Yom Kippur Schedule
Services & Gatherings Wednesday 9/15 – Thursday 9/16
Students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends are encouraged to join Drexel Hillel for High Holiday celebrations at our home, the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life (118 N. 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104). In light of the on-going pandemic, services will be held outdoors on the Cozen Terrace. Space for non-student guests is limited, so please register in advance. All guests are required wear a mask and show proof of vaccination.
Our services are led by our Executive Director Rabbi Isabel de Koninck. Weaving together traditions of of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements our services will feature traditional liturgy, meditation, poetry, conversation and story telling. We use the non-denominational, fully translated and fully transliterated Mahzor Eit Ratzon.
Wednesday September 15, 2021:
Kol Nidre (Yom Kippur Evening) Services
7pm: Cozen Terrace
The chanting of Kol Nidre is one of the most haunting and memorable liturgical moments of the Jewish year. You are invite to join Drexel‘s Jewish community as we begin Yom Kippur with the meditations, music and prayers of our sacred tradition. All are welcome to attend free of charge. Space is limited for non-students, please register in advance.
Thursday September 16, 2021:
Yom Kippur Morning Services
10am-12:30pm: Cozen Terrace
Yom Kippur represent a time to reflect on the past year and set our intentions for the coming year through fasting, meditation, music, prayer and learning. You are warmly invited to mark the Yom Kippur holiday with Drexel‘s Jewish community. The Yom Kippur morning services will include the customary Yizkor (Memorial) services honoring the lives of all loved ones whom we have lost. If you’d like to add a name to our Yizkor list (whether or not you are attending services), please click here. Space is limited for non-students, please register in advance.
Yom Kippur Closing the Gates
7pm: Perelman Center Oculus / 3rd Floor Outdoor Courtyard (rain location Cozen Terrace)
At Drexel Hillel we close Yom Kippur with our own special riff on the closing of Yom Kippur. All are welcome to join us in the spiritually provocative Perelman Center Oculus for story telling, poetry, conversation, meditation, music, shofar blowing and havdallah to end the holiday. Space is limited for non-students, please register in advance.
Yom Kippur Break the Fast
7:45pm: Perelman Center Cozen Terrace
End the Fast with Hillel! Enjoy delicious food, make new friends, and start your year off right! Our break the fast is open to students only.
Opportunities Outside the Perelman Center
We are delighted to offer denominationally specific services in partnership with our neighbors at Penn Hillel. To learn more about Orthodox, Reform and Conservative services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at Penn visit their website.
Please note – services at UPenn are free for students with ID (registration requested), all others must purchase tickets register in advance on their site.
What’s Next?
Students, faculty, staff and alumni are encouraged to submit a video response to Hillel’s annual public reflection question!
The pandemic has up ended every aspect of our lives. Our news feeds are filled with climate crisis, war and societal friction. The challenges of our present moment have brought out both the best and worst in each of us, and in society at large. Typically, during the High Holiday season we spend all of our time looking back, reviewing and reflecting on our behaviors of the past year. This year, we’re encouraging our community to take some of our holiday reflection to focus not on what has been, but on what could be. What do you want next for yourself? For campus? For the Jewish community? For the world? What do you need to invest your time or energy in to make that possible? Sometimes the first step to a better tomorrow is having the courage to put your hopes and dreams out there in the world – so this year Drexel Hillel is inviting our community to do just that. We hope you’ll submit your reflections on What’s Next? for you and encourage you to ask your friends and family What’s Next? for them as well.
We encourage you to share your reflections on the theme with us in one or more of the following formats:
- A video (3 minutes or less) sharing your reflection (the video will be shared on Hillel’s YouTube channel and some may be featured during various virtual gatherings or on other social media)
- A reflection (350 – 500 words) to share aloud during a Hillel virtual service, or at a Hillel socially distanced in person gathering
- A written reflection or piece of creative writing (approx 350 words) to be shared digitally and in print with our community
- A piece of visual art, music, or other creative media to be shared digitally and in print with our community
As you craft your piece, please remember the goal is personal reflections – we ask that you avoid generalizations about what “we” experience or “what Jews or Drexel students do / think” and instead share your thoughts and feelings from your personal perspective focusing on “I statements.” If you can, tell a story that helps us get to know you and your perspective in a more relational manner.
You are encouraged but not required to share a photo or image with (or as) your reflection. Please also let us know whether we have permission to share your reflection with attribution or anonymously and whether you would be interested in sharing your reflection during our High Holiday services (or at another time). Questions should be sent to Rabbi Isabel de Koninck, idekoninck@drexelhillel.org.