UF students, GNV residents celebrate Rosh Hashana

Apples and honey laid in front of about 400 people celebrating Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, at UF’s Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center on Sunday night.

Rosh Hashana celebrates the anniversary of Earth’s creation, said Chanie Goldman, the center’s co-director. Members of the Jewish community eat apples dipped in honey during the holiday to symbolize sweetness for the upcoming year. During the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Jews will ask forgiveness for their sins as they go into the new year.

“Rosh Hashana, we’re told, is a day our prognosis for the year is written down,” Goldman said, adding that the holidays bring repentance and a closer relationship to God.

The holiday is held on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri, the anniversary of when God created man, she said.

UF students filed into the synagogue clutching prayer books in preparation for the service, which was given entirely in Hebrew. Men and women were separated by a divider in the middle of the room, and friends chatted as they ate round loaves of braided challah bread.

Yael Diamond, a UF political science and international studies freshman, said she was excited for the brisket served during the after-service meal. She said Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur feel holier than the rest of the year.

“You feel a lot closer (to God) afterwards,” the 19-year-old said. “Usually I spend this time with my family.”

Despite being away from home, she said she will continue celebrating the holiday with upcoming services at UF Chabad.

Diamond and her friend, Kayla Steinmetz, said it was their first Rosh Hashana spent away from their families.

“I’ve always gone to temple for the high holidays and it’s pretty important to my family,” said Steinmetz, an 18-year-old UF animal sciences freshman.

This year’s holiday marked the Earth’s 5,777th birthday, according to the Jewish calendar, said Rabbi Berl Goldman. Before the service, Rabbi Goldman told students the holiday symbolizes sweetness, forgiveness and prayer.

He encouraged students to think about God throughout the year, especially with the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Matt Freedman, a UF accounting freshman, said it was his first time visiting the center.

“I’m just very religious, and I always celebrate back at home in Long Island,” the 18-year-old said.

Freedman said it was important to take time to celebrate the holiday.

“You get to start a brand new year, and you get to wipe away all your sins,” he said.

About 400 people attended the event at the Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center on Sunday evening. Men and women sat at opposite ends of the room for the holiday service and dinner.