| High Holidays at Penn |
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| Written by Rachel Adler | |||||
| Thursday, 27 October 2005 | |||||
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A First-Person Journey Through the Denominations I was raised Reform, and so for my freshman year I went to Reform services. I read Torah for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Reform service had a talented cantorial soloist who embellished everything. Great for the ears, but not so practical in terms of being able to actually participate in prayers. I found myself a bit distanced, and it felt as if I was watching a service more than I was participating in one. However, it was amazing to be in the same room as 500 other Jews, and to be able to read the Torah for all of them. Students were given the opportunity to participate in many ways: by saying blessings before the Haftarah, by dressing and undressing the Torah, and by leading responsive readings in English. That year, I decided to go to Conservative student-led services for Kol Nidrei, the opening service of Yom Kippur, for a bit of variety. They were small, with about 50 people, and intimate, and simple enough that everyone could follow along. It was beautiful. The community also hosts a lot of meals on the High Holidays. On Rosh Hashanah, everyone eats at the Hillel for most of the holiday. For many freshmen, this presented their first opportunity to eat a festive meal outside of Hillel, either in High Rise North (where many observant students live) or off-campus. These meals are a lot smaller, and more intimate. At some point during my freshman year I “frummed out,” that is, started keeping Jewish law, and since then have been attending the student-led Orthodox services, which average a little less than 350 people on Yom Kippur, most of whom are students. The services include more singing than Penn’s Reform services, and a bit less than in Conservative student-led services. The male students who lead the services have wonderful voices to boot, and the degree to which students represented the community continue to impress me. I daresay they do a better job than my Rabbi at home. Although Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot are small for the Orthodox community, Simchat Torah tends to draw a much larger crowd. Visitors from YU, Cornell, Maryland, and many other schools hike up and down to Philadelphia for Penn’s rather renowned treatment of the holiday, celebrating the Torah. The services on the eve and the morning of Simchat Torah include hakafot, circles of dancing, which go on for several hours. It is the highlight of the year, a day of joy in celebration of learning the entire Torah, a day much needed after the somberness of Yom Kippur. Simchat Torah proves a delightful culmination to the High Holiday slew.
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