Dear Friends,
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, it is customary to look back at the past year and to assess where we have been and where we are going. It is likely that for all of us this past year has been filled with both moments of personal success and with life’s regular disappointments. We have likely experienced joy and laughter, anger and fatigue, grief and sorrow, hope and renewal (though, not necessarily in that order). The fullness of life, all of its sweet complexities, have been lived out by our Jewish community on campus.
Even before the semester began, Emory Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) hosted our pre-Orientation program, "Welcoming Interfaith and Spiritual Exploration (WISE)." Incoming Emory first-years had the opportunity to engage in fun and meaningful interfaith education, dialogue, and community visits. The program culminated in a Shabbat dinner with our friends at Emory Hillel, in which I opened up our holy texts and explained how Torah is seen as an eitz chayim/tree of life, that is both a living document and a life-giving document.
A few days later, all of our Jewish life affiliates, Chabad, Meor and Hillel and many Jewish life clubs and organizations on campus welcomed first-year students and their families for the Orientation Bagel Brunch. The room was full of energy and we were delighted to be joined by President Fenves for the festivities. While this is only my third year, I have never seen the start of the year with so much excitement permeating every corner of campus.
