Page 3
Wednesday • September 25, 1996
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Highs & Lows
wish holidays combine
ilebration, solemn prayer
By Aaron Meier
The Battalion
his week the Jewish stu
dents of Texas A&M prac
ticed traditions that are
tit 5,000 years old.
je Jewish high holiday sea-
currently underway with
I of the three holidays com-
led, wraps up this week with
iimbination of celebration
[solemn prayer,
losh Hashana kicked off the
iday season. This year, the
ish new year fell on Sept. 14
I arrived with excitement
ing the Jewish community at
4. According to the Shir Ami
le page, most Jews take the
► year with more solemnity
magine if Congress
id to fast for just
le day. The suffer-
g of children
ould be the most
iportant thing on
le agenda.”
Rabbi PeterTarlow
ectorofthe Hillel Foundation
■Mi
in the calendar new year.
“There is little similarity be-
Yesterday’sHB eenRosh Hashana, one of the
|liest days of the year, and the
84°F
Yesterday's to
70°F
Higl
88°f
Today’s F.xped
71°F
udent Chapter ofthe^
perican midnight bash and
ytime football game,” the
ime page said.
JThisyear, Adam Samuels, a
Today's Fipefij nior engineering technology
|ajor, enjoyed the traditional
food of Rosh Hashana,
|)plesdipped in honey.
I Hesaid the delicacy has a
prpose besides its flavor.
"Imember Mom cut up ap
es, and then we would dip
emin honey,” Samuels said,
ieiiope is that you might have
weet and joyous new year.”
The Torah, the sacred book of
iaism, teaches that God tem-
rarily places every person’s
me in the Book of Life on
sh Hashana. An entry in the
ik of Life allows the person to
for another year,
fen days separate Rosh
shana from the next Jewish
fiday, Yom Kippur. During
se 10 days, those whose
es were placed in the book
/ean opportunity to correct
^wrongdoings.
abbi Peter Tarlow, director
|the Hillel Foundation, said
Is process of atonement dif-
jsfrom the Catholic confes-
because amends must be
lade to the person sinned
inst before God can forgive
offender.
his year, Yom Kippur was
jjebrated on Sept. 24.
Tom Kippur means “Day of
Imement.” If sins have not
n corrected by this day, God
remove people’s names
In the Book of Life.
Samuels said on Rosh
Hashana, the book temporarily
holds the names, but on Yom
Kippur, the names become a
permanent entry in the book.
According to the Shir Ami
home page, Yom Kippur is the
most holy day of the Jewish year.
Samuels said on this day, one
tradition exists — fasting. Food,
water, sex, bathing, cosmetics
(including deodorant and
makeup), non-essential medica
tions and leather shoes are for
bidden. The fasting process
starts during sundown on the
day before Yom Kippur and lasts
until sundown the next day.
There are exceptions to the
fasting laws. Children under the
age of nine, pregnant women
and the elderly do not have to
fast during Yom Kippur.
“In the Jewish religion, life is
the most important thing above
all else,” Samuels said. “My
mother has thyroid problems,
so she only fasted for three
hours because it wasn’t medical
ly good for her.”
Tarlow said the fast is a time to
reflect upon his own spirituality
and a time to contemplate the
state of other people in the world.
He said if everyone fasted,
perhaps the world would
demonstrate more compassion.
“Imagine if Congress had to
fast for just one day,” Tarlow
said. “The suffering of children
would be the most important
thing on the agenda.”
Jewish students do not have
to attend class on Yom Kippur,
and Samuels said he will spend
most of the day in synagogue.
At sundown on Yom Kippur,
the services continue until three
stars are seen in the sky, and the
“break the fast” begins.
The “break the fast” con
cludes Yom Kippur with a large
celebratory meal.
The final holiday of the high
season is called Sukkot, a sev
en-day harvest festival.
Tarlow said over the years,
the most well-known tradition
of Sukkot became the building
of temporary booths known as
a Sukkah. Sukkah, temporary
structures with no walls and a
minimal roof usually made of
tree branches, possess histori
cal value.
Tarlow said the Sukkah were
dwellings used by the Israelites
during harvest season. He said
city dwellers would leave the
urban areas and go to the
fields, where they would build
the Sukkah, and eat and sleep
under the shaky roof.
“My grandfather lived in
Chicago during the Depression,
and he used to work for a door
manufacturer,” Samuels said.
“He built the Sukkah in the
backyard and used leftover door
parts for the roof.”
With Rosh Hashana and Yom
Kippur over, and Sukkot nearing
its end, the Jewish high holiday
season draws to a close, await
ing another 5,000 years of tradi
tional celebration.
a Rasmussen, to 1 -
ay, Sports Edito#
er Pace, Opinion
Yung, Web
Jickman, Radio &
oog, Photo
Graeber, Cartoon^
s A&M University in
n. News offices are '-
2647; E-mail:
lu.
or endorsement byW-
45-2696. For cla#
Donald, and officet-’j
*&M student to pick*
$40 per school yeaf
an Express, call 845-' :
/ during the fall andS
•ns (except on Uni# :
tage paid at College^'
5 Reed McDonald BK
David House, The Battaijon
is photograph is part of the display “Jews of Kiev: Renais-
e After Baba Yar" on exhibit at the Hillel Foundation at 800
ge Bush Drive. The display is sponsored by the United Jewish
al and contains pictures of the people of Kiev,
bbi Peter Tarlow, director of the Hillel Foundation, said com
ity interest has been overwhelming.
hether if it is for their interest in Fiistory or religion, it doesn't
|ter," he said. "It shows their interest in the world."
A visit to a Nazi concentration camp and a strong
family faith has helped one student find a renewed
pride in his religion on this new dawn.
■■Ml
stand
human
By John LeBas
The Battalion
couple of years ago, Judaism was just another
part of junior computer science major Uri
Geva’s hectic college life.
But after visiting a Nazi concentration camp
in Europe this summer,
Geva found a new sense
of pride in his religion
and heritage.
The third generation Holocaust sur
vivor said the visit illuminated the Jewish
people’s triumph over possible extinc
tion more than four decades ago.
“That moment made me so proud to
be Jewish,” Geva said.
This newfound appreciation of his
faith, Geva said, has given him courage to
enjoy Jewish holidays and customs, which
are often overlooked in Texas A&M’s pre
dominately Christian society.
Classes and club meetings often con
flict with Jewish holidays such as Yom
Kippur, he said, presenting Jewish stu
dents with a sometimes difficult choice:
respect the dictates of their faith or carry
on with school commitments.
“Many professors look at [holidays] as
just another day,” Geva said. “But if I
don't respect my own holiday, who will?”
Geva said more professors are beginning to understand
the importance of Jewish holidays, but campus organiza
tions should try to schedule mandatory meetings around all
faiths’ holidays.
Despite these conflicts, Geva said he finds life in Aggieland
to be mostly compatible with Judaism.
Geva, who spent 13 years on and off in Israel, now lives
with his mother, father and sister. His parents, both teachers
at A&M, are instrumental in helping him meld his faith and
college life, he said.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “My parents are great, and they know
how student life is. We’ve developed such a close relationship.”
His parents are his “guiding roommates,” he said, offering him
advice that non-Jewish roommates might not be able to give.
Dr. Anat Geva, Uri’s mother and a visiting assistant pro
fessor of architecture, said she loves sharing a home with
her son.
“I love to have him, and I love to host his friends,” she said.
"They can eat here, sleep here, have parties here.”
[non-
to
a 11
“I’d like for
Christians]
know what
faiths are about to
have a vast under-
ng of the
nature.”
Dr. Nehemia Geva, Uri’s father and an assistant professor of
political science, said the close relationship he and his wife
have with Uri did not start when their son entered college.
“It’s an open relationship you have with kids from the be
ginning,” he said.
Uri Geva said this home life makes Jewish holidays more
meaningful.
“There’s a feeling of holiday in the
house when there is a holiday,” he
said. “It’s very supportive.”
On Sunday evening, the begin
ning of Yom Kippur, the Geva family
enjoyed a formal holiday meal, end
ing with cake and hot tea, Uri said.
At 8 p.m., the family went to the Hil
lel Foundation for prayer on this
holiest of Jewish holidays.
Yom Kippur was a day of prayer,
reflection and relaxation with the
family, Nehemia Geva said.
Anat Geva said Judaism is a fami
ly-oriented faith and more than a re
ligion — it is a way of life.
Anat Geva, who received her
Ph.D. from A&M, said the traditions
of Judaism parallel the Aggie tradi
tions she and her son cherish. Like
Aggie traditions, Jewish traditions
are the building blocks of the culture
and heritage she treasures.
This pride is also found in family members’ names,
which have biblical origins.
“Uri” was the first architect in the Bible, and means “my light.”
“He really is my light,” Anat Geva said.
“Ronnie,” Uri’s sister’s name, means “my song.” “Nehemi-
ah” led the Jews out of the first exile and helped rebuild
Jerusalem. Biblical judge Shamgar was the son of “Anat.”
Nehemia Geva said most of his students who ask him about
Judaism are simply curious about this heritage. He said he
wants people to know Judaism is an open way of life.
“It’s a way of life that looks positively at life,” he said.
Anat Geva said she has run into people, including some at
A&M, who have tried to convince her to turn from Judaism.
She said she hopes more people learn to respect Judaism as a
viable religion and way of life.
Uri Geva said he wishes Christian students would sit down
with non-Christians to learn more about their religions.
He said this is the best way to overcome ignorance.
“Fd like for them to know what all faiths are about to have a
more vast understanding of the human nature,” he said.
Uri Geva
junior computer science major