The Hillsdale Jewish community kicked off the Jewish New Year with a service for Rosh Hashanah. 

The service with shofar was held Sept. 15 in Kendall 235. The community conducted the liturgy in both Hebrew and English.

Assistant Professor of Classics Joshua Fincher is the faculty adviser for the Jewish Mishpacha of Hillsdale College. Fincher said he became involved with the group right after he started teaching at the college five years ago.

“At the time there were no other Jewish faculty, so it was a natural place for me to become involved,” Fincher said. “Given my background, I was able to provide religious and ritual advice that the students wanted, as well as representation among the faculty.” 

Fincher said the group meets multiple times per year and holds events for all major Jewish holidays. 

The number of students who regularly participate in the group varies each year, Fincher said. 

“There are anywhere from three to five at a given event, though we hope more will come if they wish,” Fincher said. “Several Jewish students often participate regularly, but there are also non-Jews as well who are interested. We tend to be small since there are a limited number of Jewish students.” 

Faculty members who attend the group’s events include Associate Professor of English Patricia Bart, Assistant Professor of French Anna Navrotskaya, Associate Professor of Economics Charles Steele, and Assistant Professor of Religion Don Westblade.

Fincher said Judaism is about community.

“It’s important to create a community both to minister to students’ religious and cultural needs and to publicly express our identity and support each other,” Fincher said. “Often, people are surprised that Jews are here in this corner of rural Michigan, but having our group gives us a sense of community and belonging.”

The Saturday service took place on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, junior Myah Gebhard said. The holiday celebrates God’s creation and kingship, looks forward to the next year, and initiates a time of penitence before Yom Kippur. 

“We met in a classroom and went through the liturgy for the second day, which includes a lot of songs and chants, prayers, scripture, silent readings, and blowing of the shofar,” Gebhard said. “Afterwards, everyone drinks some of the blessed wine — grape juice, in our case — and eats some of the traditional celebratory food — sweets, apples with honey, etc.” 

Gebhard said she is a Christian but still thought it was a beautiful service. 

“The prayers and chants are very poetic and meaningful,” Gebhard said. “I’m interested in the way Jewish practices affected Christianity, so I wasn’t surprised to find that a lot of the service felt similar to an Eastern Christian liturgy.”

Fincher said events for the Jewish Mishpacha of Hillsdale College are open to anyone who is interested in attending.

“I’d say that if anyone is interested or curious, they should feel free to come to an event sometime or join our mailing list,” Fincher said.

Gebhard, along with juniors Abigail Davis and Tucker Martin, are Christians but said they are interested in learning more about Judaism.

“I grew up in evangelical Christianity, not Judaism, so I wasn’t sure what I was walking into, but I resonated with much of the service,” Martin said. “The liturgy was soaked in Hebrew scripture and, as I learned from Dr. Fincher later that night, very ancient. I really valued the small peek into the sort of liturgy Jesus would have grown up saying.”

Gebhard said her great uncle worked closely with a Jewish community, so her family would join him for a Passover seder meal every year, starting from when she was about six years old. 

“That service really captured me,” Gebhard said. “My mom would let me help prepare the food and light the candles, and I remember one year trying to learn some of the prayers in Hebrew because I found the sound of the language beautiful. We also celebrated Shabbat at least once and learned how to make challah.”

Davis said she appreciates Fincher openly sharing about his religious practices with students on campus.

“I have had several classes with Dr. Fincher, including a few classes where we read Joshua, Exodus, and Isaiah in Hebrew,” Davis said. “He does a good job of pointing out what interpretation the rabbis who wrote or compiled the Old Testament used. I was curious to see how this connected with his faith.”