Dear Shaare Family,
I hope everyone will join us at Shaare for some, if not all, of Tikkun Leil Shavuot this year. A fascinating lineup is planned addressing some fascinating halachic and Hashkafic issues presented by scientific developments that were once considered theoretical, but are now eminently relevant, including lab-grown beef, space travel, genetic cloning, robots on Shabbat. I have much Hakarat HaTov to my dear friend and colleague Rabbi Daniel Yolkut of Congregation Poale Zedek (“PZ”) in Pittsburgh who got me thinking about this idea and is presenting a similar topic in his shul (though all on his own, all night!) and to Rabbi Wolk, Rabbinic Intern Rabbi Yehuda Rosenberg, Rabbi Grebenau, Jay Gersten and the VPs who have generously agreed to teach adults or teens on Tikkun Leil Shavuot, and to everyone else who will be teaching Torah throughout the Chag, including Rabbi Tannenbaum, Jessica Rackovsky and Julie Wolk.
For those who prefer something a little different, we will be doing our Master A Mishnah program once again, this year studying Masechet Avodah Zarah between 1-3 AM on Shavuot night. I am looking forward to a deep dive into the world of idolatry, and the complex, fascinating and ever relevant topic of relationships between Jews and non-Jews that the Mishnah covers.
For those who prefer to study Chavrutah style, the Beit Midrash will be open and, for those interested, we will be providing source material for discussion and self-study.
Rabbi’s Resources
1. On lactose intolerance in Ashkenazic Jews
2. One of the popular tunes we use at Shaare, Ve’ata Vanim- composed by Rabbi Hillel Paley and sung by Mordechai Ben David - is taken from the Yotzrot for the first day of Shavuot. Since we unfortunately don’t say any of the yotzrot at all, especially not on the first day of Shavuot, it’s worth having a look and a listen.
Last Week’s MSOTW
Kudos to Doba Rudberg, Martin Wolfson, Eric Schramm and Perrin White who correctly identified last week’s MSOTW as the Burning Bush synagogue at the IDF Officer’s Training School (BAHA”D 1) in Mitzpeh Ramon, in Israel. Just as Moshe was commanded to lead from the burning bush, so to the officers receive their ranks in the presence of the burning bush synagogue.
