May 2009 - Temple Emanu-El

From Rabbi’sDesk2Relating to Shavuotas a Reform JewThe holy day of Shavuot iscelebrated on the 6th ofSivan. This is the time thatJews traditionally celebrateMoses’ receiving of theTorah on Mount Sinai. It isone of the three PilgrimageFestivals (Shalosh Regalim),when our ancestors wouldtravel to Jerusalem withofferings of first fruits inthankfulness for a successful harvest. The other two PilgrimageFestivals are Pesach and Sukkot. Shavuot is known by several names:Chag Ha-katzir (Festival of the Grain Harvest), Chag HaBikurim(Festival of First Fruits); Zeman matan toratenu (the season of thegiving of the Torah) but the word Shavuot actually means "weeks"and it celebrates a "week of weeks" (7 weeks, or 49 days) followingthe week of Pesach. At the conclusion of the second seder, we begincounting the omer, marking the beginning of the wheat harvest. OnShavuot the barley harvest begins.Pesach and Shavuot are interconnected. During Pesach, wereconnect to our liberation from the land of Egypt (Mitzrayim, theplace of narrowness or constriction) to become a people inrelationship with God.According to the Rabbis, the Torah was offered to a variety ofdifferent peoples. But they did not like the conditions. When Godoffered the Torah to the Israelites, they said "na'aseh v'nishma" (wewill do and we will hear). In other words, the action precedes theunderstanding. Just as on Pesach, we should consider that we wereliberated from Egyptian bondage, so too on Shavuot, we should allconsider that we stood together at Sinai and received the Torah as aguide for our lives.Traditional Jews believe that the Torah was actually handed toMoses at Mt. Sinai. As Reform Jews, we take a different approach.We do not take the story literally, but more metaphorically. Torahwas written by our ancestors over the course of many periods oftime. It was codified and organized, and handed down fromgeneration to generation, both as written and oral tradition. But thatdifference in interpretation in no way decreases the significance ofthe holiday. What Shavuot does for us is provide anotheropportunity for connection ... to the Temple in ancient days, ourhistory, our traditions, our own congregation, and to our ownidentity as Jews.All three pilgrimage festivals are tied to our agrarian roots. Byobserving them here (or wherever we are), it connects us both to ourpast, to nature and the seasons of the year, and to the Land of Israel.What is also remarkable is that each of these festivals also provides atime during the year for self-examination. On Sukkot, as wecelebrate our first fruits, we consider our basic needs in life, thosethings that we so often take for granted. Sukkot is especiallypowerful after we have gone through a process of Teshuvah, of takingresponsibility for our actions and starting with a clean slate. AtPesach, we have an opportunity to look at the Chamatz, "leavening"in our lives, checking on what is "puffing us up," how we areenslaved and what we might need to do to free ourselves. OnShavuot, as individuals we examine our covenantal relationship toJudaism, because we are Am Brit, a people of the covenant.In the Reform movement, Shavuot is traditionally the time whenyoung adults (in most cases 10th graders) affirm their connection tothe Jewish tradition. At Temple Emanu-El, the Erev Shavuot andConfirmation Service is the culmination of a year of study, duringwhich time our students examine what it means to be a Reform Jew;what is God and how we cope with death. This year we havethirteen outstanding young people who have spent the year togetherand will be sharing their views on these topics. Our goal is to alsoconfirm our Jewish faith, by being present at our ErevShavuot/Confirmation service, we too are afforded an opportunity tocontemplate what we believe.On Shavuot, we hear two scriptural readings. One is from the Bookof Ruth (because the story of Ruth takes place during the barleyharvest, and because the rabbis, felt that Ruth's acceptance ofJudaism paralleled the Israelites’ acceptance of Torah). The other isthe Ten Commandments from our Torah.I hope you will be with us on Thursday, May 28 at 7:00pm toexperience this wonderful opportunity to reflect on your belief andto celebrate with our Confirmands and their families.As on all the pilgrimage festivals, there is an additional Yizkor(memorial) portion added to the Shavuot morning service. TheYizkor service is not just for those who have lost someone dear inthe past year. It is for anyone and everyone because the connectionto those who have gone before us is such a strong part of our Jewishtradition. The Shavuot morning service will be on Friday, May 29, at9:00am in the Chapel.Shavuot is another example of how the Jewish calendar offers usopportunities throughout the year to reflect on our lives and to be apart of our extended family, our community. May this be awonderful Shavuot for all of us.L’Shalom,Rabbi Dana L. Magatrabbimagat@templesajose.org