Rabbi Dov Wagner stood in Chabad at USC, lifted a ram’s horn to his lips, and blew.
Wagner, the co-director of Chabad, will host students and the community for prayer services and dinner on Wednesday and Thursday in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
The sound of the shofar, the ram’s horn, marks the celebration of the Jewish New Year, but this year the festivities have taken on a more somber tone. Five days from Wednesday marks the first anniversary of October 7, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in a terrorist attack on Israeli soil.
In response, USC campus organizations and security have had to make changes to their traditional Rosh Hashanah programming. Wagner said this year is bittersweet with the closeness between celebration and tragic anniversary.
“The way these come so close together, really, I think drives home what kind of year it’s been,” Wagner said. “As we mark a new year, we’re also marking the first observance, the first anniversary of those terrible attacks. But not just the first anniversary of something that happened, but of something that’s still very much ongoing. There are still hostages that are missing. There’s still a war going on. There’s still people in danger.”
Nearly 100 Israelis, and seven Americans, remain as hostages almost one year later. On Tuesday, Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, broadening the ongoing war in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel’s response to Hamas’s attack has killed over 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Associated Press.
Senior music industry student Shiloh Gonsky said with the High Holy Days and the devastating anniversary happening at the same time, this is a solemn moment for the campus Jewish community.
“I think every Jewish holiday this year has felt like there’s an added weight to how important it is to connect with our history, and the story the Torah,” Gonsky said, “like where we’ve come from, and what we’re trying to do as Jewish people, and how we exist in this world today.
Gonsky is a board member of the pluralistic Jewish student group Chavurah. The group will host a Rosh Hashanah picnic Friday to celebrate the holiday and will attend a memorial on October 7 in Grand Park hosted by the progressive group IfNotNow Los Angeles.
Hillel at USC will also hold Rosh Hashanah celebrations throughout the week. Hillel Campus Rabbi Jocee Hudson said the organization will hold prayer services and dinner on Wednesday. On Thursday, Hillel will host student leaders in prayer to honor religious pluralism on campus.
Hudson said she hopes Trojans take the opportunity to look back at the past year, but also to the future as part of the holiday.
“The year that we have come out of, 5784, was a year that brought complexity and anguish, it brought more outrage and fissures in the community,” Hudson said. “We have the opportunity in 5785 to remain aware and connected to the chaos in the world and also to choose hope.”
Both Chabad and Hillel will hold ceremonial blowing of the shofar throughout the week, on and off campus.
DPS Police Chief David Carlisle said he is working with leaders of the faith community, including the rabbis, to ensure a safe and open observance of the holiday.
DPS will also have additional resources for the holiday and on October 7, he said.
“As we approach the Jewish high holidays, we are being extra vigilant and increasing patrols, particularly around Hillel and Chabad. Next Monday, on the anniversary of the events in the Middle East, DPS will be fully staffed to address any issues that may arise,” Carlisle said.
On Monday, Hillel and Chabad will jointly host an event titled “USC Remembers: October 7″ in Hahn Plaza.
But for now, Wagner said, he looks toward scripture for a Rosh Hashanah message to the community.
“There’s a beautiful line in the Rosh Hashanah liturgy ... ‘Let there be an end to the year and its curses. Let there begin a new year and its blessings,’” Wagner said.