Weekly Thought for Shabbat Friday, May 30, 2014. Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5774 On this, the forty sixth day of the Omer (the period of counting days that began during Passover), we find ourselves just four days from the festival of Shavuot…just four days until Jews around the world will celebrate the festival during which we are taught that Moses received Torah at Mount Sinai. One of the three major festivals of the calendar year, Shavuot celebrates the gift of Torah to our people and to us as individuals. It is, undoubtedly, the festival of revelation. But despite the image that is emblazoned in so many of our minds thanks to Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments, of Moses climbing the mountain then later descending holding the Ten Commandments in his arms with his face aglow, revelation is an amazing gift that can be understood in countless ways. From a traditionalist perspective, God taught everything which the Jewish people would need to know at Mount Sinai. To twentieth thinkers like Martin Buber, “Sinai was not a one-time revelation of laws for all time. Revelation is possible at any time.” There are plenty of other interpretations, as well. More important than any written interpretation, though, is the reality that as the people of Israel - the people who are encouraged to struggle with Who or What God is to us – we are invited to engage in the process of making personal meaning out of our tradition in our own day and in our own way. To me, engaging in that process is revelation. During this Shabbat, imagine what meaning God, Torah and our Jewish heritage can have for you…and then join us on Tuesday evening to celebrate the festival of revelation along with us. Shabbat shalom.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 20:22:03 +0000