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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Students attend Yom Kippur services and prepare to fast

<p>The Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center hosted full Yom Kippur services Sept. 22, 2015, for students and the local community. As the services proceeded, a steady stream of people continued to file into the center for services and prayer for Judaism’s holiest day of the year.</p>

The Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center hosted full Yom Kippur services Sept. 22, 2015, for students and the local community. As the services proceeded, a steady stream of people continued to file into the center for services and prayer for Judaism’s holiest day of the year.

David Gold is trying to become a better Jew.

The UF finance senior was one of nearly 600 people, mostly students, who attended the Yom Kippur service at Lubavitch-Chabad Tuesday evening.

"It’s my first time here, and I decided to come when my friends said they were coming here," the 21-year-old said. "My New Year’s resolution is to be a better Jew."

Gold was one of the few new faces at the Jewish student and community center for the holiday. While Rosh Hashana attracted mostly freshmen to Lubavitch-Chabad last week, Yom Kippur brought more familiar faces to the synagogue.

Just like last week, girls wore dresses and boys wore button-down shirts and pants. They were separated during the service by a divider in the middle of the synagogue.

On Yom Kippur, known as the holiest day in Judaism, Jews begin fasting at sundown to achieve atonement.

Lubavitch-Chabad’s rabbi, Berl Goldman, said Jews act in an angel-like state by fasting. It helps them to focus on the day itself without being distracted by food.

Many Jews celebrated together with a hearty dinner directly before the fasting began.

Stefanie Suster, a UF freshman studying finance, said she cooked in her dorm with friends. She ate chicken, potatoes, beans and "lots of watermelon and water".

The 18-year-old went home last week for Rosh Hashana, but she is not new to Lubavitch-Chabad.

"I’ve been coming here pretty much every weekend since Summer B," she said.

Shellie Frai, a UF public relations freshman, said she had been to the synagogue once before, about one month before Yom Kippur.

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"I had potatoes and rice," the 18-year-old said. "I think starch is good before fasting."

Last week, the rabbis wore black to the Rosh Hashanah service, which is the Jewish New Year and a time of reflection. For Yom Kippur, they wore white.

Goldman began the service with a joke and background on the holiday. A rabbi next to him sang prayers in Hebrew and rocked forward and backward.

Goldman said he was impressed with the turnout.

"Of course we’re hungry," he said to the room so packed with people that some stood in the back. "But Yom Kippur is not a sad day. It is a happy, completely joyous day."

A second service will be held today from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Contact Brooke Baitinger at bbaitinger@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @BaitingerBrooke

The Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center hosted full Yom Kippur services Sept. 22, 2015, for students and the local community. As the services proceeded, a steady stream of people continued to file into the center for services and prayer for Judaism’s holiest day of the year.

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