Some Jewish students face a balancing act when trying to honor their religious traditions and go to class.

The dilemma appears in September with the holidays Rosh Hashanah, which started Sept. 18, and Yom Kippur, which was Monday.

But it’s not just a balancing act that presents problems for Jewish students. Some feel the absence of places to worship in Bowling Green affects honoring their traditions, too.

Many Jewish students are unsure whether their teachers will penalize them for missing class to attend religious services, said Bryan Carson, adviser to the Jewish Student Organization.

Carson said he notifies teachers with dates of upcoming holidays and asks them to excuse students if they’re attending services.

This task wasn’t a big hassle this semester because recent holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah, fell on a weekend, he said.

Rosh Hashanah, commonly known as the Jewish New Year, is considered one of the holiest days of the year, Carson said.

It’s a time when Jewish people look back at sins they’ve committed in the past year, he said.

Carson compared Rosh Hashanah to the American New Year because that’s typically when Americans think about the previous year and make resolutions or promises for the future.

Chicago sophomore Paige Levy said she was relieved that Rosh Hashanah was the same weekend as Parents Weekend because she was able to celebrate it with her family.

Yom Kippur, the most solemn Jewish holiday, comes 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, Carson said.

Yom Kippur is seen as the day for repentance, and followers of Judaism typically fast, or refuse to eat food, for 24 hours, Levy said.

Carson said he warns teachers that students may seem sluggish in class on that day.

Chicago sophomore Josh Handelsman said he had a hard time concentrating in class Monday because he was fasting.

“The starvation definitely distracted me,” he said.

Handelsman said he’s afraid to miss class on the holidays because he doesn’t want to be marked absent.

He said he doesn’t know of any temples or places of worship in the Bowling Green area. This year, he fasted for Yom Kippur but didn’t attend any services.

Handelsman said Bowling Green is very different from his large Jewish community in Chicago. He knows of only one other Jewish student in Bowling Green.

The holidays would be more respected around campus if there were more places of worship for Jewish students around Bowling Green and more Jewish student organizations, he said.

Louisville sophomore Jackie Morguelan said it’s hard for her to celebrate holidays because there isn’t a synagogue in Bowling Green.

“When I want to attend services, I have to go all the way to Louisville, which can be difficult sometimes,” she said.

She said she wanted to attend Yom Kippur services at a synagogue but had classes she couldn’t miss.

She said she would be more devoted to honoring Jewish holidays while at Western if the Jewish community in Bowling Green was larger.

Carson said there are Jewish services at the Presbyterian Church of Bowling Green on State Street during major holidays.

Congregation Am Shalom, the Jewish congregation of Bowling Green, usually hosts religious services at that location on the second Friday of the month, according to the congregation’s Web site.