Related Blog Posts on Shavuot

Favorite Jewish Teachings from Leaders of Color

Yolanda Savage-Narva
June 2, 2022
As Shavuot approaches and we celebrate the Giving of the Torah, I have been spending some time reflecting on some of my favorite teachings from Jewish sacred literature, both those that resonate with me, and those that feel most important or most timely.

Make Memorial Day Count in 2021

Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz, Ph.D.
May 11, 2021

On Shavuot, the holiday when we celebrate receiving the Torah marks the completion of counting the omer, we are reminded of the historic and nation-altering moment our ancestors experienced in the desert when God revealed God’s self.

A Prayer for Jerusalem

Rabbi Josh Weinberg
May 10, 2021
Today we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, the anniversary of that fateful day in 1967 when the Israeli paratroopers reached the Western Wall and announced: "הר הבית בידנו" -- “The Temple Mount is in our Hands.” That moment ushered in the the promise for Jews everywhere, after years of dreaming and longing, to come and pray before this sacred space. 

How to Observe Shavuot from Home This Year

C.E. Harrison
May 5, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted so much of how we engage Jewishly, but Shavuot is a fantastic holiday for families to celebrate from the safety of their homes. Here are a few ways you and your family can observe this rich, festive Jewish holiday this year.

What We Can Learn from Ruth and Naomi about Mental Health

Rabbi Edythe Held Mencher, L.C.S.W.
January 27, 2021
Shavuot offers a glimpse at how others in our tradition faced unimaginable and unremitting losses – and were sometimes helped to prevail. There are powerful lessons for us within the story of Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth.

The Black Jews Are Tired

C.E. Harrison
June 1, 2020

As fulfilling as it was to engage in Shavuot programs, a lot weighs on me. With COVID-19 continuing to ravage Black communities and racist violence all over the news, I almost feel like it’s Yom Kippur instead – the time when Jews are supposed to be most aware of their own mortality.

April Showers, May Flowers, and Searching for Hope Amid the Pandemic

Rabbi Michael L. Feshbach
April 23, 2020

We see everything around us through a coronavirus-colored lens these days, searching the past for clues about what is to come. This month, I'm using the rhyme about April showers and May flowers as an occasion for hope, seeing every holiday in May as part of this unfolding pandemic.