Rabinnical student Ariana Katz will lead an unusual service for Yom Kippur called “Standing Against Sexual Assault.” on Oct.. 4, sponsored by Dickinson College Hillel.

Ted Merwin, director or the Milton B. Asbell Center for Jewish Life and Associate Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies said, “In addition to the regular Yom Kippur services we’re doing something very, very exciting this year which we’ve never done before.” Ariana Katz, a second year student at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia, will lead an untraditional Yizkor service on Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. in the Stern Great Room.

According to Merwin, Yizkor, which means “memory” in Hebrew, is customarily “a series of prayers that people say in memory of those who have passed away.” This year’s service will differ from those in years past. “Instead of being about remembering people who have died, it’s going to be about remembering people who have suffered from sexual violence and rape,” says Merwin.

The Yizkor service will include Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and secular readings as a way of including people of all faiths in the ritual, Katz says in an email interview. She adds that a significant turnout is expected as various student groups and individuals plan on taking part. “I think it could be a very powerful way of taking Jewish tradition and making it relevant to the campus as a whole,” says Merwin.

Another distinctive aspect of the service, notes Katz, is that “this Yizkor service will also have an Al Chet section, which is not traditionally a part of Yizkor.” Al Chet, according to Katz, is the “communal accounting for sins committed over the past year.” A long list of communal sins is read aloud and, while not everyone in attendance has committed those sins, the community as a whole atones “for being a part of a culture where such sins could happen,” says Katz.

This particular service “claims communal accountability for our cooperation in rape culture, a culture that enables sexual assault to happen,” Katz says. Merwin finds this concept especially appropriate because “Yom Kippur is about…communal responsibility” and “turning over a new leaf as a community.” Katz seeks to promote prayer for “healing, love, and support for survivors and victims of assault on campus.”

When asked about the origins of this distinctive practice, Katz responded, “I created this ritual last fall in a course at school.” Reconstructionist Rabbinical College puts an emphasis on “the work of tikkun olam, repairing the world,” says Kats. “I am always looking for ways that organizing work can be supported by Jewish ritual, and vice versa.”

Katz says that her underlying interest in sexual assault prevention stems from her undergraduate activities at Boston University, where she served as the co-director for the university’s Center for Gender, Sexuality, and Activism for two years. Furthermore, Katz was part of a six person collective that protested for Boston University to provide its students with “real and comprehensive resources for sexual assault on campus.” According to Katz, after a nearly two-month campaign the university created the Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center on campus.

This year Yom Kippur begins on Friday Oct. 3 and ends on Saturday Oct. 4 after sundown. The students of Hillell at Dickinson College have been integral in the planning of the High Holy Days this year. In fact, Merwin notes that this was the first year in which students lead the preparations for these holidays. According to sophomore Yael Farber, president of Hillel at Dickinson, traditional Yom Kippur Eve Services will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 in the Stern Great Room and Yom Kippur morning services will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, also in the Stern Great Room.