6 things for all college students to know about the Jewish High Holy Days
As every year, the Jewish community is about to usher in the New Year with rituals and introspection during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana — the Jewish New Year — and Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement.
In 2016, Rosh Hashana falls on Oct. 3-4 and Yom Kippur on Oct. 12, starting, as with all Jewish sobservances, at sundown on the previous day.
Millions of Jews across the world will observe the set of holidays and pray for good fortune in the coming year -- including, of course, on college campuses.
But there's much more to the High Holy Days than class cancellations at many universities to accommodate students observing these holidays, which are kept by Jews of all denominations, including many secular Jews. For the uninitiated, here are six things to know.
1. Fate and fortune
According to Jewish tradition, the events of the year — including life and death — are determined on Rosh Hashana and finalized on Yom Kippur. Health, finances and success are also decided on the High Holy Days, and are a direct result of an individual’s merits and sins over the past year.
But there’s still hope for us sinners — prayer, asking for forgiveness, charity and kindness to others have the power to cancel a bad fortune, according to Jewish teachings.
Related: Students: Yom Kippur a balance of challenges, traditions
2. Introspection and forgiveness
The High Holy Days are a time for a self-analysis of the past year. What did you do well? What could you have done better? How can you serve God better?
But before asking for forgiveness from God, one must first obtain reprieves from his friends and apologize for anything he did to offend or hurt them over the past year. Only after being completely forgiven by others may one ask for blessing in the New Year to come.
Some Orthodox Jews even observe a custom of swinging live roosters over their heads — to be later donated to charity — as a symbol for atonement and forgiveness.
Most, though, atone in more typical ways. On Rosh Hashana, many Jews participate in tashlich, in which Jews toss pieces of bread into a body of water as a symbolic casting away of sins.
3. Prayer, prayer and more prayer
The High Holy Days draw more Jews to services than any time of the year, as numerous prayers are recited and rituals are performed. On these days, Jews spend hours a day in synagogue praying for a New Year of blessing and forgiveness for the year’s sins. And you thought Sunday Mass was long?
4. Sweetness
It’s customary to pray for a “sweet New Year” on the High Holidays and many have the tradition to dip an apple in honey to symbolize this request for the year to come. Other sweet foods that are traditional to eat include honey cake and pomegranates.
Sweetness doesn't have to come from foods -- if you just sweetly wish your Jewish friends "a sweet New Year" they will really appreciate it.
5. Horn blasts
As a call to action, Jews blow the shofar — a hollow ram’s horn — 100 times on each day of Rosh Hashana and once at the very end of Yom Kippur.
Three distinct types of blasts are blown to arouse God’s mercy on these holidays. Unlike other horns, the sound of the shofar is more meaningful than melodious.
6. The five pains
How’s 25 hours without eating, drinking, bathing, anointing, wearing leather shoes or having marital relations? On Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, those activities — known as the “five pains” — are prohibited, to help one withdraw from the physical world and focus solely on spirituality. How’s that in exchange for getting all of your sins wiped away?
Yitzchak Carroll is a student at Yeshiva University and a member of the USA TODAY College contributor network.
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