September 10, 1999
Erev Rosh HaShana 5759
Dear Jewish Gators and Friends,
On behalf of the entire Hillel family, let me wish you and yours a very happy, healthy,
and fulfilling 5760. The Jewish community at the University of Florida has many reasons to
celebrate this year - Jewish life at UF is thriving and rarely does a day pass without
something
Jewish to do in Gainesville. Many thanks to all who have made this happen, from the Jewish
students who make the Jewish Student Union one of the finest student organizations at UF,
to the Jewish brothers and sisters involved in the Greek system, to the one thousand
Jewish graduate and professional students and 5,000 Jewish UF undergradutes who
call Gainesville home. Together with the many Jewish faculty and treasured supporters of
our community, we are not only one of the largest campus-based Jewish communties in the
country...we are also one of the best. Think of that next time you yell: "Go
Gators!"
Whether you are spending the holidays in Gainesville or will travel out-of-town for Rosh
HaShana and/or Yom Kippur, we pray that these days of celebration and contemplation will
be meaningful. We also hope that they will be unencumbered by difficulties. Last year,
Hillel learned that many students had problems observing the Jewish holidays due to the
way that the University's policy on religious holidays was being interpreted by members of
the UF faculty. This issue has received attention over the past few days in the campus
press and I refer you to
the student handbook and page 13 of the Sept. 8, 1999 Alligator for more details. Please
know that there is a procedure for taking time off for the Jewish holidays. If you feel
that this procedure has been unfairly applied in your case, please contact the University
Ombudsman's office at: 392-1308. Of course, my staff and I will also be happy to assist
you in any way that we can.
Please feel free to distribute this note to others. We look forward to another banner year for the campus Jewish community in Gainesville. Happy New Year (L'shana tova) -
Rabbi Andy Koren
Director, Hillel Foundation at the University of Florida
16 NW 18th St., Gainesville, FL 32603; Phone: 352/372-2900; Fax 352/376-8374
Email: akhillel@gnv.fdt.net; Web site: http://gnv.fdt.net/~hillel