Friday, May 22, 2020

#KehilaKonnections: Shavuot - We are all Living Torah


I’d like to share a short video that I made for Shavuot. The story is about mother, Harriett Goldstein z"l, and took place as I tell my children a story about their Nana Harri on the way home from school one day.

It’s called A Shavuot Teaching: We are all Living Torah and is made in honor of mom’s first yarzheit.




Chag Shavuot Sameach!
See you at Sinai!



Friday, May 1, 2020

May Day!!

Today is May 1st! Do you remember May Day celebrations growing up? When I was in college there was a tradition to dance around the May Pole. We celebrated spring and the upcoming graduating class, with talk about labor rights woven in somehow. Oh, and it was also part of the tradition to eat strawberry shortcake. I went to a small women’s college – don’t ask

According to Wikipedia, “May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on 1 May or the first Monday of May. It is an ancient festival of Spring and a current traditional spring holiday in many European cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the festivities. In the late 19th century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day.”   

Ok, granted May Day is grounded in pagan origins, but any excuse to party about now is a good one  – be it May Day and the advent of spring and good weather;  alternative celebrations for all the graduates whose hopes and plans for a regular graduation have been dashed; a family lifecycle event like birthday or anniversary; or even the fact that we are trekking our way through the wilderness to receive the Torah and become a people.

We are currently observing the Omer, the 7 weeks between Passover and Shavout. It is a serious time, it is also a time of joy. Joy of survival, of going from slavery to freedom, of recognizing our relationship with God, of being able to form sustainable relationships with others.

Our Torah portions for this week (Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, Lev 16:1-20:27) and the weeks ahead are in a portion of the book of Leviticus that is all about being holy. What does it mean to be holy? It means to emulate God’s attributes in this world: to be kind, gracious, caring, thoughtful, creative, in relationship, among other things.

We need that reminder of God’s attributes right about now. We need to remember that God’s attributes, godliness, can be found within each of us. It’s in times like this that we have to dig deep and get creative as we try to remember what it means to be normal in times that are anything but.

So make a phone call, take a walk and wave at strangers, write poetry or a song, find and feel joy as often as you are able. For gam zeh ya’avor – this too shall pass.

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbah Arlene