This past weekend, Amherst College Hillel commemorated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. “Commemorated”, and not “celebrated”, because the holiday is as much a time for gravity as it is for joy. Indeed, another Hebrew name for Rosh Hashanah (literally “Head of the Year”) is “Day of Remembrance.” Why such solemnity on the New Year? The theological concept is that on Rosh Hashanah, God’s kingship is revealed; every individual is scrupulously judged; and their fates for the coming year are written in the heavenly books. The 10 days until Yom Kippur provide a space for atonement and spiritual return before the inscriptions are irrevocably sealed. In keeping with the themes of judgment and repentance, the most visible (and audible) symbol of Rosh Hashanah is the shofar, a curved ram’s horn whose sharp, sonorous blast is heard 100 times in the course of the holiday. The shofar blasts recall such iconic moments in ancient Jewish history as the revelation at Mt. Sinai and the siege of Jericho. They also, according to the liturgy, pierce through our year-long stupor and summon us to return to God. Serious ideas — but Rosh Hashanah has more upbeat symbols too. For example, we traditionally eat apples dipped in honey to presage a sweet new year, as well as pomegranates to represent fruitfulness.

This year’s Rosh Hashanah services at Amherst were led by Julia Appel, a rabbinical student at Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. It’s Julia’s second time as the guest for the High Holidays, and her beautiful cantorial voice and inspiring teachings have become a highlight of the year for Hillel. Our Friday evening and Saturday morning services in Chapin Chapel also featured students reading Torah portions in Hebrew and meditations in English. After the services, the group traipsed over to the Cadigan Center for Religious Life, where we exuberantly dug into the festive meals. This Sunday night and Monday, we’ll be doing it all again for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement — but this time we’ll be joined by Rabbi Bruce Bromberg Seltzer, our Jewish Religious Advisor and hopefully by you too!