Week of June 4, 2015
The Ten Commandments
Choosing to display the Ten Commandments on the front page of your Shavuot edition of May 21, while commendable in thought, was a poor decision as the name of God was spelled out, creating a problem of shamot, and numerous words were misspelled.
Rabbi Howard Finkelstein
Ottawa
Intermarriage is a fact of life
Welcoming the convert
Some come to Judaism for theology, but most come for family, and we can sometimes best learn what it means to be Jewish by learning from the outsider who chooses to join us
Rabbi Yael Splansky
Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto
Healthier ways to enjoy the holiday
It is traditional to eat dairy foods on Shavuot, when the Jewish People received the Ten Commandments, to commemorate a time when the Jewish People did not yet have the halachic dietary laws of milk and meat.
The tradition of eating dairy in lieu of meat can give us the illusion that we are “eating lighter,” giving us the leeway to weigh down our meals with heavy creams and cheeses. And as you can imagine, the heavier the dairy, the heavier we find ourselves after the holiday!
Shavuot foods: blintzes and beyond
From cholent to chicken soup, much of the Jewish gastronomic year seems to revolve around meat and poultry. But with the longer days and warmer temperatures of the Shavuot season, our palates turn to dairy.
BACKSTORY Shavuout: Festival of Weeks
Why exactly is Shavuot called Shavuot, the festival of weeks? Think about the three pilgrimage festivals: Pesach is named for the “passing over”(pasach) of Israelite homes as God killed the first born Egyptians (Exodus 12:13). Sukkot is named for the booths (sukkot) we dwell in during that autumn holiday (Leviticus 23:42). What about Shavuot then? It’s not named for the first fruits which it celebrates in the Torah (Leviticus 23:17), but rather for the counting of seven weeks from Pesach (Leviticus 23:15-16). Not quite the direct naming as Pesach and Sukkot enjoy.
COVER STORY: A Shavuot renaissance
Israelis celebrate Shavuot more than any other Jewish community in the world. On Erev Shavuot, religious, secular and traditional Jews from all over the country will join in the tens of thousands to study in various and incredibly diverse programs of Tikkun Leil Shavuot. What was once the inheritance of primarily the Orthodox has now become the inheritance of many.
COVER STORY Torah for all: Shavuot’s lesson for modern Judaism
Among the Jewish holidays known as the Shalosh Regalim, (the Three Festivals), Shavuot has somewhat of lonely sibling status.
Whereas Pesach and Sukkot come with a specific set of laws and traditions, Shavuot is largely lacking in such a character (with the exception, of course, of the well-known custom to eat dairy foods during the holiday). On the surface, Shavuot is primarily defined by the requirement to refrain from many activities, much as we do on Shabbat. There are a limited number of positive commandments linked to the holiday.
Giving a voice to our Canadian sages
Passover is behind us, Shavuot ahead. But it was only after the seders that we were given a copy of the Canadian Haggadah Canadienne. What a treat!
We own over 50 different Haggadot: a huge facsimile of the Ryeland Haggadah and others from Spain and Ashkenaz, a tiny Maxwell House coffee one, a Ben Shahn one with an introduction by Louis Finkelstein, and the modern Moss Haggadah. Each comes with a wonderful back story.
Make Shavuot exotic
The Far East has never been so popular. Asian-inspired food and décor are reaching into all aspects of contemporary life. Exotic “travel” themes are in vogue for all kinds of occasions. Using an Asian theme will transport your Shavuot dinner to another part of the world in just minutes.
A dinner party with a little imagination is a great way to share a journey with friends or family without actually having to make the trip.
God is waiting for us on the Omer
As we count the days toward our reunion with the Divine on Shavuot, we learn how to receive every moment as a gift and make each one meaningful
Rabbi Yael Splansky
Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto
Rabbi Mark Fishman
Congregation Beth Tikvah, Montreal
