Naso I, Numbers 4:21-5:31, Parshat Hashavua for Shabbat, May 27, 2023
Shavuot (The Feast of Weeks in English) begins this Thursday evening, May 25. In ancient Israel, when the Temple still stood, it was a pilgrimage holiday celebrating the Spring wheat harvest with a sacrificial service. After the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. and we could no longer make sacrifices, our sages of blessed memory reimagined Shavuot as Hag Matan Torateinu, the Holiday of the Giving of Our Torah. They connected Shavuot to Pesach through the ritual practice of counting the Omer, a reinvention of the ancient practice when the Temple stood, of bringing a measure (an omer) of grain to the Temple every day between Pesach and Shavuot. In this way, through creative reimagination, our rabbis created new meanings for Shavuot. If Pesach was the celebration of our physical freedom, liberation from Egyptian slavery, then Shavuot became the celebration of receiving our collective moral purpose from God, symbolized by Torah. We need both, freedom and purpose to lead lives of meaning and value. From this we also see that Jewish religious practice contains within it elements of continuity and change. The forms, the holidays, may remain constant, but their meaning changes over time. This is true for us today. For much of Jewish history, communities outside of the Land of Israel celebrate two days for each holiday, while Jews in Israel celebrate only one day. The Reform movement changed this practice, celebrating one day of each holy day. This was a recognition that with the granting of citizenship to Jews in Europe and America the fundamental condition of the Jewish community had changed. For this reason, we celebrate only one day of Shavuot. To keep our Torah reading on track with other Diaspora Jewish communities we divide Parashat Naso into two parts and read some this week and the rest next Shabbat. Continuity and change, compromise and commitment, faith coupled with uncertainty, these are the qualities that keep a religious tradition alive and vital in our lives. The challenge is holding these different qualities in balance.
From the Presidents – May 26, 2023
May 26, 2023 by tbhrich • president
Hello Everyone!
And happy Shavuot! The celebration of this holiday marks the end of the period of the counting of the Omer, which began on Pesach. Along with indulging in dairy products and studying Torah, the counting of the Omer also represents the time of waiting between the liberation of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and their covenant with G-d through the presentation of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Incredibly, without even intending to, the secular calendar also has a period of waiting between two holidays this time of year reflecting both sacrifice and joy. This past week, we all celebrated Mother’s Day, which of course acknowledges all the sacrifice and hard work our mothers have done and continue to do for us all (and hopefully all moms in the congregation had a wonderful day last Sunday). Obviously mothers should be celebrated every day but in this case the celebration includes brunch, presents, and outings. And this year, 35 days later, we will all celebrate Father’s Day, completing the recognition of how much our parents matter in our lives. While this secular example is quite different from counting the Omer, it does have the similarity of starting with one celebration, waiting a certain period of time, and then ending with another celebration with a common theme (in this case parents). I would like to think that the people at Hallmark (who have helped perpetuate these holidays, no doubt) took inspiration from the Jewish calendar.
In other news, we have several exciting events occurring in the coming weeks. We invite everyone to come to our Annual Membership Meeting on June 11 at 1:00 p.m. You can meet the Board members, enjoy some nice treats, and see the plans for the upcoming year. A few weeks later, on June 27, we have our annual trip to the Oakland Coliseum to watch the A’s play their Jewish Heritage Month game! If you would like to join us, please contact our office manager Brandy for information about tickets.
The next Shabbat Service will be held on Friday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Adult Ed class with Rabbi Dean will continue its regular schedule and we will also have Torah Study on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. And those who wish to join Tefillah services at the Religious School are welcome starting at 9:30 a.m on Sundays. Thanks everyone and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Anna B Stein and David Zimring, Co-Presidents, Temple Beth Hillel