Shavuot and the Gift that Keeps Giving By: Rabbi Tracy Nathan

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Rabbi Tracy Nathan

The essence of each of our festivals is expressed within liturgical epithets. Sukkot is z’man simkhateinu, the time of our joy; Pesach is z’man heruteinu – the time of our freedom; Shavuot is z’man matan toroteinu, the time of the giving of our Torah. Shavuot, which begins on the sixth of Sivan (this year, May 26-28th), marks the moment in which Torah is given and received at Sinai.

And yet Shavuot, when mentioned in the Torah itself, does not reference the revelation at Sinai. While each festival has agricultural components and roots, in the Torah, Shavuot alone is solely an agricultural festival. The Torah also does not tell us directly the date of the festival. Instead, we are told to count from a moment in the agricultural cycle:

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 the Lord…..On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. (Vayikra 23:15-16; 21) Continue reading →

The Pesach Search

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Rabbi Tracy Nathan

Rabbi Tracy Nathan

On the night of the 14th of Nisan, the night before the first seder that will take place on the 15th of Nisan, we take a candle and we begin a search. We have cleaned out our homes of hametz, and now we search by candle light for any remaining hametz.

This search that ritually enters us into the transformative holy time and space of Pesach is also symbolic of what we will do at our seders. We will be conducting a search, and not only of the Afikoman. We will be searching for answers and meaning as we seek to discover manishtana halaila hazeh mikol haleilot – how this night is different from other nights. We will search others, ourselves, our tradition for good questions and answers.

We begin the search by candlelight to see into the dark corners of how slavery and freedom is manifested in our own lives and throughout the world, today and in the past. And we use a candle because as Mishlei/the Book of Proverbs teaches us: ner hashem nishmat adam – The candle of God is the soul of the human being (Mishlei 20:27). We are creatures that have the ability to seek out questions and answers, to let our souls and minds illuminate and see into the dark mysteries of life.

Through our searching and our questioning, we explore both the obvious forms of slavery and degradation, as well as the more subtle forms manifest amongst those who believe themselves to be free. And the Haggadah offers clues along the way, as long as we slow down and really explore it. For we can only come to a new vantage point in which freedom and redemption are fully realized if we embark on a search rather than a mere recital of texts. This is why questions are so crucial. With our questions, we open up the space that allows for something new to enter – a new meaning, a new perspective, a transformation. So on the night before Pesach, begin a search by candle light into the dark corners and crevices. May you continue your search on the night of your seders by asking deep questions. And may the mysteries you uncover help point the way to leading yourself and all of us out of slavery and into freedom.