Soccer Star Sits out for Yom Kippur

For most Boston College students, a Saturday without electricity and the use of electronic devices seems absolutely impossible. There would be no way to text friends about upcoming plans, Newton Campus freshmen and off-campus juniors would be stranded without buses, and computer use would be completely off limits. Now, throw in a mandatory fast and a requirement not to work, and you have the Saturday of Amit Aburmad, a member of the men's soccer team and CSOM '12.

A key player with five goals and five assists this season, Aburmad is a practicing Jew from Zofim, Israel. For a 25-hour period that lasted from Friday at sundown until Saturday at sundown, Aburmad observed Yom Kippur. This holiday, centered around the themes of amends and repentance, is one of the most holy days of the year for the Jewish faith. One is not allowed to work or engage in sexual relations, must refrain from eating and drinking, and is not supposed to use electronic devices.

Because of these reasons, the midfielder made a personal choice to not play in the game against Wake Forest this Friday, as it would be considered work. Despite his absence, BC went to win the game 2-0.

"Yom Kippur is a time to pray for forgiveness and for sins between men and God, and to correct wrongful actions against our fellow man," he said. "As someone who is Jewish, I need to respect that."

That did not stop Aburmad from supporting his teammates, however. Since he was not allowed to use any form of electronic transportation,Aburmad walked from Cleveland Circle to Newton Campus to support his team on the sidelines, a three mile trip that takes upwards of an hour.

"It was a long walk," Aburmad said. "Some people don't go full with Yom Kippur, but I go full."

This decision to sit out a game against an ACC foe was no doubt a difficult one for Aburmad, but one he said he was glad he chose.

"It was hard, but it's only one game," he said. "Anyways, I felt like if I was going to play, we weren't going to win because of karma."

At BC, a story like Aburmad's is not particularly common. According to The Boston College Hillel Association, the Jewish student group on campus, about 2 percent of BC's student body is Jewish. With an undergrad population of around 9,000, this amounts to around 180 students.

With 70 percent of BC students identifying as Catholic, students who identify as Jewish are decidedly a minority on this campus. However, SarahBleicher, a member of Hillel and A&S '13, said that overall she does not feel out of place being Jewish at BC.

"It has its ups and downs, but overall no complaints," she said. "It's great because religion is something that is very familiar to most people at BC. It's in no way taboo as I've heard it can be at other schools. Additionally, people are very curious when they learn that I am Jewish. In that sense, I get to discuss my religion and offer an opinion that may not necessarily get expressed if I were not a minority."

Aburmad agreed. "I thought it was going to be something different, but so many people are diverse here," he said. "When I chose BC, I didn't notice it was a Catholic school, but rather thought about the academics and athletics."

For Seth Yarkony, secretary of Hillel and CSOM '14, the fact that BC was a Catholic institution did not deter his decision to attend BC. "I would never consider going to Notre Dame for religious reasons, but I had no concerns applying to BC," he said.

Aburmad, Bleicher, and Yarkony all agreed that BC is religiously accepting.

"I think that BC is extremely tolerant of all religions," Bleicher said. "I don't know that all religions have the same amount of interest or favor, but that BC is almost overly aware and tolerant of religions and different religious practices."

That is not to say, however, that BC has no need of improvement involving better inclusion of religious minorities.

"It's tolerant, but I think religious groups that aren't in the majority should get more funding for events," Yarkony said.

Echoing this sentiment was Bleicher. "In ways I feel somewhat restricted because there is so much programming for Catholic students," she said. "I know I am welcome to such things, but I don't know if I'd feel entirely comfortable. I am so grateful to have BC Hillel as a community, but we just don't have the numbers or funding that other groups have."