This evening we will begin the observance of The Holy Day of Shavuot. As we do every year, we will prepare ourselves to spiritually re-enact the moment in which God gave us The Torah.  It is ironic that  is one of the least widely observed Jewish Holy Days in our calendar because it is of tremendous importance. Of the three festivals of pilgrimage mentioned in The Torah (Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), Shavuot is the only one that is apparently simple in observance.  There are no days of Hol Hamoed, there is no Lulav and Etrog, no Matzah! Shavuot, however, is the most spiritually and theologically charged of all the festivals. What does it really mean to receive The Torah, why do we have to consider ourselves as if every single one of us was standing at Sinai?

Receiving The Torah means not only to treasure it and study it. Receiving The Torah means not only to accept its wisdom and live by its principles! Receiving The Torah means that we acquire a tremendous responsibility as Jews. Contrary to what many people believe, Judaism is something that needs to be practiced and lived in order to be relevant. The mere fact that we consider ourselves Jewish today does not mean we will be Jewish some generations down the line if we don’t actively pursue, augment and nourish our Jewish Identity. Judaism can’t exist on good will, nice intentions and Bagels and Lox. In order for us to survive as a people we need to understand what it means to stand at Sinai year after year, we need to renew our commitment to God and God’s commandments year after year. 

Wait a second, does this mean that what I am asking of you is to dress in black and grow peyes? Not at all. What I am asking of all of us is to take our commitment to our traditions seriously. What I am asking of us all is that we look at the world through The Perspective of The Torah! What I am asking is that we make Judaism the driving force in our lives because if we don’t do it, then who will?

Conservative Judaism through its vision of tradition and change provides us with an incredible kaleidoscope through which to look at The Torah. Modernity and observance are not mutually exclusive!  hey are, as a matter of fact, two very powerful forces that when harnessed spiritually and correctly can make our lives even more beautiful.

I have a friend who I fight with constantly. He keeps telling me that there are certain things he won’t do because this or that “is too Jewish,” as if the mere fact of being who we are is cause for concern or embarrassment. I grew up in a Jewish Community with an over abundance of “Secular Jewish Day schools,” where learning with other Jews was okay but there was absolutely no praying or learning of sacred texts! Why do we believe that we will continue to survive as a people without investing our spirit and our energy in the full enterprise of our heritage and traditions. On Shavuot, we read the Ten Commandments from The Torah in the synagogue ritual. The reading of the Ten Commandments is not only a statement of the importance of revelation but also of the importance of everything we have given the world, including justice and ethics!

One of the most important things to remember is that we as a people have been a determining factor in the way in which the moral fabric of the world has developed. We can’t resign our obligation to be Or L’Goyim  (a light unto the nations of the world). 

Shavuot is an ever present reminder of the tremendous power the wisdom of our Torah has had in shaping everything around us. We shouldn’t be the first people in line to relinquish our obligation to carry on the important responsibility of everything we believe in and everything we stand for. We should never mind being “too Jewish” if that means we will continue to serve not only as a moral compass for the world but also as witnesses of God’s awesome power in this world.

Every Shavuot I think of our grandparents and their grandparents. For many of the people that came before us it would have been impossible to study The Torah and live Jewish lives openly, in public and without any possible fear of retribution. What are we doing ourselves now that we have the privilege of freedom and tolerance? Let us not forsake the heritage, the lives and the spirit of past generations. Let us make The Torah our own and stand at Sinai once again, together, proud and absolutely Jewish

Hag Sameach