views editorial Lesser Known Yet Pivotal Jewish Holiday S havuot is not widely celebrated, but it’s one of the most significant holidays on the Jewish calendar. On Shavuot, Jews celebrate their birth- day as a people. What better way to celebrate our peoplehood than by commemorating our receiving of Torah, Judaism’s most sacred text as well as our lodestar for how to live morally and ethically in a free society. Shavuot is a holiday showcasing the human spirit as inspired by God. On the two-day holiday, this year beginning the evening of May 30, the sixth of Sivan, God swears eternal devo- tion to Am Yisrael, the Jewish people, and we as a people promise undying faithfulness in return — a kind of mutu- al recommitment. It’s on Shavuot we as a people affirm to God we’re on board by recommitting and reconnecting to Torah. The Jewish state’s longing for safe, secure borders and enduring peace harkens to the hardship associated with clinging to God’s teachings in a region of volatility, theocracy, anti-Zionism and outright terror. At Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago, God gave Torah to Moses, amid ministering angels, on behalf of the Israelites who sought strength and refuge in Divine direction following Egyptian bondage. These Hebrews lit the everlasting light for God’s chosen people, illuminating God’s ethics as laid out in Torah. Our sages remind us that the moment of giving, and the human-Divine bond that sprang forth, represented the SCENE SETTING Nature colors Shavuot as well as the other Jewish festivals of Passover and Sukkot. Shavuot means “weeks” and sig- nals the first barley harvest seven weeks after Passover. It was on Shavuot two loaves of bread, made from freshly har- vested wheat, were brought to the bibli- cal Temple in Jerusalem to be sacrificed along with the first fruits in deference to God’s giving of Torah. We enjoy dairy foods such as cheese- cake on Shavuot. That commemorates Moses nursing only on the milk of his Hebrew mother after being pulled from the Nile as well as Jews only eating such foods until they could kasher their dish- es as commanded in Torah. On Shavuot, we reflect on Ruth the Moabite and her struggle to overcome affliction and poverty as she became a Jew. Inherent is the notion that Torah is best learned via a mindset of kavanah — of humble intention. We read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot as a reminder of King David, who died on the holiday and who was a descen- dant of Ruth. In the book, we are told how we live defines who we really are. Torah takes us to the next level — guid- ing, nurturing, elevating. F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us | Editorial Shavuot is a holiday showcasing the human spirit as inspired by God. God expects the chosen to be righteous; Jews seek Torah to find the way. This relationship plays out in the Shavuot custom of all-night study (tik- kun leyl Shavuot) of Torah, Talmud and other sacred writings. Shavuot sanctu- ary services typically set Torah readings in the firmament of first fruits and natu- ral greens. Shavuot never stops reminding us just how essential our pairing with God is — and thus just how strong our connec- tions to Torah and to the Jewish nation- state are. Ultimately, Shavuot provides the opportunity for we Jews to outwardly and inwardly remember Torah’s unique role in our being God’s chosen people. • LASTING BONDS The relationship between God and the Jewish people is unshakable. We furnish seed and labor; God supplies soil and rain. God sets the law; Jews accept it. Contributing Writers: Joshua Lewis Berg, Ruthan Brodsky, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Adam Finkel, Stacy Gittleman, Stacy Goldberg, Judy Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Allison Jacobs, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, David Sachs, Karen Schwartz, Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein Arthur M. 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