Why is the festival of Shavuot called "the time of the giving of our Torah" and not the time of the receiving of our Torah? Because the giving of the Torah happened at one specified time, but the receiving of the Torah happens at every time and in every generation.
—Rabbi Meir Alter of Ger

Each generation must make its own way back to Sinai, must stand under the mountain and re-appropriate and reinterpret the Revelation, in terms that are both classical and new. We recognize change as part of the continuing process of tradition itself.
—Rabbi Gerson Cohen

The least-known of the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrimage festivals, Shavuot is the two-day Festival of Weeks. A victim of schedule, Shavuot comes just before the beginning of summer. Too late to suit our contemporary vacation schedules, it also lacks any special rituals to excite widespread observance. In the biblical period, Shavuot celebrated the conclusion of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. Jews from all over the Land of Israel would bring their Bikkurim, (first-fruits, or new grains) to the Temple in Jerusalem, where the priests would bake them into shtei ha-lehem (two loaves of bread) to offer on the altar, after which the people could eat their new grain. The two days were, consequently, feast days for the entire people. In addition, it became a time to reaffirm one’s place among the Children of Israel.
With the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jews from their land, Shavuot lost much of its impact and relevance. In short, Shavuot begged for ritual enhancement and this need ultimately began to be met by the custom of Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the practice of spending the first night of Shavuot awake in the study of Torah in heightened anticipation of the anniversary of its revelation.

Since there are many portals through which to enter into study, this year we have chosen music as our gateway. Starting with Passover, the first holiday on the Jewish Ritual Calendar, and finishing with Purim (the last), we will look at the music for each of our holidays. We will explore the beauty of the music, the meaning each piece brings to its holiday, and how we as Reform Jews relate (or do not relate) to that meaning.

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Please join Cantor Meredith Brown, Musical Director Aaron Wolf, and Rabbis Schwab and Morrow for this very enjoyable and informative observance of Shavuot on Tuesday night, May 22, at 7 pm at TBS.

The Yizkor service for Shavuot will be held at 5:30 pm on Thursday, May 24, in the Main Sanctuary.