Rabbi's Messages

on Sunday, 25 May 2014.

RABBI'S MESSAGE FOR JUNE 2014

Cheesecake and blintzes.
Torah and Sinai.
Maturity and Responsibility.
These are the themes of the holiday of Shavuot. Although it is not as widely celebrated as Passover, Shavuot is in fact one of the most important festivals on the Jewish calendar. And through the ritual of Confirmation, Reform Judaism has imbued it with added meaning.
The name Shavuot means “weeks,” because the festival falls seven weeks after Pesach. It is known as Z’man Matan Torateinu, the Season of the Giving of our Torah, and it is traditionally understood to be the day on which our people stood at Sinai and received the Torah from God. And as for the cheesecake... we eat sweet dairy products on Shavuot because the Torah is said to be as sweet as milk and honey.
Equal to all of that, we Reform Jews have come to associate Shavuot with Confirmation. Ironically, Confirmation is not even a traditional ritual! It was created in the 19th century to address two perceived problems with the ancient institution of Bar Mitzvah:

1. As a mark of adulthood, holding Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13 seemed too early.
    
2. In its traditional incarnation, the Bar Mitzvah excluded girls. (Remember, Bat Mitzvah wasn’t invented until 1922!)
    

To solve those two problems, early Reform leaders did away with Bar Mitzvah almost entirely and replaced it with a group ritual at an older age (usually 16), that included both girls and boys. They called it Confirmation, borrowing from the Protestant tradition. They placed it on the holiday of Shavuot, since it was in line with the themes of receiving Torah and accepting Jewish responsibility.
Today, Confirmation – also known as Kabbalat Torah, or “Receiving Torah”, has become an accepted Jewish rite of passage. At 13, standing alone on the bima, our young people begin the journey into Jewish adulthood. At 16, standing together with their class, they confirm the choices that they have made and outline positive steps toward continued Jewish involvement.
Our Confirmation class has been working hard all year studying their beliefs, and preparing to lead us in prayer. Please come and support them as they chant the 10 Commandments and receive a special blessing. Our Erev Shavuot Service will be held on Tuesday, June 3, at 7 pm.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Micah Streiffer