The scent of pizza wafted through the Pasquerilla Spirital Center Thursday night as about 250 hungry students waited in line to break their fast at the end of Yom Kippur.

Beginning Wednesday night, Jewish students observed the holiday by fasting and abstaining from work. Penn State Hillel's Break the Fast After Yom Kippur event Thursday night marked the end of the 24-hour period of restraint and provided hungry students with a buffet that included pizza, bagels, cookies and juice. The event began directly after the last prayer service of the day.

Throughout the day at Pasquerilla, spoken and sung prayers could be heard. Jewish groups Hillel and Chabad Jewish Student Center of Penn State each held five different services during the holiday, each of which represented a level of the Jewish soul, said Chabad co-director Sarah Meretsky. During each service, a level of the soul is cleansed, she said.

Though fasting is difficult, the holiness of the day makes it easier, she said.

"There's a very strong spiritual

energy in the air. If you connect to that spiritual level, you don't need food," she said.

Aside from avoiding food and drinks, Jews are also barred from wearing jewelry or leather shoes, bathing and engaging in sexual activity.

Fasting and avoiding frivolous activities allows a person to focus on the purpose of the holiday, which is asking God for forgiveness, she said.

This year Shira Friedman (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) and Harley Miller (freshman-political science) spent their first Yom Kippur away from home.

The biggest difference, they said, was that in high school their classes were cancelled and they spent the day with their Jewish relatives and friends, but at Penn State their classes were still held and they were surrounded by thousands of non-Jewish students, they said.

"My roommate's not Jewish, and she was eating in front of me," Miller said.

Friedman was impressed with the services provided to students on Yom Kippur, she said.

"It's nice that they were able to provide for Jewish students," she said.

Jeremy Richfield (sophomore-public relations and advertising), who attended Hillel's Break the Fast, could sympathize with the freshmen.

Last year's fast was difficult for him too, but for different reasons.

"That was tough because that was the Michigan game," he said.

While Richfield's friends stuffed their faces with pizza and soda, he watched the game sans nourishment.

Though adhering to Yom Kippur's requirements can be daunting for students, Dana Falk (junior-advertising) said doing so brings people closer to understanding the significance of the holiday.

"You appreciate more what you have when you don't have it anymore, and you take advantage of it every other day of the year," she said.