GW Hillel is sponsoring a variety of religious services and activities for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year.

Collectively known as the Jewish High Holy Days, the holidays and period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark the start of the Jewish calendar and a new spiritual year.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins Friday night at sundown and continues through Saturday. Reform and Conservative services will be held on campus both Friday night and Saturday morning. Reform services will take place in Lisner Auditorium at 8:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. Conservative services will be held in the Marvin Center Ballroom at 7 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, starts Sunday, Sept. 19, at sundown. Reform services will begin at 8:30 p.m. Sunday and at 10 a.m. Monday in Lisner Auditorium. Conservative services will be held at 6:45 p.m. Sunday and at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the Marvin Center Ballroom.

Another option for students is a strict Conservative service led by a rabbinical student from the Jewish Theological Seminary, GW Hillel’s Assistant Director Greg Schofer said. Those services will be held at Hillel at the same dates and times as the main Conservative services.

For students who wish to attend Orthodox services, Hillel can arrange tickets at Keshser Israel in Georgetown. Interested students should contact Hillel.

“We strive to meet the needs of students from a wide range of Jewish backgrounds,” Schofer said.

Taschlit, the traditional ceremony in which bread crumbs are tossed into a body of water, will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. A group will meet at Hillel and walk down to the Potomac River. Taschlit will be held Sunday instead of the first day of Rosh Hashanah because the first day falls on Shabbat this year.

Tickets are required for all services (except Taschlit) but are free for GW students. Tickets can be picked up at Hillel, located at the corner of 23rd and H streets.

Hillel is sponsoring several social events in connection with the High Holy Days. Meals are available for Erev Rosh Hashanah and before Kol Nidre. Reservations for those meals must have been made at Provisions Market in the Marvin Center by Sept. 3. Also, an informal discussion group will be held at Hillel at 4 p.m. on Yom Kippur and a Break Fast will begin at sundown, Schofer said. Break Fast is free to all students but RSVPs are requested.