The holiday of Shavuot has a special connection with Jewish environmentalism.  Shavuot in the Torah is described as a Jewish harvest of celebration and unity.  The unity first begins in the fields when landowners begin their grain harvest and abide the laws of the Torah by not harvesting the corners of the field.  These corners were reserved for those less fortunate to harvest grain as well.

Since a productive harvest is part of the vision of covenant, it is important that all the people are included and given a chance to participate.  In fact, we can imagine the process of the whole country involved together, harvesting together and celebrating together.

In today’s world, we no longer celebrate our covenant through harvest and pilgrimage festivals.  But the celebration of the Torah and our receiving of it is timeless.  Within the Torah are all the laws of Jewish environmentalism and respect for the world and all creatures in it.  The Torah is our focus document for living our lives and demands respect for the environment even if it is not the popular stand of a secular society.

Celebrating Shavuot today includes remembering that the source of our environmentalism is the Torah and it dates back to the very formation of the Jewish people.

Last month we presented a ‘Mussar Dilemma’, a day to day situation we all have experienced with a Mussar question attached.

You attend a social gathering filled with family.  Across the room you see someone you recognize that you haven’t seen in a while.  You remember that the last time the two of you spoke there was a minor falling out and then you lost touch.

Here are the options for your response and what Mussar has to say:

(a) look away and pretend you didn’t see the person.

Clearly we know that this option would not be the optimum choice.  It creates a falsehood and an action to reinforce the lie.  As much as we know this would be the least appropriate response, it’s interesting how many of us opt for this response as the easy way to avoid the entire dilemma.

When it comes to Mussar, the easy way is quite often not the most appropriate.

(b) wait for the person to greet you first and then you’ll respond warmly.

Although this option seems like it would address the situation properly, it is transferring the choice to someone else.  Mussar teaches us to choose our own responses, if we hand over the gift of our choice to someone else then we are no longer pushing beyond our limitations.

(c)  cross the room and greet the person with a smile.

This option is the most appropriate for the situation.  The person in the room is someone you recognize and with whom you have a connection.  The awkwardness of the moment should not be the defining point.  It is important to remember that everyone should be treated with respect regardless of a previous conflict.

Mussar would encourage you to try and respond with option (c).  The next step would be to ask ourselves why it felt so difficult to cross the room and initiate respectful greetings.

One of our blog visitors responded with:

Do you agree or disagree? Join in on this conversation and add your comment below.

A key moment in our prayer service is the Shema. It is our personal and community declaration that we have one God and that our God is One. My synagogue community is small with only a couple dozen people attending Shabbat services on a weekly basis, and maybe 200 people when there’s a Bar or Bat Mitzvah happening. In small congregations like mine and small Jewish communities spread all over North America it can sometimes be hard to feel a greater spiritual connection to Judaism.

This past weekend I spent Shabbat at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial Convention in downtown Toronto.

Kabbalat Shabbat services was attended by over 3500 Jews from all across North America. Talk about a lot of Jews in one room. The most amazing feeling was being able to join in prayer with over 3000 people, and standing all together as we recited the Shema, “Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is one!” It was such a wonderful experience surrounded by so many people joined together by prayer.