Shabbat Shalom!

The Sabbath cometh, and Tuvia and I are going to the Orthodox shul and then to the home of some members of the shul for a Shabbat dinner. It'll be my first Shabbat dinner in a while, and I'm looking forward to it. It sounds like there'll be three families plus Tuvia and I, so we'll see how it goes. They're of the knowledge that post-dinner we have to drive back to Manchester, since the Orthodox shul is nowhere near where we live. It's one of those things that you just do, until you can work out the details. The family has offered their upstairs, which it appears is completely private -- own room, own bathroom, etc. -- for future Shabbats if we want to stay for a full Shabbos experience. Next week, back on campus, chances are I'll be staying on campus and doing Shabbos up Chabad style, and maybe even for the next few weeks since I have a Friday afternoon class and getting into Manchester to be with Tuvia on Shabbos won't be possible. You bend, you work, you make it happen.

In the meantime, I offer you a video. It's really more a slideshow than a video, since I have lots of pictures of the Bat Mitzvah ceremony. There was one fellow filming it all, but I can't remember who he was, so until I get that video, this is the best I can do. I think that my facial expressions and reactions will probably display the experience better than I can in words at this point. It was emotional, spiritual, and overpowering -- being on top of a mountain where people lived, people died, and people have come and prayed for years and years. Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!

A brief Shavuot spiel.

Shavuot, says My Jewish Learning, "is among the least-observed Jewish holidays today. But the holiday is deeply meaningful, and makes up in theology what it lacks in ritual."

In its most simplest phrasing, Shavuot is the celebration of the revelation of Torah at Sinai to Israel. The holiday is directly connected to Pesach, which began seven weeks ago. Between Pesach and Shavuot, we count the Omer, and at the conclusion of the counting, bam! There is Shavuot, the festival of weeks (though it has many different names). The holiday also commemorates the harvest, and it is for this reason that some believe those in the U.S. and the Diaspora have a difficult time connecting with Shavuot, for it still has this agricultural significance in Israel.

Though there are no set mitzvot for the holiday aside from the typical (no work, etc.), there are customs that are incredibly prominent in observance today. These include

• אקדמות – Akdamot, the reading of a liturgical poem during Shavuot morning synagogue services
• חלב – Chalav (milk), the consumption of dairy products like milk and cheese
• רות – Ruth, the reading of the Book of Ruth at morning services
• ירק – Yerek, the decoration of homes and synagogues with greenery
• תורה – Torah, engaging in all-night Torah study.

That fourth one, yerek, was news to me when I began poking around to refresh myself on the significance and practices of Shavuot. On the upside, I do have a bounty of fruit in my home, which is also part of the collecting of greenery and fruits for the home. I've always wanted to engage in all-night Torah study, but to this date, I have not done so. It has logistically usually been impossible, and I thought perhaps this would be the year, but once again, work has gotten in the way (not to mention I took last Monday off and it would probably be seen as a little suspicious if I did it again).

However, the upside of this is that I can spend tomorrow evening and throughout the day tomorrow at work (in between odd jobs) studying Torah and reading the Book of Ruth. I recently read through Ruth while working on a project to compose entries for a Bible Dictionary in the works (my topics: Ruth, Naomi, Mara, and Tzipporah). The significance of the Book of Ruth for converts -- and for this holiday -- is profound, especially considering recent events vis a vis the revocation of conversions in Israel.

You see, the Book of Ruth is read because it corresponds with the harvest, as Ruth worked in the field with Boaz. Likewise, the book comprises the lineage of King David, who himself arose from the lineage of a convert -- Ruth. It is within texts like this that I sit back and wonder what a proper conversion for Ruth would have been like, and how -- after all these years -- we can still wonder about a convert when so much of Jewish history was shaped by a child born of a convert's line. Some of the greatest leaders, thinkers and artists have been converts of all stripes, as well.

Of course the best part of Shavuot -- or so most think -- is all the delicious dairy that is consumed. Myself being of the not-a-lot-of-dairy consuming variety these days, will probably consume just a little bit. I am going to a wine and cheese shindig tomorrow at Chabad in Wicker Park, where there will be a reading of the 10 Commandments. I figure if I don't make it to shul tonight, it is at least what I can do within the community to add to my personal study. I fell off the Torah-reading wagon a few weeks ago and have not been properly set back on yet, which is why you haven't seen much in the way of d'var Torah from me. It seems to happen around this time every year, though.

At any rate, I bid you all a chag sameach -- may your homes and mouths be filled with the words of Torah and may your hearts overflow as surely our ancestors did at Sinai.