Reminding Jewish families w/ freshmen: High Holy Days next week

Parents Forum
1

<p>As everyone's getting their feet down on the ground in new colleges, this might be the right time to email out a question about your kid's plans for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In case they might be curious, or if they are accustomed to annual worship like this, there are Hillel organizations that hold services and other opportunities. As freshmen, our kids always needed a bit of lead-time to figure things out, for example: bussing to a nearby campus for shared Hillel services. </p>

<p>Some families are lucky enough to see kids travel home, but others live further away so can't make it, especially midweek. </p>

<p>This year's dates:
Rosh Hashana: Evening - Wednesday, Sept 12
First Day- THursday, Sept. 13
(Second Day, if that's your custom) - Friday, Sept. 14</p>

<p>Yom Kippur: Evening - Friday, September 21
Day - Saturday, September 22</p>

<p>In case there's no Hillel within reach, you can look up on the websites of the major movements to find lists of the closest synagogues. If your family is already a member in good standing in your home community, you can phone your own place to set up a reciprocal ticket with the place near your kid. But this must be done in advance through synagogue offices, so it needs to be done now or early next week, not the day before the holy day when phone and fax lines are very busy there. </p>

<p>If you don't belong anywhere in your locale, it might still be productive for the kid to contact the closest synagogue to see if there are welcomes for area college students or young singles. Sometimes, they waive ticket requirements for young people. Occasionally, there are host family arrangements at area homes for eating.</p>

<p>To find nearest synagogue to your kid's campus, here's the alphabet soup for the major movements: URJ (Reform), USCJ (Conservative), JRF (Reconstructionist), OU (Orthodox Union) plus others for orthodox movements. </p>

<p>BTW, although ours could have come home (4 hours), we generally encouraged them to try the Hillel, for a new experience. But each family is different. I did envy the families with visiting freshmen at services!</p>

<p>If there are academic requirements such as quizzies or projects due on those dates, these can generally be worked out with the professors in advance.</p>

<p>WIshing all a happy, healthy New Year.</p>

2

<p>L'Shanah Tovah to you and your family!</p>

<p>Thanks for all the information.</p>

<p>S (Freshman) will not be coming home for either holiday. :(
I would love to contact the Hillel at his college but I think I will let him find his own way. He knows its there. I've got to stop being a "helicopter" parent!!</p>

3

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOTOdBzSpYc&eurl=%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOTOdBzSpYc&eurl=&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>FrazzledAgain, I'm with you - d knows Hillel is there. Maybe she'll even find it!</p>

<p>L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu.</p>

5

<p>My daughter is celebrating Rosh Hashana on campus of her small LAC at her even smaller Hillel with a traveling rabbinical student leading services. </p>

<p>For Yom Kippur she was invited to fly home with a friend for the weekend. While I would love to have her come home to us, the $600 plane ticket just a few weeks before fall break did not seem like a great idea. I am happy that her friend's family is including her and that there is a discount airlines that flies to their home!! </p>

<p>While my daughter doesn't care for the services on campus (too reform for her) she said the food is good and we all know that Jewish holidays are all about the food!!!</p>

6

<p>I'll miss having my kids home! Son #1 will help lead the Conservative service at his Hillel, and son #2 will visit married sister in the same city and/or go to Hillel with his gf. So they're taken care of, I just miss their voices & presence.</p>

<p>roshke: cute video! I passed it on.</p>

7

<p>If you're not sure what resources are available you can use this search engine:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.hillel.org/HillelApps/JLOC/Search.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hillel.org/HillelApps/JLOC/Search.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Our son is not coming home (too far away) but there's an active Hillel plus he just accepted a bid to pledge AEPi so there should be plenty of support. Last year he overslept and missed the first morning so attended second day.</p>

<p>My dad was a Hillel director when I was growing up so I encourage everyone to support their child's Hillel if possible. I signed up for a parents' membership which will bombard my son with information and "gifts" - second year - how many "You had me at Shalom" umbrellas can one guy use!</p>

<p>Almost forgot - last year I sent a care package with hand picked apples, a corer, and little tubes of honey.</p>

8

<p>While we were at our son's room during move-in day, we were thrilled to see a member of the local Hillel drop by a pamphlet and say welcome. None of his Christian roommates got a visit from any religious/social organizaitons the first day!</p>

9

<p>Am I the only one who fed-exs MY challah?? :) I make one for their dorm suitemates and one to take to services - IF they make it to Hillel.</p>

10

<p>LOL, I also don't like to shove Hillel at kids like a medicine pill. Its format is much different from services they know from home, and is geared to college sensibilities. It depends on the advisor and leardership. </p>

<p>Worst question to ask, "Are you going to Hillel?"</p>

<p>Best question: "What are you thinking of doing for the holidays?" The first answer might be "nothing" and a huge protest against the services that bored them at home. That's when you can suggest Hillel as the college-age place. A Hillel rabbi is a whole different kind of rabbi than a suburban congregational rabbi. They focus on college concerns. It can be a lot of fun. My S taught me, "Mom, you've got to say when things are fun. KIds do things because they're fun." He's right, and more playful than I am.</p>

<p>Also, it may or may not be intelligent to say, "you'll meet Jewish kids there..." when they're perfectly happy meeting all kinds of kids in their first weeks. </p>

<p>My kids went because the food events were warm and friendly, they cooked together before services, and it was a relief from dorm food. It took care of a bit of homesickness at that point in their freshman year. Most Hillels today are open to all comers, so it's not an exclusive group. My D's college had the Hillel associated with the student Muslim association, but that's unique. My S's found (weekly) 50% attendance by Jews, and 50% by nonJews very curious or interested in Jewish culture. Sometimes they stayed there on a Friday night, or they went there for dinner and then on to campus activities elsewhere. </p>

<p>I don't think it's helicoptering to ask, "what are YOU THINKING of doing for holidays?" The decision is still theirs. It's just a reminder of the calendar.</p>

11

<p>crabbylady!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>Fed-ex challah? What a great idea. My SS will be so surprised. </p>

<p>Thanks for the idea!</p>