Shanah tovah: Happy Rosh Hashana!

“Feast of Trumpets” by Aleksander Gierymski, 1884 – Hasidic Jews performing tashlikh on Rosh Hashanah (CC0 image via Wikimedia Commons)

[This post was written in 2014 and has been updated for publication in 2023]

Rosh Hashanah begins this year at sundown, September 15^th, and ends at sundown, September 17^th. It’s almost time for apples and honey! This sweet treat is one of many customs that symbolize the wish for a sweet new year.

Rosh Hashanah is the first of the autumnal Jewish holidays known as the High Holy Days.  It is a two-day holiday due to the nature of the Jewish calendar, which follows the lunar cycle and is dependent on observation of the new moon. Difficulty determining when the moon actually appeared meant that the Jews of ancient Israel observed both possible days after the end of the previous month. Religious Jews continue this practice today.

The Hebrew term “Rosh Hashanah” translates as “the head of the year” or “the first of the year.” Historically, it is believed that this time period is the anniversary of the creation of the world and of the first man and woman. Rosh Hashanah is a time of both joy and solemnity, as Jews all over the world celebrate the beginning of a new year and stand in judgment for the previous one. No work is permitted during the holiday; the majority of the day is spent in synagogue reciting special prayers.

A shofar (CC BY-SA 2.5 image by Olve Utne)

The most essential and iconic tradition of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar. A shofar is a trumpet made from an animal horn, traditionally a ram’s. Its call sounds like a plaintive cry, meant to awaken the Jewish people to repentance and remind them that G-d is their king.

photo byIgal Ness via unsplash.

Symbolic foods are consumed throughout the holiday, representing the good things we hope for in the coming year. I have already mentioned apples and honey, sometimes eaten with round loaves of challah bread, symbolizing fullness and completion.  A pomegranate is said to contain 613 seeds, the same as the full number of commandments, and according to tradition, it is eaten to symbolize the hope that our “merits increase as the seeds of the pomegranate.” Other symbolic foods include the head of a fish or lamb, dates, and gourds.

One last tradition is saying the prayer of Tashlich on the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah. This involves turning out our pockets at a body of water, preferably one with fish in it. This is symbolic of casting off our sins and mistakes for the fish to carry away.

Rosh Hashanah / New Year greeting card: A Pansy with a face bears the Hebrew inscription for a happy New Year. [Center for Jewish History, NYC]

To find out more, the library has many resources, including A Companion to the Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur Machzor, by A.L. Rubinstein and The High Holy Days: A Commentary on the Prayerbook of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by Herman Kieval).

As the traditional greeting goes, “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem.” May we be inscribed and sealed for a good year!

[Contributed by: Toby Krausz, Judaica Librarian, Midtown; further editing by Emma Larson-Whittaker, Starrett City)

Library Staff Profile: Christine Leddy

Christine Leddy, Librarian, Health Sciences Library – Central Islip 

Welcome to the latest in our series of Staff Profiles. Christine Leddy recently joined the Touro community as Librarian at the Health Sciences Library, which serves the School of Health Sciences and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Christine answered some questions for us below:

Library Staff Profile: Helen Hill

Helen Hill, Library Assistant, Kings Highway, Graduate School of Education.

Welcome to the latest in our series of Library staff profiles. Helen Hill recently joined the Touro community as Library Assistant at King’s Highway. Helen was kind enough to answer some questions about herself below:

A New Semester, A New Building, And A New Beginning

Fall Semester 2021 officially kicked off in full swing August 23rd at the School of Health Sciences in Central Islip, housed with the Touro Law School. This new semester brings to students a chance to either continue their excellence or turn over a new leaf and start the path toward excellence that is found in the hallowed halls of Touro.  Speaking of halls, a brand-new building awaits the School of Health Sciences students who were previously housed at the now defunct Bay Shore location.   

Library Staff Profile: Elisheva Berenstein

Elisheva Berenstein, Librarian, School of Health Sciences

Where were you born? 

I was born in Brooklyn, New York and actually attended Touro College in the mid 1990s. 

Where else have you lived?  

I have lived in Rochester, New York for over 25 years and have just moved back to the Far Rockaway area.  

What languages do you speak? 

While I am a native English speaker, I am proficient in Hebrew and can speak, read and write in it.  

What fields have you studied and/or degrees have you earned? 

I have an MLS in Library Science from State University of New York at Buffalo as well as NYS Teacher Certification in Library. I have a BS in Business Management from SUNY Empire State College. I am a certified Medical Transcriptionist as well. I have taught in the classroom, to grades ranging from kindergarten to college.  

What is the part of your job that you enjoy the most?  

Teaching students the research and information literacy skills that will help them be successful. Nowadays, you always need to figure things out. Once a student knows how to find the relevant information, there is no limit to how far they can go!  

What do you think will be the most challenging part of your job?  

Marketing and outreach! Having students realize what a great help libraries and librarians can be in helping them excel in their studies. From learning to how to find relevant information to citing research correctly, librarians and library are treasured resources that need good PR.  

Your ideal vacation? 

Taking my family touring in Europe (England, France & Italy) for a week and then going to Israel and living like a native in Jerusalem.  

Any hobbies? 

I like to dabble in many things, so I am concurrently working on a diamond art painting of an elephant and a paint by number of the Western Wall. I also like to keep my freezer well stocked with desserts, so I bake weekly. My favorite thing to make is lemon biscotti and grape sorbet.  

Favorite food? 

Anything with chocolate 😊 

Tell us one thing about yourself that most of us probably don’t know.  

I can juggle! I currently juggle with balls and am working on juggling with pins.  

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Image credits: portrait courtesy of the author. Librarian avatar by Bitmoji.

Contributed by Elisheva Berenstein, Librarian at the School of Health Sciences

Art To The Rescue

Guest post contributed by Dr. Shoshanah Findling, Graduate School of Education. 

Artist: Julia Rand, “Untitled”, Oil.

Building off the success of our school-wide faculty art show called “Art After Dark”, I saw the need to keep the momentum going. But how do you do that during a worldwide pandemic? We had to get creative (pun fully intended) regarding how to keep art alive. Although we could not gather in person to curate or gather for a live artist reception, it did not mean that people didn’t want to. We were determined to try.  

Covid-19 had us scrambling for ways to engage our students. As a self-trained artist, I know that artists have a need for solitude and reflection to make uncover the meaning that will translate into their art. But we also crave social interactions with fellow creative souls for validation and inspiration. Artists will seek a tribe where they can discuss themes, mediums, techniques and “play off each other”. When I need a spark of inspiration, I can turn to my art league for all this.  During the pandemic they could not have live meetings. They made use of Zoom and PowerPoint presentations to have virtual shows. Here at Touro, we were doing this for our courses. I knew I could make this work. What did I have to lose?   

I always say “when you make a wish, the universe will conspire to help you”. I made a passing comment to a colleague about the need to deal with all the uncertainty surrounding Covid with a new art show. Annecy Baez, of the Graduate School of Social Work suggested an Art Museum Gallery template she used to enter a different show. All I had to do was keep the format and give credit to the designer.  I also had an amazing group of school counseling students in the Graduate School of Education that semester who enjoyed art as a hobby. They wanted to participate and even offered to co-curate with me. Samantha Marinello, who holds a Masters degree in Art Therapy and attends the School Counseling program was a tremendous help.  I also have to thank Inna Smirnova for her help promoting the two shows on Touro’s website. She discovered an unusual virtual gallery called Artsteps and designed another 3-D virtual art show with the images I sent her.   

The first faculty-student virtual art show was held from November, 2020-January, 2021. The show was called Covid Creations: The Art of Uncertainty. We also held a virtual workshop to design Mandalas on glass bottles. In spring of 2021, flowers were not the only things to come out of dark. In some ways we all bunkered down into our own cocoons. When the Covid vaccine was approved for emergency use, we too could have a sense of hope and renewal.  Looking for signs of change and hope inspired me to create a second virtual show.  There is still time to see the second virtual art show which is titled “Hope Blooms”.  When we reopen in September (with the Lord’s help) we will complete our indoor Garden of Hope as a green reminder of our shared experiences during the pandemic.    

Everyone has their own coping mechanism. Mine has always been art. It is a way to make sense of what is happening to me and all around me. It can form community, draw people to a cause or bring their innermost dreams to life. Art has the power to transform lines, shapes, colors and patterns which adds beauty into the world.  

Artist: Annecy Baez, “Grief”, Digital Collage. 

Artist: Samantha Marinello, “Saying Good-Bye”, Acrylic. 

image: Hope Blooms exhibition announcement

The virtual art show, Hope Blooms, can be viewed here through 8/10/21.

-post contributed by Dr. Shoshanah Findling, Graduate School of Education 

2020-2021 Library Statistics are in!

As we close out another academic year (this one like no other) we take a look back at the library services we delivered to the Touro community.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, almost nothing was normal about this year. The Fall semester began in the thick of the pandemic, with much, but not all, of our work shifting to remote service as Touro transitioned most classes to online learning. Some of us remained working in our libraries, in-person, throughout the year, some worked remotely the whole year, and some did a combination of both. We had to learn new skills, new technologies, and adjust our workflows for just about everything we did. Yet, Touro Librarians and Library Staff found new ways to connect with our students and faculty and continued to provide the same great library services that we always have, pandemic or no pandemic.

As we had relatively few students and faculty on our campuses this year, most of our reference service moved to being remote. We had the most reference activity via email and phone, with our Chat and Ask-a-Librarian services fielding a steady stream of inquiries as well.

Our librarians regularly teach classes on research methods, and this year was no exception, only that all of these classes were shifted online and carried out via zoom. Through the year, we taught 136 classes over zoom, and had 2131 students attend our library classes. Our asynchronous educational efforts were successful as well, with 408 students and faculty using our many libguides this year. Our librarians and library staff also continued to educate ourselves, attending webinars throughout the year, with a combined total attendance of 544.

Let’s take a look at all the numbers!

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We are still hard at work over the summer and are looking forward to what the next academic year will bring, with the start of the Fall 2021 semester.

Until then, see you in the library (call first to verify hours) and online!

–post contributed by Kirk Snyder, Open Educational Resources & Instruction Librarian.

Library Staff Profile: Starrett City Library Assistant Rita Hilu

This post is originally from 2014. It continues our tribute to Rita Hilu, who passed away last weekend. Rita was an incredibly important member of the Touro College Libraries staff, and we want to remind everyone of what made her so special to students, faculty, and staff.

The Fall 2009 issue of the Starrett City campus newsletter Touro Times featured a glowing profile on one of Touro’s most beloved information professionals, Rita Hilu.

Staff Profiles: An Interview with Rita Stravets

Librarian Rita Stravets

Where were you born? 

I was born in a small town in Ukraine (former Soviet Union).

Where else have you lived?

I lived in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.

What languages do you speak?

I speak Russian, English, Ukrainian, and understand Yiddish.

Insights from Touro Graduates

It might only be September, but it’s never too early to think about what you’re working towards
(image © Touro College)

If you’re just starting college, or even if you’ve been at it for a few semesters, you’ve probably gotten advice from lots of people – professors, friends, parents, acquaintances – whether you wanted it or not. Librarians aren’t shy about handing out advice either, but for today, we thought we’d share some words of wisdom from those most likely to know what you’re experiencing, because they’ve recently been right where you are. Here are excerpts from the speeches given by the valedictorian and salutatorian of last year’s graduating NYSCAS class, Yasmin Itshakov and Eleanor Moquete. We hope that you’ll find inspiration and guidance for a successful fall semester and along your path to your own moment on the graduation stage.