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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Shavuot is coming, Shavuot is coming!

The Jewish holiday of Shavuot falls this Thursday night, through Friday, through Saturday. I am so very giddy with excitement! Shavuot is one of the two most pivotal Jewish holidays of the year, second only to Pesach (Passover). Pesach celebrates God taking us out of Egypt (interpreted literally by some Jews and more broadly as any kind of bondage or suffering by others) to be His servants, His witnesses, and His nation. Shavuot always comes exactly 50 days after the first night of Pesach, and celebrates the Jewish people receiving the Torah.

The Torah. Our guidebook. My life.

I do not believe the entire Torah was handed directly from God to a physical Moses on a physical Mount Sinai. There is just too much evidence in the Torah itself suggesting multiple authorship and stories adapted from other nations. But still, the Torah is our guidebook. Still, the Torah has united the Jewish people for generations. Still, the Torah is my life.

Could there be a more awesome holiday?

Services on campus start at 5:30 pm Thursday night, followed by dinner until 7:30. It is a tradition on the first night of Shavuot to stay up all night studying Torah, so the local Conservative synagogue is having a study session from 8:00 to 11:00 pm, and campus is organizing both a shuttle and a walking group. I will probably not be attending this, taking the time instead to reread the Ten Commandments on my own, talk to and hopefully with God, and meditate on my Jewish existence. Our campus study session starts at 11:00 and goes until 6:00 am on Friday, followed immediately by services! There are also services at saner hours for those who did not choose to stay up all night and study. After services, I will go to sleep and sleep and sleep. Hopefully I will wake up in time for lunch with campus. Saturday will be a more normal day with services at normal hours, but still time to rejoice in God and my Torah.

Again: Could there be a more awesome holiday?

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I am a bipolar, Jewish young adult (had my Hebrew birthday, the one I count, and turned 23 this past January) who also suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I love life and I live for my best friends: they are my purpose and my reason for trying so hard. I remain passionately devoted to those I love; I will not let my disorders make me totally self-centered. I like to read, write, and sew. My Rabbinical school plans did not work out, and I am now hoping to go into the field of Early Childhood Education. Please note: I am currently maintaining only Carried in His Hands. Enjoy!