Dear Friends,
This Shabbat weekend is the traditional date of the Second day of the festival of Shavuot (in Reform Judaism, we keep the Israeli/modern calendar, which only marks one day of each festival).
Shavuot, which means “weeks,” falls 50 days, or seven weeks plus one day, from the second day of Passover. It is one of the three “Pilgrimage Festivals,” when, in antiquity, Jews in the land of Judea, now Israel, would make a thrice-annual trek to Jerusalem to pay their periodic taxes. It was a time when Jews from north to south, east to west, would gather and reconnect, trade their agricultural produce or sell from their next harvest, and would rejoice in the springtime.
As well, and more germane to most modern Jews who are unlikely to be agriculturalists, Shavuot marks the date when Moses, atop Mt. Sinai, attained the Commandments from God. Thus, this day commemorates the establishment of our people as a community of law, effectively transforming us from being a federation of family clans released from Egyptian slavery, into a people united by law with a renewed covenant.
Among the traditions for the observance of Shavuot, besides a festival service in which the Ten Commandments are read, and meals at which dairy food is eaten (ostensibly because dairy cows produce more robustly from eating the spring grasses), is the custom of engaging in study all night long, from dusk until dawn. Study is a joyful Jewish pursuit, and it is a natural way to thank God for the gift of Torah at Mt. Sinai.
Thus, this evening we will participate in two modes of study sessions. At Temple, tonight at 8:00-ish, following our brief Shavuot Eve Service and reading of the Ten Commandments, we will tie Shavuot’s receipt of law to America’s 250th year of independence celebration. We will read and study President George Washington’s interactions with the Jewish community during the first years of his presidency, especially during his “Thank You Tour” when he visited a number of the states to offer his gratitude for support during the Revolutionary War. That class will be in-person at the Temple.
Thereafter, at 10:00 via Zoom, TBJ will participate with Jews from across America for further study, including a one-hour session I am offering on acclaimed poet Emma Lazarus, and her view of Jewish history as expressed in her poetry, especially her celebrated sonnet, “The New Colossus,” which is found at the base of the Statue of Liberty. You can find the link to for the class below, and to register for any of the 50 classes which rabbis are offering all night, from coast to coast.
https://urj.tfaforms.net/901?id=701UG00000fOH6Z
Thus, tonight and this Shabbat, we celebrate Shavuot with blintzes and cheesecake, study Ten Commandments, and joy. Do join us!
Shabbat Shalom and Hag Sameach,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
This Shabbat weekend is the traditional date of the Second day of the festival of Shavuot (in Reform Judaism, we keep the Israeli/modern calendar, which only marks one day of each festival).
Shavuot, which means “weeks,” falls 50 days, or seven weeks plus one day, from the second day of Passover. It is one of the three “Pilgrimage Festivals,” when, in antiquity, Jews in the land of Judea, now Israel, would make a thrice-annual trek to Jerusalem to pay their periodic taxes. It was a time when Jews from north to south, east to west, would gather and reconnect, trade their agricultural produce or sell from their next harvest, and would rejoice in the springtime.
As well, and more germane to most modern Jews who are unlikely to be agriculturalists, Shavuot marks the date when Moses, atop Mt. Sinai, attained the Commandments from God. Thus, this day commemorates the establishment of our people as a community of law, effectively transforming us from being a federation of family clans released from Egyptian slavery, into a people united by law with a renewed covenant.
Among the traditions for the observance of Shavuot, besides a festival service in which the Ten Commandments are read, and meals at which dairy food is eaten (ostensibly because dairy cows produce more robustly from eating the spring grasses), is the custom of engaging in study all night long, from dusk until dawn. Study is a joyful Jewish pursuit, and it is a natural way to thank God for the gift of Torah at Mt. Sinai.
Thus, this evening we will participate in two modes of study sessions. At Temple, tonight at 8:00-ish, following our brief Shavuot Eve Service and reading of the Ten Commandments, we will tie Shavuot’s receipt of law to America’s 250th year of independence celebration. We will read and study President George Washington’s interactions with the Jewish community during the first years of his presidency, especially during his “Thank You Tour” when he visited a number of the states to offer his gratitude for support during the Revolutionary War. That class will be in-person at the Temple.
Thereafter, at 10:00 via Zoom, TBJ will participate with Jews from across America for further study, including a one-hour session I am offering on acclaimed poet Emma Lazarus, and her view of Jewish history as expressed in her poetry, especially her celebrated sonnet, “The New Colossus,” which is found at the base of the Statue of Liberty. You can find the link to for the class below, and to register for any of the 50 classes which rabbis are offering all night, from coast to coast.
https://urj.tfaforms.net/901?id=701UG00000fOH6Z
Thus, tonight and this Shabbat, we celebrate Shavuot with blintzes and cheesecake, study Ten Commandments, and joy. Do join us!
Shabbat Shalom and Hag Sameach,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
