Temple Beth Torah Shalom
May/June 2014 Issue
SHALOM Bimonthly Newsletter of Temple Beth Torah, Wellington, Florida
Rabbi’s voice Rabbi Norman Klein Come Spring we enjoy life with all of those occasions we choose to celebrate: graduations, celebrations, installations. In our congregation we anticipate the Service of Confirmation of our Tenth graders (Thurs., June 5, 7 PM). During that week the congregation will observe Shavuot, which occurs 50 days after Pesach or Passover (a week of weeks plus one day after Passover, hence Shavuot, or “The Week of Weeks”). It is the celebration of God giving the Torah to the people of Israel. In Deuteronomy, the text teaches us that the Torah is given to all whom were present at Sinai, and all that were not present. Every Jew who will ever live was given the Torah spiritually at Sinai. The observance of Shavuot should have an enhanced meaning for us all as we stand together embracing the Torah united as one. Shavuot teaches us that God’s gift of freedom to our people at the time of the Exodus is confirmed and continued by our adherence to the Torah. Therefore our ancestors made an oath at Mount Sinai to accept the Torah, which defined us as a people. We promised that we will do and we will learn Torah. Choice is important in our acceptance of the Torah and our faith as one people in service to God. Therefore it seems peculiarly fitting that we celebrate this June when Shavuot occurs this year, our young adult Confirmands presenting to the congregation in speeches about the Ten Commandments their understanding of their Judaism. They will speak from their hearts about something in the Ten Commandments that had grabbed them, personally. We talked about those commandments in class with the Confirmands and their parents, using as an example the fifth one regarding honoring your father and your mother. However, each Confirmand can choose whichever commandment they wish to speak about at the Confirmation service. I don’t want to preempt their presentation, which I hope you will be present to hear at our service. However, to give you a taste of what you may well encounter, I want to share excerpts of some of some of the statements I have heard over the years. “The Torah states that one should remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. For most people this means coming to Friday night services to worship God. Being in high school seems to make this a difficult task, but it’s important to find the balance between my social and religious life…Although I still may not make it to every Shabbat service, it is important to me, and everyone else, to follow God’s commandment and always remember the Sabbath. This commandment is often overlooked because people put other activities before the Sabbath, and they believe that they can maintain a strong relationship with God in the midst of their other obligations. I feel most spiritual when I am with my family and lighting the Shabbat candles. One of my favorite Shabbat rituals is Friday night my Mom calls my brother and sister and I into the kitchen. There we put our hand on the challah and say the blessing together. …I feel so privileged to have a family that helps me be the best Jew that I can be. Shabbat also gives me a chance to pray, and when I’m unsure about something it gives me direction.” Continued on page 25.
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