Jun 6th 2008, 00:00

What happened at Sinai? How you approach and answer that question
speaks volumes about what kind of Jew you are. Traditional Jews give the
traditional answer that God revealed His law to Moses who transmitted it to
the People of Israel. Throughout the centuries various interpretations have
been given and those too were revealed at Sinai but only discovered or
needed at a later time. Those who take a more progressive or Reform
approach to Judaism generally believe that "something" happened at Sinai but
they are unsure as to exactly what. Reform Judaism teaches a belief in
progressive revelation, that God has been revealed to us many times
throughout history, not just once at Sinai. God continues to be revealed to
us and that is what allows us to apply the tradition to modern
circumstances.

Of course there is a huge range of opinions in between those two and
even within those two. However you answer that question and whether or not
you believe anything happened at Sinai, there is no denying that the story
of the Jewish people at Sinai has been central to Jewish life ever since
that event happened (or didn't happen). Along with Creation and the
Redemption from Egypt, the notion of Revelation completes what I call the
"Jewish trinity." These three themes are reflected in every worship
service, every Shabbat observance, and virtually every other Jewish holiday.


This Sunday evening marks the beginning of Shavu'ot, traditionally
believed to be the day on which Moses actually received the Torah on Mt.
Sinai. Shavu'ot comes seven weeks after Passover and was traditionally the
deadline for our ancestors to bring their Passover sacrifice to the Temple.
After the destruction of the Temple, the holiday was reinterpreted and given
the historical significance as the Day of Revelation.

A little over 100 years ago, the Reform Movement created a new
Jewish ceremony modeled after the one with the same name in the Protestant
Church: Confirmation. Initially proposed as a gender equal substitute for
Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation marks the end of our students' formal religious
education. In Hebrew, Confirmation is known as Kabbalat Torah, the ceremony
of receiving the Torah and in most congregations, the Confirmation ceremony
is held on or near Shavu'ot. On the day when we commemorate the giving of
the Torah, we ask our young people to likewise symbolically accept the Torah
and all that it stands for. We celebrate their accomplishments and send
them on their way just as God did with Moses and the People of Israel. God
gave them the gift of Torah, but the rest was up to them (and us!). And so
it is for our teens. We have given them the gift of a religious education,
and now the rest is up to them. I hope you will join us tomorrow morning
for our Shabbat Morning Service at 10:00 AM as we celebrate with this year's
Confirmation class.

Tonight is our Family Shabbat service with birthday and anniversary
blessings for June. On Monday evening at 7:00 PM, we will have a special
Yizkor / Memorial Service. Yizkor is said four times a year in memory of
our loved ones. Please come and help us make a minyan. Have a great
weekend and stay cool!