Shavuot 5785/2025
Bnai Keshet, Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Temple Ner Tamid, and Temple Sholom of West Essex will come together to study, talk, and learn as we prepare to accept the first fruit of the divine covenant - The Torah.
Scholar in residence Dr. Elsie Stern |
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Dr. Elsie Stern will join us for Shavuot and teach two study sessions: “We’ve Got This": Ruth, Sinai and the Defense of Tradition Whose team are you on?: Rashi and Ibn Ezra on the beginning of Genesis Dr. Elsie Stern is a Professor of Bible at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She is currently the general editor for the New CCAR Torah Commentary, which will serve as the main Torah commentary for the Reform movement of Judaism. In her teaching and research, Dr. Stern explores how Jews and Jewish communities have engaged with scripture over the centuries. |
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Schedule
5:30pm Young Families Program (please RSVP for this activity)
7:00pm Pizza dinner for teens
7:30pm Festival Maariv Evening Service and Oneg
9:00pm Keynote Address from Dr. Elsie Stern
"We’ve Got This": Ruth, Sinai and the Defense of Tradition
The book of Ruth one of Torah’s most delightful stories--- readers and hearers delight in its vivid characters, memorable lines and happy ending. However, Ruth is also a quietly subversive text which presents long-standing traditional practices as an effective alternative to the societal vision that is promoted in the story of the revelation at Mt. Sinai. In this session, we will explore Ruth’s “case for tradition” and its implications for us today.
10:00pm - 12:00am Study Sessions
12:00am Reading of 10 Commandments
12:30am Final Teaching from Dr Elsie Stern
Whose team are you on?: Rashi and Ibn Ezra on the beginning of Genesis
The commentary on the first verse of the Torah is vast. Beginning in the rabbinic period, Jewish commentators have sought meaning in every aspect of the text, including the shape of the first letter and the precise wording of the verse. In this session, we will explore the commentaries of Rashi and Ibn Ezra on the word “Elohim” to open up our imaginations to this first moment of creation.