At 6 p.m. on Friday, May 2nd, RIT Jewish community organization Hillel hosted its weekly service in the Allen Memorial Chapel. Normally, this happens in Hillel House, which is located in the dorm-side tunnels under Colby Hall, but for this occasion, larger numbers were expected. The Shabbat service, which celebrates the weekly day of rest, featured traditional songs and prayers, which were aimed at introducing and opening the Jewish community to any interested RIT students or faculty.

A line from the opening song, titled Hineh Mah Tov (Psalm 133:1) reads, “How good and pleasant it is for all of us to dwell together in this community!” Chaplain Jennifer Gravitz stated at the start of the service. “It’s a delight to see everyone. I think the best way to pray is from the heart, and Shabbat is such a special day. We recreate this celebration [of faith] every Friday.”

Second year Illustration major Blaire Moskowitz noted, “We can’t do any work today since the Sabbath is the traditional day of rest.” The remainder of the service continued with more songs and the reading of prayers, some of which encouraging worshipers to say prayers to loved ones whom they might have lost or someone they are concerned about.

Sonny Bleicher, a fourth year Environmental Science major, commented on the Shabbat service, its history, and why this particular service was unique: “There’s a whole ritual, which started about 400 years after Jesus died in Galilean Israel, where some rabbis would dress in white robes, running in the fields and singing songs to welcome the Sabbath in. Later [ Jewish people] took all those songs and compiled them into a service which makes it much more simple and focused on community building, being together, and singing and dancing together. It’s very nice.”

Bleicher added, “Today’s idea was to invite the RIT community to see what we’re doing and what Judaism is all about. It was also good to bring in the Jewish faculty. On most campuses, the Jewish faculty is very involved. However, on this campus, many of them are not. It’s kind of a call out for the community where we’re saying, ‘Join us,’ we’re looking for those connections.”

Following the service, dinner was served. Preceding the meal was the series of traditional blessings. First was the blessing over the wine, known as the Kiddush, followed by the ritual washing of hands and, lastly, Ha’motzi, grace before the meal. The meal consisted of traditional Jewish home-cooked foods such as challah, a special braided bread, and brisket. The meal concluded with Birkat Ha’Mazon, grace after the meal. This was followed by Shira which means “to sing” in Hebrew. Rebecca Strauss, a junior fine arts major and an active member of Hillel, commented: “It’s a part of my identity, and it’s exciting to share it with people I know.”