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Jewish holidays and
students
Natalie Kramer lights
ASHEVILLE - For David Bell, 18, away from home and on his own, the choice was
his to make, and the UNC-Asheville freshman followed his faith. A track and cross-country athlete, he chose not to run a cross-country race
last Friday, he didn't practice last Saturday and he won't be practicing Monday
either.
Instead Bell took time to reflect last weekend, observing Rosh Hashana and
the start of the Jewish High Holidays. This Monday, like Jews across Asheville
and around the world, Bell will observe Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the
holiest day in the Jewish calendar. "This has been really fulfilling," said the Atlanta native.
"It wasn't like I had been dragged to services before, but now I'm finally
doing this on my own. It's starting to have a lot more meaning in my life."
At colleges across Western North Carolina, many Jewish students away from
home and their families want to keep close to their heritage. They are able to
do so through the hospitality of local Jewish families and the efforts of
Western North Carolina Hillel, the Jewish student organization that serves area
colleges.
Richard Chess, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at UNCA, estimates
there are up to 100 students who identify themselves as Jewish, concentrated
mostly at the Asheville university and at Warren Wilson College. About 25
students are actively involved in the organization.
Some students want to participate in religious services, while others want to
socialize with other Jewish students in cultural activities, Chess said.
"If there's anything they have in common, it's that they want to learn
more about Judaism and Jewish culture," said Chess.
Keeping students close to their Jewish roots, local families offer the
hospitality of their homes during the holidays. On the Eve of Rosh Hashana, Gary
and Natalie Kramer invited local college students to their north Asheville home.
They lit the Shabbat candles, then sat down to a holiday dinner that included
the round loaves of challah bread and the apples and honey that symbolize the
hope of sweetness for the New Year.
"It was really great," said Bell. "It was the typical Jewish
holiday with all the kids running around and it seems everything is going wrong.
The food's not ready." Then miraculously, everything comes together.
"It brought back a lot of memories from my family," Bell said.
Gary Kramer, the owner of Enviro Depot store downtown, has opened his home to
young Jews for the past four or five years. "We're honored to do it,"
he said. "We want them to feel a part of the greater Jewish
community."
Kramer said he was able to celebrate Jewish holidays away from home when he
was in college and in the military. "I hope my children will be invited to
people's houses for the holidays when they go off to school," he said.
"It gives you a sense of Jewishness."
For Jacob Komisar, 20, the hospitality of the local Jewish community was a
key to his choosing UNCA to attend college. "The community in Asheville
makes it as easy as can be to stay connected. Every time I go to synagogue or to
someone's house, I don't feel like a guest. You feel you're being
welcomed."
Asheville has always had a vibrant Jewish life, according to Komisar.
"Asheville is the smallest city in the country that supports its own Jewish
Community Center," he said. "That says something."
Some students who come to Asheville discover a new spiritual path in Judaism.
Teresa "Tree" Calloway, now 23, was raised as a Mormon in Ashe County,
but she encountered Jewish students for the first time when she attended the
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Coming to UNCA, Calloway began
to study Judaism more closely and converted under the guidance of Rabbi Robert
Ratner of Congregation Beth Ha-Tephila.
Now Calloway looks forward each year to the Jewish High Holidays. "Fall
is a natural time to begin introspection and take stock of your life. One of the
phrases you hear this time of year is `May your name be written in the Book of
Life,'" she explained.
Jews believe that God has not written in those names yet for the coming year.
During Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, Jews will fast and pray for
forgiveness and seek to forgive others. "It's spiritually cleansing,"
said Calloway. |