RABBI’S MESSAGE

by R abbi b R yan W exle R

We are currently counting the Omer, the seven week period between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. Shavuot is called z’man matan Torateinu, the “time of the giving of the Torah.” On Shavuot we celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai and the continued centrality of Torah in our lives.

Now, Shavuot does not have the powerful observances of other festivals, such as dwelling in the sukkah on Sukkot or eating matzah on Passover. Nevertheless, it has developed its own observances. We eat dairy foods. Some say this is to symbolize the “land flowing with milk and honey” promised to the Israelites. Others attribute the tradition to the fact that prior to Revelation, the Israelites had not yet received the dietary laws regarding the proper eating of animals. On Shavuot we also read the book of Ruth, the beautiful story of a Moabite woman who cast her lot with the Jewish people. “Your people will be my people; your God will be my God.”

There are also numerous traditions that tie the festival of Shavuot to the learning of Torah. It is traditional to stay up late into the evening of Shavuot and study Torah. This custom is based on a midrash that teaches that when the Israelites were ready to receive the Torah, they overslept, and Moses had to go from tent to tent to wake them up. We stay up late and learn together in order to make up for their apparent apathy and to demonstrate our zealous desire to embrace the Torah and draw closer to God. We call this late-night study session: Tikkun Leyl Shavuot.

The word tikkun can mean order and is a synonym for the word seder. In this sense Tikkun Leyl Shavuot is our “seder” for Shavuot night. However, most of us know the word “tikkun” from the phrase Tikkun Olam, which means to “repair the world.” The phrase comes from the Alenu prayer, which calls upon us l’taken olam b’malchut shaddai – to “repair the world, making it the Kingdom of Heaven.” In other words, to make “heaven on earth” by repairing our world through acts of kindness, compassion and justice.

Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (18th century, Eastern Europe) taught that when we perform an act of tikkun, we draw down God’s light which hovers around and envelops our mind and our heart. This means that we all have the ability to draw God’s light to us and to feel the healing power of God’s love. We begin from a place of learning and from there we move to a place of action in the form of repair, kindness, and love.

This Spring, we are quite busy celebrating the learning of all of our students. At the end of April, we celebrated our graduating HaMakom High School seniors. Over the next number of weeks we will be celebrating many special learning milestones with our ECEC, Religious School, and Hebrew High School students and their families. In our Eric B. Jacobs Early Childhood Education Center, we will have our 4’s Revue (graduation for our four-yearolds). In our Rabbi Albert and Sarah Lewis Religious School we will have our Bet (2nd grade) Siyyum HaSefer, Gimmel (3rd grade) Consecration, and Vav (6th grade) Promotion to our High School program. And finally, on Shavuot itself we will celebrate Confirmation with our 10th Grade Class of 5783. Our Confirmation students are eagerly preparing to lead services on the first day of Shavuot (May 26th) and share their thoughts about God, Israel, and their Jewish identities with the congregation. I am SO proud of all of our students that will be celebrating special milestones as we conclude the school year, and I wish a hearty mazal tov to them and their families.

As we approach Shavuot, may we be inspired by our students, and by one another to continue to strive for tikkun through the sacred study of Torah, and through our subsequent actions. In doing so, may we endeavor to draw down God’s light and carve out a little slice of heaven right here on earth.