Yom Kippur with Tulane Golf's Jennifer Rosenberg
Oct 5, 2020 | Women's Golf
NEW ORLEANS - From sundown on September 26th until sundown on September 27th, the Jewish community celebrated Yom Kippur. Tulane golf senior Jennifer Rosenberg sat down to discuss the significance of the holiday and what her Jewish heritage means to her.
Q: What is Yom Kippur?
A: "It always comes ten days after Rosh Hashanah, which is the Jewish New Year. It is a day where some people fast, some people don't, but you repent your sins and reflect back on the year."
Q: How does your family observe Yom Kippur?
A: "My parents never pushed me to do the fasting portion of it because I was younger and didn't really know much about it and didn't really see the point. As I got older and I started to sit back and reflect and it's kind of just a chill day for all of us where we just relax and definitely take time to ourselves and think."
Q: How did you observe Yom Kippur this year?
A: "It was definitely a rough year for me, so it was nice to sit back and reflect on my decisions I have made and whether I regret them or not and just appreciate where I am today. I am so grateful for everything here and Tulane has provided for me and everyone. I am just very thankful."
Q: What does your Jewish faith mean to you?
A: "It obviously means a lot. There aren't many Jewish athletes here, so I kind of feel special in that sense. I am the only one in my house that is Jewish, so one of my roommates actually fasted with me. It was a lot of fun and they appreciate my beliefs on that side of things. I just feel special here. We were never too religious growing up, but as I have gotten older, I have learned more. Especially when I went to Israel, I went on the birthright trip last year with one of my best friends who goes here, and that opened my eyes to a lot of different things."
Q: When did you go to Israel and what was the trip like?
A: "This was last summer. We saw a lot of things. Also, I went to the Maccabi Games, which is the Jewish Olympics in 2017. I competed on the USA team there and I won gold for the girls' division. I was planning on going back this summer, but they moved it to next year. That would've been cool. The first week of that is traveling and seeing different things and learning more about Judaism. So, I kind of had an idea what we were going to do, and we did a lot of the same things. It was more about getting to know each other. I went with a big group of people from Tulane, so now I have a bunch of different friends here. It was just a great experience and I am definitely going back."
Q: How did Coach Stew help you observe?
A: "I feel very supported by him and Lisa. I told him I would really like to take off Monday because this is the day I get to think back on the things I've done and that is what that day is for. He was very open to it. He said relax, don't think about golf for one day and I felt very supported and encouraged by him."
Q: How has Tulane welcomed your Jewish faith?
A: "Well Tulane is so Jewish, but there are no athletes who are Jewish. So, if I walk out of the athletic center and I'm with all the students it's like a majority of people are Jewish. But again, there's not many athletes so because I'm surrounded by them every day, I do feel a little special. Tulane has so many opportunities and fun things to do. They have so many things that you can do and get involved."
The Green Wave are set to tee-off the 2021 season in the spring.
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