On September 23 and October 2, Jewish students, faculty, and staff at Milton celebrated Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—which mark the beginning and end of the Ten Days of Repentance—while others celebrated having the days off school.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, when observant Jews usually attend synagogue, hear the sounding of the shofar (ram’s horn), and eat symbolic foods like apple with honey, which symbolizes a sweet new year. On Yom Kippur, ten days later, Jews traditionally fast for 25 hours, abstain from work, and seek forgiveness.

The Jewish population in the US remains a small minority (roughly 2.4% of the American population), and Milton’s Jewish population is only slightly higher, at 9.3% according to The Milton Paper’s “State of the Acad” poll in May 2025.

However, Milton still chooses to observe the two holidays, and Jewish Student Union (JSU) faculty advisor and English teacher David Nurenberg feels that this choice conveys the message that even with Jews being a historically marginalized group, they are “equal and valued member[s] of the community.”

“As a minority you get so many small, unintentional but still very clear messages every day that you don’t belong, that this society was not built for people like you,” he explained. “Decisions to respect holy days send the opposite message, not only to minorities, but to the majority, and it sets a powerful tone. Milton is the first institution I’ve ever worked at that has sent this message.”

As a result, the school’s approach to scheduling the holidays created some confusion this year, when Milton was originally scheduled to have school on Rosh Hashanah—a shift from practice in recent years, according to former JSU co-head Eliana Soiffer ‘25. This change could have created some challenges for Jewish students observing the holiday. As Charlotte Weinstein ‘26 explained, students who take the day off may worry about falling behind in schoolwork and missing classes, or alternatively, they would worry about missing synagogue.

After JSU reached out to Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Vanessa Cohen Gibbons with their concerns, the school leadership eventually decided to have the day off, despite the school’s original policy “to hold class on Rosh Hashanah and not on Yom Kippur if the latter holiday fell on a weekday,” according to Gibbons.

While the school’s ultimate decision to cancel classes on both days reflects “[Milton’s] mission to both celebrate diversity,” as noted by Upper School Director of DEIJ Melissa Lawlor, not all students seemed to be aware of the holidays’ significance.

“The [DEIJ] office does send an email,” Weinstein said, “but I don’t think that students actually read those emails or know what’s happening.”

DEIJ board member Jiner Huang ‘28 agreed, explaining that she “think[s] people rarely acknowledge/read these emails in depth.” When asked whether she believes the student body understands the significance of the two holidays, she responded, “No, not really. I think most people just appreciate a day off.”

Lawlor, on the other hand, commented that she “think[s] Milton students do recognize that this is an important holiday,” but that the level of understanding amongst the student body might vary. “I would say it’s the responsibility of the DEIJ to provide helpful resources and education,” Lawlor said, “and it is the part of the student to engage with those resources.”

Weinstein added that JSU leaders have been trying to raise more awareness about the Jewish High Holidays. For example, she—along with the other two co-heads, Eli Berk ‘26 and Asher Seelig ‘26—went to the Lower School and explained the holidays’ significance. “I think it’s important for people to know that it’s not just a day off for [Jews]...It’s a day of importance,” she said.

Likewise, Soiffer commented “It would be great if there was a little bit more knowledge around [the holidays],” but she also conceded that “it’s kind of hard to know about everybody’s traditions.”

Huang echoed Soiffer’s statement: “It is, alas, impossible for us to force people to participate in these cultural awareness efforts (people have to willingly buy in), so I think it's unfair to push that it's the school's fault that people don't recognize these holidays.” She concluded, “I think it really comes down to the individual attitude.”