Shalom from TBD Religious School

Shabbat newsletter compiled by
Gal Kessler Rohs, Education Director
A good story entails ooowwaaaa 
and cheesecake!  

Shavuot, celebrated today, is a highly important festival in Judaism, both agriculturally and spiritually. On the last day of counting the Omer, begins the Holy Day of Weeks, marking the beginning of the wheat harvest, and the end of the barley harvest. Spiritually, this is the day, some 3300 years ago, when Moses delivered our lifelong guide, the Torah. We were chosen, and from that moment on were commanded to follow moral codes of conduct, as we entered a covenant with the Divine.

Sounds almighty, sig nificant, promising, hard-core and beyond, right? But we are the Chosen People, we do have a pact with Gd, and we are commanded to follow the rules if we are to perpetuate our identity. Not surprisingly, therefore, our sages have made the story of Shavuot, and all that it entails, a grappling story, one that will be remembered, and followed, LeDor VaDor. After all, if we remember our story, and its significance, we’ll be sure to take one further step towards fulfilling our obligation as Jews.

So what makes the history of Shavuot and all that it entails ooowwaaaa? First, there was a crisis. Moses transcended Mount Sinai with the Torah, realized his people deceived him by building a golden calf as an idol, and, as a result, broke the holy tablets. Oi vei. Then, another round of transcendence included a cinematic vision of a quaking mountain, a dark foggy cloud, fire, and a sound and shofar light show. It is said, that Moses was radiant, and as he delivered the tablets to his 3 million people, there was thunder, bolts, lightning. Mount Sinai, some suggest, was divinely uprooted, and turned upside down, 180 degrees.  Our readership might remember my writing about making a difference . Making a difference, indeed, means moving mountains. 

Jewish occasions are often celebrated, and memorialized with food, flowers, and family gatherings. Remember the flower arrangements at uncle Yankle’s Bar Mitzvah? And the sweet apricot Hamantaschen TBD’s sisterhood made towards Purim? Shavuot is no different. The Shavuot celebration is a time of greenery, when flower arrangements, bouquets, and crowns are made, to commemorate the botanic blooming in the desert mountain at the Torah’s revelation. As a good story comes with good food, Shavuot too is associated with sweetness of milk and honey, or family gathering around sweetened dairy cuisine. 

The multitude of spiritual and agricultural ideas behind celebrating Shavuot bring forth the unity of the Chosen people, as we sure can find elements within the Holy Day that relate to us. The fact is, that as the Torah was passed to us, it is said that all proclaimed "Naase Venishma", we will do and we will listen. No exception, no argument, and as a whole. Be it through a grappling story of the shaking of a mountain, the humanity within the commandments, a sweet dairy family meal, or a beautiful flower arrangement, our customs bring us together, with the idea that both Torah, and harvesting, are part of our Jewish survival. 

Chag sameach, and don’t forget to follow our social media TBD and TBDRS channels for more about our peoplehood, our customs, and those other little things that bring us together as Jews. New York cheesecake anyone?
 
Shabbat Shalom,
- Gal Kessler Rohs , Education Director

(Image depicts Rabbi in Training Joey Angel Field holding our TBD Torah scroll, and Rabbi Lachtman reading Nitzavim 's Torah portion, the portion of the Revelation at Mount Sinai).
New York Cheesecake, anyone?
A word about the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst our celebratory outreach
While we are sharing content about celebrations, and images of our grateful lighter past experiences, our hearts are with frontline workers, the increased worldly fatalities and those others who have been affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic,

As we do our share to protect our community, and express our sympathy, our goal is also to continue with our educational outreach, in the shadow of the world's current affairs.

Image reflects workers in Spain, as they place a medical mask on a figure that was to be part of the Fallas festival in Valencia. The festival has been canceled over the coronavirus outbreak.
Story time and craft about perspectives, tolerance and acceptance
May 22-30, 2020 Days of Gratitude
Our school participated in Days of Gratitude, an invitation to partake in an international, week-long, daily expression of gratitude. From May 22-30, culminating on today's Festival of Shavuot, the Days of Gratitude website was updated daily and featured a rotating menu of activities and prompts designed to help those around us share gratitude. 

All activities and prompts were designed with our current reality in mind: they will be safe, respectful of social distancing and mostly virtual. They are designed to give each of us a little push, a little insight, and a lot of each other.
Useful Resources and other reading material


(Image of Days Of Gratitude depicts some of our fine educators at the culmination of our school field trip, pre COVID-19, to Descanso Gardens)
Shabbat Shalom dear families,
and see you once, or twice, or thrice, or more, this weekend!