Honey apples and potted plants kick off Jewish New Year observance

Published: September 25, 2023

Author: Dave Bell

Greenville University students learned about the traditional Jewish New Year celebration during an event on Monday, September 18, on Hogue Lawn that was sponsored by the InterFaith Club.

Known as Rosh Hashanah, which literally means “head of the year,” the event introduced students to the foods and activities included in the two-day celebration that is traditionally held in mid-September. To observe the holiday, students ate apples and honey (to symbolize a sweet new year to come), considered the Jewish prayer of “tashlich” (which involves casting the sins of the old year into running water), and re-potted plants (which represents the hope of growth in the new year) into pots they had decorated.

“We had a great turnout,” said Johnny Hinton, program assistant of the Jewish-Christian Studies Program and adviser to the InterFaith Club, who is pictured distributing plants in the bottom photo. “We designed this as an educational event, and it seemed that people really wanted to learn about the Rosh Hashanah holiday and Judaism in general.

Participating students said the event was, indeed, educational.

“It was a fun way to learn about the Jewish culture and its traditions,” said one student. “As Christians, we need to know about Judaism because it’s the background of the Christian faith. Learning about these traditions helps us better understand the Jewish faith.”

The event was planned by Hinton and InterFaith Club officers Aly Ruth Fry (educational coordinator) and Lucas Nowlan (chaplain), who are pictured above. Plants and pots were provided at discount prices by Evergreen Plant Company of Greenville.

Another InterFaith Club educational activity was held on Sunday, September 24, when the group visited a Jewish temple in St. Louis to observe a Yom Kippur service.