Some Thoughts on the Calendar

by Rabbi Rick Brody

Shavuot:  As we enter June, we conclude our Counting of the Omer, a process that is capped by Shavuot, when we once again receive the sacred words and values that guide our tradition.  We hear the 10 Commandments and engage in study that renews our intellectual and spiritual commitment to a life filled with Torah.  Please join us for joyful morning prayers on Friday and Saturday (June 2 and 3).  On Friday, we will be joined by our friends from Temple Sholom of Ontario.  That evening, we will hold a festive celebration in our First Friday style at AriellaShira and Michael Lewis’s home, and we will be joined by some wonderful guest teachers who will challenge us to think and feel in a variety of ways.  This night would be a perfect opportunity to experience First Friday for the first time, or to bring friends who have yet to enjoy this wonderful monthly event.

As we think about re-enacting the acceptance of Torah, perhaps we can ask ourselves how we might wish to recommit to our own Jewish growth through the study of our sacred texts and heritage.  Our tradition teaches that each time we encounter words of Torah, it as if we are standing again at the foot of Mt. Sinai, receiving God’s revelation for the first time.  I would like to draw attention to some of the adult learning activities that abound at Ami Shalom.  Each Saturday, we present special opportunities for meaningful engagement with Torah.  A usual Shabbat includes a provocative d’var Torah in the sanctuary, following the Torah service.  These talks almost always involve interactive discussion.  On the final Shabbat each month, the service ends early without a d’var Torah, and everyone is encouraged to stay for “Nosh & D’rash.”  This is a chance for directed Torah study during the kiddush lunch, ending at around 1:00 p.m.  On all other Saturdays, those who wish to stay after lunch gather at around 12:45 p.m. and read together a series of critical and enlightening essays written for the Conservative Movement’s Etz Hayim Torah Commentary.  The book includes study-guide questions for each essay that promote lively discussion.  Those of us who are making our way through the book are receiving a fascinating overview of some of the major themes and subjects that appear in the Hebrew Bible.

Mourning Destruction:  The care-free spirit of summer and the joy of American independence are tempered by the remembrance of communal suffering in Jewish history.  The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day that marks the breaching of the city walls by the Babylonian army that came to destroy Jerusalem.   It begins a 3-week period of refraining from overly joyous celebration.  Rosh Chodesh Av marks the start of an even more intense “9 days” that extend into August and take us to Tisha b’Av, the commemoration of the destruction of the two temples in Jerusalem and other great catastrophes.  During these 9 days, it is customary to avoid drinking alcoholic beverages, eating meat, attending concerts, and engaging in other pleasurable daily acts.  The 5 main prohibitions of Tisha b’Av are from food and drink, wearing leather shoes, bathing, anointing (with oils, fragrances, perfumes), and sexual relations.  An additional abstention is from the study of Torah.

T’shuvah:  The month of Elul ushers in a reflection upon our past year.  Our tradition calls this a cheshbon nefesh,an accounting of the soul.  This is our moral and spiritual inventory that prepares us for the work of t’shuvah (repentance or return)—the focus of the High Holiday season that occurs in Tishrei/September.  We might set aside some extra time each day during Elul to think about the individuals we have wronged and the areas in our lives where we wish to make improvements.  This process will take us from the end of summer into fall, which at this writing seems very far away.  Let us savor summer, and may we blessed to begin the “turning” from lazy days to more hectic times with a sense of having lived each day fully with a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us.  This blessing will enable us to begin gracefully and powerfully the spiritual “turning” of Elul and beyond.