June 9, 2024/3 Sivan 5784

Dear Friends,

● How would you describe your relationship to Israel today? Do you feel pulled toward Israel? In what ways? In what ways do you feel at home where you are?

● Stepping back from your personal experience, how would you describe the relationship between Jews in Israel and Jews in the diaspora? Do you think Jews in different parts of the world or Jews with different ideologies feel connected to one another? Do you think they should?

Shavuot, the festival holiday when we commemorate receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, is generally a time for prayer (it is one of the four holidays when we say the Yizkor or memorial prayers) and study. Throughout our history, Jews have taken to studying as a way to make sense of their place in the world and find solace and healing. For Jews, study is a spiritual practice. 

I hope you will join me on June 11, Erev Shavuot for Yizkor at 7:00 pm and Study at 7:30 pm. You can come to either or both! During our Shavuot Study, we will study the Jewish sources and texts that describe the relationship between Jews in the land of Israel and Jews in the diaspora, those Jews living outside the land of Israel. We will explore Israel, the Diaspora, and the current reality of Israel at War.  

May this Shavuot lead us all to a time of revelation, liberation, and healing. 

Rabbi Bellows