Gilad Skolnick looks forward to the Jewish High Holidays every year. The holiest days in the Jewish calendar normally mark not only the beginning of the Jewish new year but also the beginning of the school year at Northeastern, in Boston, MA, where Skolnick serves as the executive director of the Northeastern Hillel. Spanning from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, the High Holidays are traditionally the time when Skolnick welcomes new Jewish students to campus, reconnects with returning students, and provides opportunities for students to build deeper relationships to their religious tradition and within the broad Jewish community on campus.
However, like so much else at college this year, the High Holidays will be very different, highlighting an additional challenge as campuses struggle to try to bring students back, and keep them safe.