Reflecting on the beginning of 5786

Being a Jewish student at UCSB at any point in time is difficult — navigating keeping kosher in the dining halls is difficult, you have people in the Arbor proselytizing and trying to convert you to Christianity, and of course, there is an antisemitism problem on college campuses all throughout the country. There is one time in particular, though, that is much more difficult than the rest of the time, which is the high holidays time. For somebody who is fully chag observant, depending on the year, there can be up to seven days of class that must be missed due to religious observance (2 for Rosh Hashanah, 1 for Yom Kippur, 2 for the first two days of Sukkot, 1 for Shmini Atzeret, and 1 for Simchat Torah).

This year, Rosh Hashanah fell on the days leading up to the beginning of school rather than during school. Although this sounds as if it elevates all the issues with conflicting schedules with school and Jewish holidays, this only helps with half of the battle. During these final two days of summer break, many organizations hold social events for new and returning students, allowing students to visit many clubs and meet many new people. Although Chabad, Hillel, and other Jewish organizations typically have these kinds of events during these days, this year, those were replaced by Rosh Hashanah services. And although I have met people during these days, I will say that grabbing coffee at Starbucks last year led to many more friendships than saying the Kaddish for the 20th time that day.

That being said, I was still able to meet plenty of people after Rosh Hashanah. The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were very social days where I met a bunch of cool people. Yom Kippur was rough — I had to miss class and turn in a homework assignment early, although I (and everyone I spoke to) were able to manage. I know people who just didn’t eat and went to class, and people who were fully observant that day, and from my anecdotal experience and from what I have heard, all the professors were very sympathetic.

After Yom Kippur comes Sukkot, and unfortunately, getting busy college students to build a Sukkah is quite the undertaking, but both Chabad and Hillel were able to build one. There were many engaging activities at both Chabad and Hillel during this time, such as Soup in the Sukkah and Israeli Dancing. 

Finally, the last celebration during Tishrei is Simchat Torah. There was a great turnout at Chabad this year, and as per tradition, the Torah was carried all throughout Isla Vista. Now, Isla Vista can be filled with some interesting people, and by interesting, I mean highly antisemitic, but somehow this year, there was only one horrible post about us on YikYak! Getting to sing songs and be surrounded by friendly faces always feels good, and that is just what the community needed at that time, with all of the emotions surrounding the ever-changing situation in Israel.

Overall, this year in terms of holidays has been pretty good. Although Rosh Hashanah fell at a slightly inopportune time, everybody in the community seems to have navigated the start of both the Jewish and academic year well. Yom Kippur also fell during school, but everybody seems to have figured out what to do. Sukkot and Simchat Torah were very fun and were a much-needed break from all the craziness happening in the world. Let’s hope that the rest of the year can be filled with all the simcha and joy that the Jewish community felt during the beginning of school!