Shavout Highlights

OK, so this is a thread so people can share their experiences of this year's Shavout, be it good, bad, something spiritual, a food recipe or if you are not a Jew, feel free to ask us questions about it. 

I'll kick off with my own downs & highlights- 

1) Food- excellent as ever. A great Sephardi/Ashkenazi fusion. I did the cooking,  as it is my week in the kitchen (and let us not forget one of many jobs has been to be a trained chef ).

2) Flowers- house was suitably decorated without being too garish and the smell has been very fragrant.

3) Tuesday night study- I've mentioned this before ,but I didn't stay up all night (I believe Hannah and Co did, though), in part because we've got younger members of our family, but also because our teenagers are doing 'A' level or 'GCSE' exams at the moment.  I do miss this in one way. I remember when I really got back into my Judaism at university and spent all night studying Torah with the person that was going to become my first wife, enjoying every single minute of it. And that's how I got my big black hat.

4) Family not present- Missed my eldest daughter, Natasha, who has been doing exams at university all week. Looking forward to the end of June, when it will be done. I do also miss my sister Esther, my sister Ruth  and brother Sholmo.

5)Sex - Fabulous love making with Mrs K.

6) Reading -We did read the book of Ruth and studied the 10 'Commandments', where we contrasted this with the 7 laws of Noah. Interestingly, the laws which bind all humanity don't call on people to believe in or worship G-d.

7) Leftovers -Still have cheesecake left over. 

8) Family Present -Great to see my sisters Hannah & Rachel and my brother Samuel on the second day, who were surprisingly alert, given their all night stay up.

9) Hilarious e-mail read before holiday ,began with - 'Mr Kavanagh. as tool of the international Zionist conspiracy'....

10) Favorite song - The Akdamut . This is a liturgical poem, written in Aramaic, sometimes put to music .It was composed by a person called Rabbi Meir, whose son was murdered during the 'Crusade' of 1096 (yet another reason why I cringe at Christians & some Jews, who think there should be another Crusade or think the original ones were somehow OK), and he was forced to defend the Torah and his Jewish faith in a debate with local priests, and successfully conveyed his certainty of G-d's power, His love for the Jewish people, and the excellence of Torah (perhaps stories like this might convey why Jews are extremely hostile to Christian missionary work, but also why we are steadfast in defending ourselves; if  your life depended on arguing for your faith, it becomes rather ingrained to debate well).

Well that's my brief summary.

Shabbat Shalom! 

Don't forget the Cheesecake....

We will be off writing the blog from tomorrow night to at least Thursday night, as it will soon be Shavuot. Please  use this thread to put your thoughts on if you so wish  and   may you be Blessed that you that you Should Receive The Torah with JOY , and in an a fashion that speaks to your innermost being.

PS- don't forget the cheesecake !

PPS- if  you've missed what Shavuot is about, check out this brief video -

Tikkun Leil Shavuot

"I prefer your Torah to thousands of gold and silver pieces" (Psalm 119)

"I have invested my very essence in writing" [The Torah] (Shabbat 105a)

Hi All,

David has asked us to post on themes related to Shavout, which starts next week. One thing I want to comment on is Tikkun Leil Shavuot, that is the tradition of staying up all night to study the Torah.  To some this can seem like a strange tradition, especially as it goes back no further than the 16th century. But as with any tradition, if applied in a certain spirit it can be a wonderful experience. One year I tried- and failed- to read through the whole Torah during the night. I think I learnt a lesson there, namely, that quality study is better than quantity study. I also think that it is, like, so easy to become ensnared in mindless ritual and that is not what G-d wants of us. If reading through the whole Torah floats your boat, so be it, but it wasn't for me. 

In our house, after we have had our festive meal on Tuesday night, we indeed to do Torah study. There will the rest of us who live here and 2 other guests, so 7 in total. . All of us are going to write out and talk about a particular word of Torah; be it a passage, a reflection on a Bible character or a  particular theme. As we have 2 non Jewish (neither have any religious affiliation, but like living in a Jewish household & our festivities) housemates and those of us who are Jews come from different traditions, it should be an enlightening experience. On the second day we've agreed is that we are going to discuss/study the Ten Commandments and the book of Ruth, which are traditional readings for this festival.

I love Torah; her divinity, her soul, her meaning and her message, which draws us close to G-d, helps us in life, guides our ethics, makes us ,questions us and gives us so much more. I struggle with some of it, clearly, but I don't think I could abandon it. I wish to grow and learn more Torah as the years go by. The passages I have chosen to present on Genesis chapters 1 & 2, along with Psalm 23. I hope to put these reflections up next week.

I'll leave you all with questions for thought : 

• To help me think these through, does anyone have any particular key idea on them?
• What will others be doing, study wise during this festival?
• Is it right to always follow tradition for its own sake?
• If you are not Jewish, how do  study you own holy scripture? 
• Is it communal or individual? And where and when do you do so?

Celebrating Shavout, Pentecost or Cheesecake

This time next week we shall be starting the festival of Shavout or Pentecost. Readers will note that this is nothing to do with the current Christian festival of Pentecost, but to do with celebrating the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. You can read the facts here at the Wikipedia entry, which saves us the time of having to describe what goes on, as what is more interesting and important is not just describing the rose, but to be able to feel it, to smell it as well as to enjoy its beauty. Over the next couple of days we're going to delve into some of the aspects of this festival, which will hopefully help us all gain a greater understanding, to reach a deeper level- e.g. a look at the Ten Commandments, the Akdamut,  Tikkun Leil Shavuot ,the book of Ruth & of course the food that we eat during this festival. Including cheesecake. Which is the name of the festival according to my eldest daughter. 

Can't think why....?