Programs: High Holiday Edition
Shabbat Shalom!
Shabbat (the sabbath, aka Saturday) is the beating heart of the Jewish week. Signaling the end of the work week, the twenty-five hours beginning Friday night are a time to take a deep breath. Whatever is going on in our lives or in the world at large, Shabbat invites us every week to pause and to reflect.
At Fordham, we welcome Shabbat in ways that bring us together. We have student-led delicious dinners weekly on the Rose Hill campus and monthly at Lincoln Center that are open to all at Fordham.
Check our calendar for details!
High Holidays
Rosh Hashanah marks the start of the Jewish New Year and opens the Days of Awe, the ten-day period that concludes with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is a time marked by introspection and tshuvah, soul-searching, as we prepare ourselves spiritually for the year ahead--and also full of joy, good food, and community!
At Fordham, we pray together, dip our apples in the honey, hear the shofar, share lots of festive meals, do tashlich at the Hudson and in the botanical garden, break the fast, and build a sukkah on the Bronx campus.
Register here for all meals and events
Chanukkah
Chanukkah brings us increasing light and sweetness in the midst of the winter. We light our Fordham menorah, spin the dreidel and gamble away our chocolate coins over sufganiyot (doughnuts) and bumuelos (sweet fried pastry balls).
Purim
On Purim, we celebrate how Esther’s determination brings a community back from the brink of disaster.
Passover
On Passover, we relive the experience of liberation from Egypt and remove the literal and spiritual hametz cluttering our hearts and homes. Passover holds the promise of personal and collective liberation and renewal, even or perhaps davka (especially) at a time of chaos.
Join the JSO for a delicious chocolate seder (with our own Haggadah!) at Rose Hill and a Community Seder at Lincoln Center where we sing, talk, and eat, and think about what it means to imagine our own liberation, and that of others, at Fordham in New York City!
To sell your chametz, sign up for a seder or a kosher for Passover food bag, RSVP here.
Minyan, Mezuzah, Blessings for Healing
At Fordham Jewish Life, we support you in your exploration of Jewish ritual, whether you are a newcomer or have been practicing all your life.
During the semester, mincha will be held on most school days at the Law School at Lincoln Center. Please contact [email protected] to join the WhatsApp group.
Would you like to borrow a mezuzah from our mezuzah library for your dorm door? Come on by Fordham Jewish Life and for a deposit of $20, you can choose a mezuzah and return it at the end of the academic year.
Lighting Shabbat candles is an iconic image of Friday nights and holiday eves, symbolizing joy, peace, togetherness and plenty. You can pick up (free) residence-hall approved Shabbat candles and memorial/yahrzeit candles, as well as cards with the blessings for Friday night candle lighting or for Havdalah, the ceremony separating holy and week days, at the Jewish Life offices/Campus Ministry.
Do you have an additional ritual need? Let us know!
Are you in need of healing? Or perhaps someone in your life is?
Are you or someone in your life struggling with physical, emotional or spiritual challenges? Please reach out to us so we can support you!
If you would like to talk, or have the names of your loved ones or your own held in prayer, please send the name to Rabbi Katja Vehlow (she/her). Refuah shlemah (full healing) to all in need of healing!