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FAITHHACKER

Rosh HaShana Is On A School Day
Tamar Fox

by Tamar Fox, August 22, 2007

6 comments
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Every year as an undergraduate I sent out a flurry of emails to professors on the first day of classes. Basically as soon as I got my syllabus for a class I went back to my room and wrote an email notifying the professor about the days of class I’d have to miss because of the High Holidays and Sukkot. Occasionally I got off lucky if the holidays fell mostly on weekends, but for the most part I knew I’d have to miss a few days of classes, and I developed a pretty good template for notifying my professors. The key is to give as much advance notice as possible, and to be openly accommodating, especially if you’re going to be missing class for Rosh Hashana and Sukkot. I often attend class on Sukkot, and just refrain from taking notes. Again, the key seems to be letting the professor know what’s going on. I’m including my basic letter below. Note that this year Rosh Hashana begins Wednesday night Spetember 12th and goes until Friday evening when Shabbat begins. Yom Kippur mercifully falls on Shabbat. The first yom tov of Sukkot begins on the evening of Wednesday the 26th and lasts through Friday. The second yom tov begins Wednesday night October 3rd and again lasts through Friday.
Tekiah!: School's out for Rosh Hashana!
Dear Professor Know-It-All,

My name is Tamar Fox and I’m a student in your PHIL:200 Meaning of Life seminar. I’m writing because I wanted to let you know ahead of time that I’ll be absent from class on September 13th, and 27th in observance the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana and Sukkot respectively. I will be sure to get classnotes from one of my peers, and of course I will keep up with the reading. I have noticed that we have a 3 page paper due on the 27th, and I will make sure to turn that paper in to you on Tuesday the 25th. In addition, if you think I should have an appointment with you to go over anything I might have missed, or if you’d like me to complete a supplementary assignment I’d be happy to do so.

Thursday October 4th is also a Jewish holiday, but I will be attending class so as not to fall too far behind. I won’t be taking notes, in observance with the prohibitions associated with the holiday, but I will participate in discussion and will again get notes from one of my peers after the holiday.

For more information about Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and its rituals and prohibitions, please see http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm. For more information about Sukkot and its rituals, please see http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm. You may also want to consult with the Hillel Director on campus, Judah Jew, who can be reached at Judah.jew@university.edu, or 123-4567.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to our next class session.

Sincerely,
Tamar Fox

I’ve never had any professor ask me to turn in any work or do anything extra as a result of this letter. In fact, being prepared and so organized right from the start has scored me a lot of points with professors in the past.

It’s still stressful to have miss tons of class because of the High Holidays, but it doesn’t have to burn bridges between you and your professors.


Tamar Fox

Tamar Fox has an MFA from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, but she still doesn't like sweet tea. Born and raised in Chicago, she's also lived in Iowa City, Dublin, Oxford, and Jerusalem. When she's not rocking out at honky tonks she teaches

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6 comments | leave a comment

Anonymous

08/23/07 11:54 am
That is awesome

Thanks for sharing that, I wish I had been as organized back when I was in school. That is a great note to share so people can use themselves.

-Matt


Anonymous

08/23/07 11:55 am
What a good solution to a

What a good solution to a thorny problem.

I myself have no interest in religion, and it rubs me the wrong way for religious students or workers to expect some sort of dispensation owing to their beliefs. This privileges religious belief over other sorts of convictions folks may have which are as important to them as religion is to the devout.

Your solution is to simply state your plans and offer reasonable workarounds, rather than expecting the secular institution to take your convictions more seriously than those of someone who, e.g., wanted to take off Mao's birthday.

Well done. You may mistaken about the accurate ethnic identity of hummus, but on this issue you're right on the money.


Anonymous

09/06/07 10:14 am
great idea

As a Catholic, I have often hoped for a way to make my employers understand when I must attend mass for a holy day of obligation. Often, they've never heard of them. I feel uncomfortable with the suspicious looks. I think I'll follow your advice. I'll check the holy calendar, and let them know in advance. I also like the idea of giving them resources, so they can research it themselves.
Well thought plan. I imagine this would help many people of many faiths.


Mason Lerner

Mason Lerner

09/06/07 10:17 am
Comments: 52
Friends: 9
Nice...

I'm gonna use that.


Susan

09/11/07 3:58 pm
What do professors do?

Great letter. Now can there be one for I and my colleagues to our department chairs/deans about how to deal with the problem of having to cancel classes for the holidays, especially if we don't have non-Jewish colleagues who are willing to cover for us (I personally do, but others may not be so lucky).


Anonymous

09/11/07 9:23 pm
What my profs do

My profs usually show a film or do something remedial that they can have just about any grad student execute. If they already have a TA(s), it's a great day for them to lecture. If not, it's movie time. I usually go to class on High Holidays because I fall behind too easily.