The Chabad at Pitt was buzzing on Thursday.
Dozens of freshmen students gathered inside a building on Meyran Avenue at the University of Pittsburgh to learn how to braid challah into a round loaf, a symbol of the Jewish New Year, as many met each other for the first time.
As they worked, they snacked on popcorn and tortilla chips - and caramel apples, which served as a representation of the hope for a sweet and prosperous year ahead.
Shmuli Rothstein, rabbi and director of Chabad at Pitt, said the organization is meant to be a "home away from home" for students, some devoutly observant, but most culturally secular. Over the school year, Chabad estimates that 800 students come through its doors.
'It's a really safe place to be right now'
"It's so nice to have this community where I get to have things that make it feel like home, but I'm five hours away," said Melissa Canter, a sophomore from Philadelphia.
Thursday's challah-making came ahead of Rosh Hashanah, a two-day celebration of the Jewish New Year, starting on Monday. The students got to take home the bread they made.
There are about 1,600 Jewish undergraduate students at Pitt, while Carnegie Mellon University has about 400, according to Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh. Monday marks the start of the High Holy Days, some of the most important days in the Jewish calendar, which include Rosh Hashanah, a joyful celebration, and Yom Kippur, a more solemn day of atonement.
Though based on Pitt's campus, Chabad welcomes Jewish students from all the colleges and universities in the city. For Mia Olenick, president of Hillel at Duquesne University, a Catholic school, Chabad is a place of refuge.
"It's a really safe place to be right now," she said.
In the wake of an attack on two Jewish Pitt students last year, most of the Jewish students who spoke with the Post-Gazette last week said they largely feel safe on campus.
"Despite incidents of antisemitism, many students are proudly wearing Magen David necklaces and other symbols of Jewish identity on college campuses," said Beth Vander Stoep, assistant director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh's Community Relations Council.
"There's an increase in Jewish joy as the community enters the High Holy Days."
Macy Margulius, president of Chabad at Pitt, said some parents have raised concerns about their children's safety - especially at large gatherings like Chabad's Rosh Hashanah dinner, which 350 students are expected to attend Monday.
While Ms. Margulius said she feels safe most of the time, she finds herself hiding her Star of David necklace - something she almost never takes off - when walking alone at night.
Since the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Ms. Vander Stoep said she has seen a "tremendous surge" in students seeking out Jewish community.
Tensions in the wake of Pro-Palestine protests and encampments at Pitt have made it difficult for some to be open about their religion in some settings, Ms. Margulius said, especially in spaces without other Jewish students. Some students told the Post-Gazette they have lost friends over assumptions made about their beliefs because of their Jewish identity, without ever having discussed their views.
"That makes it difficult for students to be confident celebrating their Judaism," Ms. Margulius said.
But that should "never interfere with Jewish people being able to come together and just celebrate a tradition or a holiday such as Rosh Hashanah," she said.
"We have such a big Jewish community, and we're really good at standing by each other even when things go south," Ms. Margulius said. There are nearly 50,000 Jewish people residing in the greater Pittsburgh area, data from Brandeis University shows.
Jewish students find a community in Pittsburgh
Beyond Chabad, there are many places where Jewish students have found community on Pittsburgh's university campuses ahead of the High Holy Days.
Daniel Powers, a graduate student and president of CMU's Jewish Business Association, said his group is hosting a potluck dinner for Rosh Hashanah. Amallia Rascoe, a Pitt law student and president of Pitt's Jewish Law Students Association, is holding a Rosh Hashanah shabbat dinner on Friday. There are roughly 600 Jewish graduate students at CMU, Pitt and Duquesne University combined, according to Hillel JUC.
"If you aren't actively in the Jewish community all the time and you're not thinking about it, holidays can be swept under the rug and you forget about them," Ms. Rascoe said. "My goal is to at least do something for all Jewish holidays."
As the new year rolls around, students expressed excitement about celebrating it. For Ms. Olenick, it marks a new start.
"The deeper meaning to this is a time where we can reset," she said, "and think about everything we've done, everything we've experienced, over the past year."