Hear Our Voice

You stood at Sinai, and so did I. Don’t you remember? I was the guy in the back row on his tippy toes. You were standing by the little flowing stream, able to take up some water while we waited. I wanted to come and get some water too, but I didn’t want to lose my place behind one of the shorter chieftains!

You, me, him, her, they, all of us, we stood together for that magical moment at the base of Mount Sinai. Each of us received Torah and each year we continually receive it, when we are open to the unique and challenging and powerfully personal ways in which we need it, and what the world needs from us.

To experience Shavuot, I have two really great ideas for you.

The first will be this Sunday night, June1, when Shavuot begins. The Houston Jewish community is hosting a Tikun Leil Shavuot, essentially a nighttime event for studying orah as a community. What is a Tikun Leil Shavuot? In reverse order,

• Shavuot = the name of the holiday,
• leil = nighttime (the word resonates with meaning as the night before the Israelites are freed from Egypt is known as leil shimurim – meaning, the night of waiting/guarding, and
• Tikun = repair, the notion being that we repair, we reconnect, we reimagine our relationship to Torah with this event.

The Houston Jewish community’s Tikun Leil Shavuot will take place this Sunday evening at Beth Yeshurun, beginning at 7 pm and concluding by 11:15 pm. The evening will feature 9 rabbis and a cantor presenting Torah talks, “Ted-talks” style. Mine will
begin at 10:42 pm. Please come and stay til the end (for me!)

The second Is next Friday evening, June 6 when we as a community will gather together for Shabbat at First UU and welcome Jerry Dupuy into membership of the Jewish people. Jerry will conclude his journey towards conversion next Friday and we
will have the opportunity to sanctify this moment with a brief ceremony as part of our service, as well as celebrate, thanks to Jerry and Marina, the hosts of our Shabbat oneg that evening. This is also a special way to recognize and appreciate Shavuot, because it is the holiday when we read and remember the story of the Book of Ruth. Ruth, whose words of commitment to her mother in law, marks her as the first official convert to Judaism. She offers these words that tie her to us, and we to her, Jerry to us and we to him.

Ruth 1:16:
But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

Please join us this Sunday night and next Friday night, for one or for both. I promise you, you will go away, inspired, enriched, and emboldened!