Here we provide information on several religious holidays during the academic year. A partial list is available from the Registrar’s Office at https://registrar.mit.edu/calendar/religious-holidays. Working alongside Student Support Services and GradSupport, ORSEL supports students who need accommodations to participate fully in both their religious tradition and academic and community life of MIT.
In keeping with the Institute’s nondiscrimination policy, MIT encourages all members of the community to express their religious beliefs freely and to respect other community members’ religious practices. Specifically, MIT’s policy on academics and student absences for religious observances allows students to be absent from classes or to be excused from academic work or exams to observe a religious obligation or holiday if they coincide. Here we provide information on major religious holidays during the academic year, and other ways in which you can support observant students.
Here we want to highlight one group of students who will especially benefit from the community’s awareness in Spring 2025: Muslim students who observe Ramadan. In this article, Muslim Chaplain Nada El-Alami shares some tips for supporting students during this holy month:
Every year, Muslims fast each day of Ramadan from dawn until dusk, for the duration of the month. This year, Ramadan is expected to begin in the evening on Friday, February 28, 2025 and end on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The Islamic Calendar follows a lunar cycle, and while these are the calculated expected dates of Ramadan, they can differ from place to place based on moon-sightings or lack thereof. Some Muslims strictly follow calculations, while others strictly follow moon-sightings, and some follow a combination of both. What Muslims choose to follow can depend on their religious convictions, where they have lived in the world, and what their families practice. The day after the end of Ramadan (Sunday, March 30, 2025) is a religious holiday called Eid-al-Fitr.
For each day of Ramadan, fasting consists of abstaining from eating or drinking, including water, while the sun is out. Once the sun has set, Muslims eat dinner, a meal called “iftar” in Arabic. Iftar is generally a community-focused meal, where family members and friends come together for the blessed occasion. Afterwards, eating and drinking during the night is allowed until dawn of the next day.
During Ramadan, it is customary for Muslims to pray extra nightly prayers and participate in other religious practices throughout the day and night, when possible. They will often wake up for or stay up until “suhur”, a pre-dawn meal.
While Muslims are expected to meet their daily schedule obligations for school and work, some accommodations are needed to be able to be successful while fully engaged in the various aspects of Ramadan. Students may reach out to faculty to request religious accommodations during Ramadan. We encourage them to have this conversation before the month begins. Accommodations could include moving the time of an exam and/or allowing more time so they can schedule it around suhur, iftar, prayer, etc. Some students may prefer to take an exam earlier in the day when they feel more energized, while others would rather take it at night.
We encourage groups and friends to have a conversation before Ramadan begins as well and talk about how Ramadan may change participation and energy levels. Consider changing events during the day to avoid food-centric events and high energy activities. Whenever possible, provide a quiet space and allow short breaks for prayer. While some students may want to preserve their energy during the fast, others may push themselves and increase their activity level. Each student is different in their ability to observe the fast and will make choices accordingly.
Students should also have accommodations on Eid-al-Fitr (Sunday, March 30, 2025). This is a time for celebration after a month long of fasting. Please consider offering extensions for any large assignments due Monday, March 31, as observant Muslim students will have limited ability to work on them over the Spring Break.
While students are responsible for requesting accommodations, you can put them at ease by noting that Ramadan is approaching and that you know it may affect all aspects of students’ schedules. Your support will allow them to fulfill the requirements of the class while being spiritually engaged in the rituals of the month.
ORSEL offers this guide to the Jewish High Holidays. Rabbi Joel Dinin of MIT Hillel (rabbid at mit) is available to answer additional questions about the holidays and appropriate accommodations.
| Major Jewish Holiday Spring 2025 | Begins at sundown on | Ends at sundown on |
|---|---|---|
| Passover | Saturday, April 12 | Sunday, April 20 |
Though each holiday is celebrated with its own ceremonies and traditions, they share one thing in common: evening and daytime hours of all major Jewish holidays have restrictions that are followed by a number of Jews observing the holiday. These include not using any electricity or electronic devices including computers, cell phones, email, lights, and cars. Writing, erasing, and lighting a flame are also among forbidden actions. These are restrictions that are also observed every week on the Jewish Sabbath, Friday night until Saturday night, by Jews who are more traditionally observant.
Passover
First Days of Passover: April 12—14, Saturday (sundown) — Monday (sundown)
Last Days of Passover: April 28—30, Friday (sundown)—Sunday (sundown)
Passover, or Pesach, is a springtime Jewish holiday that commemorates God’s liberation of the ancient Israelite people from slavery in Egypt. Like most major holidays in the Torah, Jewish Bible, it is also an agricultural holiday, specifically the yearly barley harvest. This dual identity is meant to tie the Jewish people and their sense of gratitude and awe to God both through their miraculous history and through the sustenance they get from the land. The holiday is marked by several significant practices that are observed by many Jews worldwide. The first is a large holiday meal called a Seder (meaning “order”) that happens on the first two evenings of the holiday. This meal consists of retelling the story of Passover and eating both symbolic and ritual foods to connect people to the story and provoke meaningful questions to deepen the experience for all of the participants. The main food eaten at the Seder and throughout Passover is matzah, flat unleavened bread. During the entire holiday, many Jews have the practice to not eat any food products that include leavened bread. Even Jews who are less observant of general food restrictions throughout the year are often meticulous about these dietary practices. This can limit their access to food during these 8 days, and many will choose to go home for all or part of the holiday to make it easier to keep these practices during this time. As with the weekly Sabbath and other major holidays in the Torah, many Jews do not engage in various categories of work during the first two and last two days of Pesach. This can include not using electronic devices, writing or going on public transportation. Accommodating the needs of these students during this time would only increase the sense of gratitude that marks this important holiday.