Jews, Methodists and students of other faiths joined together Friday in what prayer leader Aharon Varady called a “sacred” event. Hillel, a Jewish student organization, and the Wesley Foundation, a Methodist student organization, paired up this week to explore each others’ faiths. Leaders of the two groups met by chance at the Student Organization Fair and had the idea to sing and attend services together in celebration of Interfaith Week. The two groups broke the ice by singing together Tuesday night in front of the Student Union. Hillel held a traditional Shabbat, or Sabbath, service at the Wesley Foundation on Chimes Street. Jacob Valentine, president of Hillel upperclassmen, was determined to attend an orthodox service after attending a transdenominational summer program. Valentine said he spent most of his life around Christians while growing up in Gonzales. “Nobody’s ever really understood my religion because there aren’t many Jews around here,” he said. Moshe Cohen, interim program director of Hillel, said it’s difficult to determine how many Jews there are on campus. However, he said Hillel is open to people of all faiths who want to explore Judaism. “So many people really want to engage their faiths by exploring other faiths,” he said. The services began at nightfall, as Jewish tradition states that the Sabbath begins Friday when the sun is down, and there are three stars in the sky. Varady initiated the Shabbat by lighting candles and saying prayers to help those involved cross over into the mindset of Shabbat. “For me, I’m in a different space. It’s absolutely different from a minute ago, and I can’t go back and prepare anymore,” Varady said after lighting the candles. Varady emphasized the importance of everyone being in the right attitude for the Sabbath. “Our intention is such to unify the spirit on earth with the spirit on high,” he said. Varady said there are several things that one traditionally cannot do during the Sabbath. These include working, riding in a car and taking money out to pay for things, though he said some are stricter with these rules than others. Varady passed out a sidur, order of prayers, which was in Hebrew with English transliteration and some full English translations. Most of the service was conducted in Hebrew, though Varady explained the significance of each prayer. Valentine said that at his synagogue, Beth Shalom, the prayers are slower and in both English and Hebrew. Sarah Owens, intern at the Wesley Foundation, said although she couldn’t necessarily sing all of the prayers because they were in a foreign language, she felt Varady led the service well. “There were a lot of ways for us to connect to it,” Owens said. Owens said it was interesting that the group was able to create a sacred atmosphere in a foreign environment. Varady said a prayer to prepare the space before starting the service. The congregation faced the east wall of the building to signify looking toward the old temple in Jerusalem. Varady said a strong unification occurs when all the Jews in the world face the same direction at the same time. Varady introduced one prayer that he said was so sacred the words could not actually be spoken. “Ana B’Koach” is written as an acrostic poem so the holiness of the prayer can be preserved while it is practiced. Another prayer, the Shema, focused on the congregation reciting the prayer and listening to each other at the same time. It was said very slowly, so all the voices in the room could be heard. Varady said some of the prayers were so sacred that the congregation was required to stand. In one prayer, Varady said he pictured himself in a room with God. He explained that people participating in the prayer take three steps back to enter the realm of imagination and then three steps forward to enter to room. Owens said the Shabbat service was much more structured than the typical Methodist service. Varady explained the meaning behind some of the orthodox customs. Before the potluck dinner began after the service, Varady led the group through the tradition of washing before eating. He said this is done so one is mindful that the event of eating is special. He poured water three times on each of his hands and then said a prayer. He explained that you should not speak between washing and eating because you will break the mindfulness of the practice. Ruth Navarre, music junior, led most of the songs with Varady. After the event, she played classical viola music, including traditional Yiddish and European Jewish music.
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