Cultural Plunge

INST 222-599
Created By:
Catherine McDougald
Caroline Rodgers
Ashley Fajkus
Rachel Work
Rachiel Llanas

Where did we go?

For our Cultural Plunge we went to a TAMU Hillel
function; a Shabbat service and dinner.

TAMU Hillel is a jewish-based organization

on our very own Texas A&M University
campus. This organization is rooted in
trying to uphold and maintain traditions,
as well as give opportunities for the Jewish
students on campus.

This organization holds weekly prayer

sessions and Torah study times with
the local Rabbi, Rabbi Matt
Rosenberg. They also have Shabbat
dinners every Friday evening that is
free of cost and open to any and
everyone wanting to attend, whether
practicing the Jewish faith or not.

What is a Shabbat dinner?

Shabbat is one of the most important
observances in Judaism. Shabbat is
primarily a day of rest and spiritual
enrichment. This event begins at
sunset, or in our case with this
organization, at 6:30 pm.

Shabbat candles are lit and a blessing

is said, usually the candles are lit by
the woman of the house, or in our
case, the female head of the
organization. The lighting of these
candles officially marks the beginning
of Shabbat.

After the lighting of the candles,

traditionally there are multiple prayers
and songs said together, lead by the
Rabbi. Almost everything is sung and
spoken in Hebrew. For all of us, this was
very confusing because none of us
spoke this language.

How did you feel before you

walked in?
When we walked in, we felt so
uncomfortable and out of place. However,
they were welcoming: as we stood
awkwardly in the corner and observed we
were greeted with fresh smiles. The leader
of the college students greeted us and let
us know that the service was held upstairs
and we are so grateful for that!

Who did you see?

At the Friday evening service at Texas A&M
Hillel, the majority of the people who
attended were college students. However,
there were a few families and a few adults
there too. The service was not too
crowded, there were probably around 30
people in the synagogue.

What was it like?

It was very casual. There is not a very big Jewish

population (at least not present on a Friday night).
There songs were all vocal, no instruments, very
pretty. It was not a super bright room and when we
filed into the room, we only filled in on one side of the
room. Majority of the synagogues members were
college students and that created a very fun, chill
environment. And when we entered the room, all the
boys put on yarmulkes which are a type of hat they
wear as a sign of respect towards God.

How did you feel during the

service?
When we got upstairs, we did not know to grab books
in the back, we just sat down. So in the beginning of
the service, we were so lost! Thankfully, a nice lady
noticed and grabbed us books so we could follow
along to the Hebrew readings and songs. We all were
incredibly shy and did not know what to do as
everyone spoke in Hebrew. Later in the service they
would occasionally speak in English and it made us
instantly feel so much more comfortable and made me
feel more involved and less like an outsider.
Means Yahweh (God) in Hebrew

How did you feel when you left the

service?

Tamus Rabbi

After the service, the Rabbi

kindly stayed and talked to
all the guests and shared
about Judaism, the Hillel
building, and answered any
questions. He was
incredibly nice and we were
happy to have had this
cultural experience.

How is this cultural experience

different from what you are used
to?
For many of us, this was VERY different from what we were
used to. We were all raised in different religious
backgrounds, but a dinner like this was so unfamiliar. We all
have had family dinners and get togethers where prayers
are said over the meal before eating, but never to this
extent. You could really tell that the Jewish faith is built and
sustained on passed down traditions. This dinner was filled
with tradition and rituals. It was very eye opening to see so
many college students and adults getting together to have
such a sacred dinner together. From the simple act of
lighting candles, to listening to everyone speak in Hebrew,
you could just feel all of the love and pride from these
people in upholding their Jewish roots.

Did this open your eyes to

anything new?
We believe that the biggest thing that this experience opened
our eyes to is just to truly be accepting and open-minded to
other peoples culture and religious affiliations. As future
educators, we are going to have students from many different
backgrounds. By attending this Shabbat dinner, we were able to
realize just how special each and every students culture is to
them. We have to be respectful and understanding of religious
holidays and topics discussed in our classrooms because not
everyone is going to celebrate occasions the same way. To
accommodate for these differences between our students we
can hold All Around the World Day and other events similar to
this, where students can learn about different countries and
their traditions, foods, culture, religion, etc. to help enrich them
with knowledge and feel included and equal to their peers!