Enjoy Torah Sparks - creative commentaries on the weekly Torah and Haftarah readings written by Conservative Yeshiva faculty.
This weekend we celebrate the awe-inspiring holiday of Shavuot - the Feast of Weeks - that culminates with the observance of our anniversary of receiving of Torah on Mount Sinai. Leviticus chapter 23 reads:
"And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete:
You must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to יהוה.
You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering; each shall be made of two-tenths of a measure of choice flour, baked after leavening, as first fruits to יהוה...
...On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a law for all time in all your settlements, throughout the ages."
If the agricultural roots of Shavuot are tied to the sacred importance of new grain in a new season, what then is the link to revelation at Sinai? A close textual reading of Torah indicates that God His presence known through "uttering" the Ten Commandments on the 50th day after the Children of Israel ate their Passover sacrifice in haste and fled Egypt.
Without revelation at Sinai and the layers of "Instruction" that spawned from it, we would not understand our role in facilitating God's relationship to the land as partners in the never-ending cycles of re-creation.
But consider this idea: The name Elisheva - Eli Sheva - means "My God is Seven." In our tradition, God is manifest in the number 7 and all multiples thereof. The restful and rejuvenating seventh day of the week - Shabbat - is God's perpetual gift to humanity. Not working on Shabbat is our way of acknowledging that God is actually manifest through time. It is a difficult concept to grasp for those of us living in a material world.
Developing this line of thinking one step further, 7 x 7 could be understood as God x God or God squared. If Shabbat allows us to experience God as time, the period leading up to Shavuot must be calling us to experience God even more deeply, with greater intensity and clarity. Torah, and by extention revelation, is the time-tested vehicle through which we do that.
Counting to "God Squared" by bringing a daily omer of barley as a gift of first fruits may have been the ancient way of measuring the sacred time span between first discovering God through our liberation at Passover and deciding that we want to understand God 50 days later.
Also known as Z'man Matan Torateinu- the Time of our Revelation, Shavuot is a pivotal moment of hyper-intimacy and recognition between the Children of Israel and God. That intimacy is manifest in the earthly bounty that God provides all living creatures, day after day, month after month and year after year. Barley and wheat are grains that nourishe our physical bodies. Torah writ large is the "grain" that consistently nourishes our spiritual selves.
Shabbat Shalom and Hag Shavuot Sameah,
Rabbi Marcia Tilchin
Shavuot service options June 4-6
Friday, June 3 at 5:30pm with Temple Isaiah
Pre-Shavuot Dairy Dinner follwed by Shabbat Services led by Eric Dangott. In person at Temple Isaiah:2401 Irvine Ave, Newport Beach. Bring yourself and an appetite. NO RSVP required. Or join us onZoom.
Saturday, June 4 at 7:45pm at Temple Beth Emet in Anaheim Tikkun L’eil Shavuot led by Rabbi Dany Mehlman of Temple Ner Tamid of Downey and Eric Dangott of Temple Isaiah. Join by Zoom, livestreamor in person at Temple Beth Emet: 1770 W Cerritos Ave., Anaheim. Dessert will be served.
Day 1 morning Shavuot service at Temple Beth Emet led by Eric Dangott and Zev Brooks. Join by livestream or in person at Temple Beth Emet: 1770 W Cerritos Ave., Anaheim.
Sunday, June 5 at 6:00pm with OC Egal online
Festival minha and ma’ariv with JCoOC's OC Egal nightly minyan.
Day 2 Shavuot morning services with Yizkor led by Rabbi Joe Mendelsohn and Zev Brooks. Join by livestream or in person at Temple Beth Emet: 1770 W Cerritos Ave., Anaheim.
Monday, June 6 at 9:30am at Temple Beth El of South OC
Day 2 Shavuot morning services with Yizkor led by Rabbi K’vod Wieder. Join by livestream or in person at 2A Liberty, Aliso Viejo.
Monday, June 6 at 6:00pm with OC Egal online
Festival minha and ma’ariv with JCoOC's OC Egal nightly minyan.
Saturday, June 4 at 2pm TWELVE STEPS AND TORAH Shabbat afternoon Torah study informed by the wisdom of Twelve Step recovery. Join us on Zoom. For more information and to be added to the Twelve Steps & Torah email list, click here.
No ALI on June 6 ADVANCED LEARNING INSTITUTE ALI returns on June 13 at 9:30am.
Please join our upcoming 3-part series with Bex Rosenblatt: Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth in the Bible. Click here for class descriptions and to register.
Sunday through Thursday at 6:00pm OC EGAL NIGHTLY MINYAN If you are looking for a place to say Mourner's Kaddish, observe a yahrzeit, or participate in an evening minyan, OC Egal meets online five nights a week. Click here to receive the private Zoom link. All are welcome.
UPCOMING JCoOC EVENTS
REGISTER TODAY Join Rabbi Marcia Tilchin and special guest Dale Schatz in Laguna Beach for a spirited Friday night service followed by a vegetarian potluck dinner. RSVP here.
Monday-Friday July 25-29 at UCI SHAKESPEARE AND SACRED TEXT This multi-day midsummer retreat in partnership with the New Swan Shakespeare Theater will be an adventure in text study and the performing arts, bracketed by two festive meals and special programs. Read more and register here.
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Over the past two centuries, the Jewish people have undergone unprecedented change—politically, socially, and spiritually. This 8-week course explores how Jews have confronted the challenges and opportunities of modernity and how leading thinkers have responded with innovation, resistance, reinterpretation, and renewal
Weekly presentations with Jews United for Democracy and Justice
Grounded in the Jewish prophetic value of Pikuach Nefesh, JQ offers free virtual monthly and drop-in support groups for LGBTQ+ Jews and allies. Learn more
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