Shavuot

“Shavuot” is the Hebrew word for “weeks.” The Torah tells us to count seven full weeks after the second day of Passover to Shavuot. In ancient times, the Israelites were an agricultural people who brought sheaves of grain as gifts to the Temple for these seven weeks. On the fiftieth day, Shavuot, they brought loaves of bread made out of the new grain.

The holiday has several names. It is also called Z’man Matan Torateinu (Hebrew for Season of the Giving of our Torah), as well as Hag HaBikkurim (Hebrew for Holiday of the First Fruit) as it marks the beginning of the fruit harvest when the first ripe fruits were brought to the Temple as an offering of thanksgiving.

In the early part of the 19th in Germany, Bar Mitzvah was replaced in the emerging Reform congregations with a Religious School graduation ceremony called Confirmation.  Linking this affirmation of faith with the ancient Israelites’ affirmation of faith  — as told in the story of the receiving of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus  — Confirmation has endured as link between the past and the present, as our newest Confirmands represent the first graduating fruits of our academic season.

“Shavuot” is the Hebrew word for “weeks.” The Torah tells us to count seven full weeks after the second day of Passover to Shavuot. In ancient times, the Israelites were an agricultural people who brought sheaves of grain as gifts to the Temple for these seven weeks. On the fiftieth day, Shavuot, they brought loaves of bread made out of the new grain.

The holiday has several names. It is also called Z’man Matan Torateinu (Hebrew for Season of the Giving of our Torah), as well as Hag HaBikkurim (Hebrew for Holiday of the First Fruit) as it marks the beginning of the fruit harvest when the first ripe fruits were brought to the Temple as an offering of thanksgiving.

In the early part of the 19th in Germany, Bar Mitzvah was replaced in the emerging Reform congregations with a Religious School graduation ceremony called Confirmation.  Linking this affirmation of faith with the ancient Israelites’ affirmation of faith  — as told in the story of the receiving of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus  — Confirmation has endured as link between the past and the present, as our newest Confirmands represent the first graduating fruits of our academic season.

Below are my introductory words from our Confirmation Service this Shabbat.

 
Reform Judaism presents a challenge to every one who considers themselves a member of this community. Reform Judaism – Judaism in all it’s forms really – has few basic tenets: don’t treat others as you yourself would not wish to be treated; never forget that the greatest of all obligations is the preservation of human life; and – the hardest to grasp – that we are free to make choices about all our actions.  

These broad notions of Judaism afford each of us the opportunity for creative expressions of our traditions and the challenge of discovering an authentic path to Jewish living. 
During these three years of study and shared unique Jewish experiences our Confirmands learned about many core values in Jewish living including the preservation of life, Tzeddakah  and Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.   We studied familiar topics and new lessons about them. We traveled to the Religious Action Center in Washington, D.C., lobbying on Capitol Hill to try to change the world; we visited Brooklyn to experience the Hassidic Jewish world and to eat some amazing challah; we spent time in Philadelphia at the National Museum of American Jewish History to learn about the communities of earlier generations of Jews who shaped the foundations of American Judaism and saw a play about our nation’s history of racism; and we experienced a glimpse into immigrant life as we toured Ellis Island and the Lower East Side; we made and ate challah and hamantaschen – complete with fortunes from Jewish sources; we listened in horror as an Auschwitz survivor shared her story of the Holocaust; and we piloted the Reform Movement’s Teen Philanthropy program which enabled our students to explore with professionals and with one another the diversity of needs in our local and global communities and together understand the challenges of smart giving.
As we confirm these graduates of Jewish learning, we hope they will continue the life-long journey of Jewish learning and living and that their voices will contribute to the chorus of voices of contemporary Judaism echoing throughout the generations yet to come. They have been a blessing to our congregation. May they continue to bless ours and Jewish communities wherever they live out their Jewish identities. 

Rabbi Joseph M. Foman