhat
like Thanksgiving, giving thanks for the bounties received from the
Creator and sharing them with others.
     Rabbi Booth invites the University community to visit the Hillel
Center during the period from Sept. 19-28, which marks the Jewish
festival of Sukkot, the Season of Our Joy, and enjoy an outdoor meal
in the Sukkot.
     When this week-long festival ends, another begins, called Simchat
Torah or "Rejoicing in the Torah."
     On Sept. 27, the last verses from the book of Deuteronomy will be
read and the Torah scroll will be rolled back to the opening verses of
Genesis to signify that the Jewish relationship to the Torah is never
ending.
     The University's Jewish community has special reason to rejoice
this year because Hillel has received its first scroll, donated by
Temple Beth Shalom in Wilmington.
     A special dedication of the new scroll will be held at 7:30 p.m.,
Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Abe and Pearl Kristol Hillel Center, as part
of the Simchat Torah celebration.
     All members of the University community are invited to
participate in this special celebration.