Shavuot marks the end of one journey, the Exodus from Egypt, and the start of another, our journey with Torah and in our relationship to God. Join us on that journey in an evening of learning Torah as we anticipate zman matan Torah, the giving of the Torah. Learn with Rabbi Kalender, Rabbi Ravski and Dr. Cary Schwartzbach this Saturday night, June 8, at 8:15pm at our annual Tikkun Leil Shavuot evening of study. As always, we will have cheesecake to nourish the body and mind.

Rabbi Kalender: The Broken and the Whole. When Moshe came down from Mt. Sinai, he was so distraught when he saw the people dancing around the Golden Calf that he smashed the stone tablets to the ground. Though “Written by the finger of God,” the Torah doesn’t mention them again. However, nearly 2,000 years later, the Talmud teaches, “The tablets AND the broken tablets are placed in the Ark.” Together, we’ll discuss the meaning of this profound act, one that is deeply connected to Jewish values. 

Rabbi Ravski: The Journey from Matza to Bread: A study of the spiritual transformation between Pesach and Shavuot. The path from Pesach to Shavuot is one way we recreate the experience of Revelation at Sinai. We will examine how the ancient rites, which carried us from one holiday to the next, speak to us today and what they have to teach us about the process of Revelation and its place in our personal faith. 

Dr. Cary Schwartzbach: The End of the Journey: Jewish Perspectives on Palliative Care. Each day we do our best to navigate the intricacies and complexities of life, yet we often forget to, or are reluctant to, understand what the end of that journey looks like. Come examine the Jewish perspectives on palliative care and the end of life, how we prepare ourselves, how we take care of ourselves and how it is that we can become more comfortable with our final days, living them with dignity and guided by Jewish values.