Who's In and Who's Out?
Three Boundary Issues that Challenge Our Community
Tikkun Lail Shavuot
Tuesday, May 18, 2009 ● 7:30-10:00 pm
(followed by dessert reception)
Kosher Pigs: Putting Jewish Identity Together in a Secular World
Rabbi Harold Kravitz
Mechitza: The Great Divide
Rabbi Yonatan Sadoff
Who Is a Jew?
New Developments in Israel and Why It Matters Here
Rabbi Lilly Kaufman
On Shavuot we celebrate that all Jews together—men and women, young and old—embraced the covenant at Sinai. But today the Jewish world is anything but cohesive. We are faced daily with controversies over who should be included, where to draw the line, how to be a Jew and who makes the decisions.
In the spirit of Shavuot, we’ll come together as a community to grapple with some intriguing boundary issues regarding Jewish identity today. If you’ve never attended a Tikkun Lail Shavuot, this is a great year to start! We begin with a short Festival Service, and conclude with delicious dairy desserts for everyone!
Late night study is the traditional way to celebrate Shavuot and the giving of the Torah. A Tikkun, which means both a set order of study and the act of perfec-tion, symbolizes how, through learning, we make the world better.
L’dor V’Dor Shavuot Intergenerational Program
Thursday, May 20 • 10:00-11:15 AM
Parents, grandparents and children who are pre-kindergarten age through grade four are invited to attend L’dor V’dor Shavuot on Thursday morning, May 20, which is the second day of Shavuot. Older siblings are welcome, and babysitting is available for children ages 2-4. Following the program at 11:15 AM is the Yizkor Memorial Service, with childcare available during the service.
Yizkor
Thursday, May 20
On Thursday morning, May 20, our congregation will recite Yizkor, the Memorial Service in memory of loved ones no longer with us. Four times yearly, on Yom Kippur and on the final days of Sukkot, Pesach and Shavuot, Jews gather to recite Yizkor together. While much of our mourning as individuals may be private, e.g. lighting yahrzeit candles, Yizkor is communal. It is the public observance for the community of bereaved. It includes, at some time in our lives, each of us. Some of us may remember as children being rushed out of the sanctuary before Yizkor began. Custom allowed that only those who had lost immediate relatives should remain in. Some followed the superstition that to hear others mourn for their departed was to tempt the evil eye. Among the Sefardim no one leaves during Yizkor. Many congregations today, including Adath, encourage everyone to participate, so that the entire congrega-tion can offer prayers for the martyrs of the Jewish people and can also offer moral support to friends and family who may be deeply touched by the service. The Yizkor service consists of these parts: 1. A series of readings and prayers setting the mood for the solemn service. 2. Paragraphs that individuals read recalling their deceased. There are paragraphs for father, mother, husband, wife, son, daughter, other relatives and friends and Jewish martyrs. 3. El Malei Rahamim, the memorial prayer for the deceased, and Psalm 23. 4. We conclude with the Mourner's Kaddish. Yizkor honors the memory of those who are no longer with us and allows us to reconnect with them. The custom of remembering the dead in the synagogue is based originally on the belief that such prayers (and the accompanying opportu-nity to give tzedakah) are of help in elevating the souls of the departed. Reciting Yizkor can be a very powerful experience. In reciting Yizkor we are connected to loved ones who have departed and to our fellow congregants—a community with whom we share the experience of loss and comfort. This is one in a series of occasional informational articles provided by Adath Jeshurun’s Chevra Kavod Hamet.
Why Dairy on Shavuot?
Here are few of the many reasons offered over the years:
Some derive the practice directly from Biblical sources, to symbolize the ―land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8) promised to the Israelites. Those of kabbalistic bent equate the numerical value of the word halav (milk) with the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments.
Some say that at Sinai, when the Israelites received the Torah, they were considered to be as innocent as newborns, whose food is milk. Symbolizing modesty, dairy was seen as appropriate for the occasion of receiving the Torah, which should always be approached with humility.
We offer three special recipes for your enjoyment, from the Adath Women’s League cookbook "L’Dor V’Dor: Generations of Good Taste." The cookbook is available for purchase for just $5 in the Women’s League Gift Shop. Click here to download and print recipes.
Additional Shavuot Resources:
www.myjewishlearning.com
United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
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