Lactose Intolerant? Oh No! It’s Shavuot!

Teach Your Children

Ladies First Please

Ruth: The First Jewish Convert and a Model For All

Shavuot: The Balance of Torah

Shavuot and Torah: I Think We Got It Backwards

Long weekends are often booked for functions because we get that extra day to celebrate and recuperate.  This year, I was not celebrating Queen Victoria’s birthday, but I was celebrating the friendship I have with three of my girlfriends from childhood.

On Friday, I witnessed my friend graduate from medical school after 4 years of hard work, dedication and call shifts.  There is something about the formality of the graduation ceremony that made it so special.  Watching her march on stage in her gown and cap, having immigrated to Canada from Israel 10 years ago was remarkable.

On Sunday, I partook in my fifth(!) wedding party. The ceremony was interfaith in nature, but was equipped with a chuppah, klezmer music, a hora, a ketubah and the breaking of the glass.  I was honoured to read the text of the gorgeous ketubah (thankfully written in Hebrew, not the traditional Aramaic) shown here:

I took each and every toast opportunity to belt out a hearty L’chaim.

Unfortunately, as we all know, life isn’t full of simchas.  On Monday, I attended an unveiling for my friend’s mother.  The text of Psalm 23 was read, but what I felt was more profound were the words spoken by the family members.  They clarified that the unveiling for them was not intended for closure, but rather for the family to celebrate the legacy that their wife, mother, aunt and baba left.  It was stated that since the passing – the family vacations, meals and celebrations although at times painful, have been heightened to another level. The relationships between father and daughter, father and son, daughter and son and father and grandchildren have flourished in the past year.  In the words of the officiant (Psalms 84), May we go from strength to strength and only know simchas.

Even if I weren’t born a Jew, I think I would convert to the religion. I’m serious. It seems that the more I think about my day to day actions and encounters, the more Judaism makes sense to me.

Following Rosh Hashanah this year, I began taking inventory of my surroundings. The autumn leaves that I walked through to get to shul on Yom Kippur, the snow falling outside as I aired out the kitchen from my greasy latke fry and most recently, the smells and sights of blooming flowers and trees.  I know that Pesach is also known as the holiday of spring but this seasonal transformation is absolutely remarkable to witness. This past weekend, I saw a magnolia tree in bloom that last weekend, was barren.  I wanted to say a bracha because it was such a gorgeous sight. Luckily, our Rabbis have developed brachot for these instances.

Here are blessings for your reference:

What I propose is that Judaism need not be thought of as strictly holiday focused, nor as a seasonal thing, but rather that it is a fusion of the two that can and should be appreciated at all times.