Monday is Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Syracuse University has one of the highest Jewish populations of any college in the US. Yet, students and faculty don’t have the day off.
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REPORTER: This past Monday was Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Those who observe atoned for their sins by fasting from sundown Sunday to sundown Monday. Syracuse University’s Hillel hosted services for the high holiday
TAMAR LEVY: For Yom Kippur we had a pre-fast dinner here and then services at Hendricks Chapel, and then afterwards everyone came back to hillel and we all had bagels together which was really nice
REPORTER: Syracuse University has one of the highest Jewish populations of any college. It is in the top 10 among private universities at number 8. This leaves many people wondering why the holiest Jewish holiday is not given off.
TAMAR LEVY: If not giving off everyone for the holiday, certainly making sure that there’s no exams scheduled or no tests coming up
REPORTER: Despite not giving the day off, Syracuse University has a Religious Observance Policy. This gives students the option to take off of classes for the holidays with no penalty. However many students still choose not to take advantage of this policy
GABRIELLE GOLDMAN: I was just really nervous about doing that because I didn’t want to miss out on what I’d be learning in class. I also had an exam on Monday that I really didn’t wanna have to miss. I also didn’t want to fast because I knew I would just be very low energy in all my classes and would just really struggle getting through the day.
REPORTER: Students are faced with a choice between academics and religion, a choice that proves to be difficult.
REPORTER: From here at Hillel at Syracuse University, I’m Lindsay Arons – NCC News
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar took place this past Monday. Those who observe repent and atone for their sins by fasting (refraining from food) from sundown on Sunday to sundown on Monday. Yom Kippur is a day where Jewish people ask God for forgiveness for everything they have done in the past year and they start the new year off with a clean slate.
Syracuse University has one of the highest Jewish populations of any college in the world. On Hillel International’s list ranking Jewish population at private universities, Syracuse is ranked eighth. The school has a Jewish population of about 2,500 which represents 16.6% of the student body.
Given the high Jewish population, many wonder why the university does not give students and staff the day off on Yom Kippur, especially because this is the holiest holiday for Jewish people.
While they do not give the day off, Syracuse University does have a religious observance policy. This gives students the option to let the university and professors know they will not be attending class for religious reasons.
The policy states: “Syracuse University recognizes the diverse faith traditions represented among its campus community and supports the rights of faculty, staff, and students to observe according to these traditions.”
Although the university has instituted this policy, many students choose not to take advantage of it. Due to this, many Jewish students attended classes whilst fasting and others chose not to fast because of academics.
Junior Gabrielle Goldman did not fast this year and chose to attend classes. “Even though we could file a religious exemption for Yom Kippur, I was really nervous about doing that because I didn’t want to miss out on what I would be learning in class,” Goldman said. “I also had an exam on Monday that I didn’t want to have to miss.”
The fear of falling behind on academics is causing students, such as Goldman, to not follow their religion as strictly as they otherwise would.
“I think that Syracuse University should definitely give off for Yom Kippur,” Goldman said. “Syracuse has a very high Jewish population at the school, who I think would really appreciate being given off for such an important holiday in our religion.”
Tamar Levy, the Springboard Social Justice Fellow at Syracuse Hillel, gave a different perspective on the issue.
“I’m not sure if the solution is canceling class altogether,” Levy said. “But I think just being more mindful of students’ needs on Yom Kippur”
Rather than the university canceling classes entirely, Levy believes there are other ways for Jewish students to have the pressure taken off them.
“I think that given the high Jewish population, professors should be more cognizant of the fact that students will be taking off for Yom Kippur,” says Levy. “If not giving everyone off for the holiday, certainly making sure that there’s no exams scheduled or no tests coming up,” the Hillel employee said.
Syracuse University’s Hillel hosted services and meals for Yom Kippur. On Sunday night there was a pre-fast dinner at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life. This was followed by Kol Nidrei Services at Hendricks Chapel.
On Monday, services were held all day at Hendricks Chapel until 7:45 p.m. when Hillel hosted break-fast. Hillel provided bagels, the typical meal eaten after the fast each year. This Friday Hillel will be hosting an event to decorate the Sukkah at 4:30 p.m. for the upcoming holiday, Sukkot.