Israel and the Diaspora share a new song for Shavuot
This active opportunity to learn Torah and ask questions is the essence of what receiving the Torah is about.
By ILANA FODIMAN-SILVERMANTHE MISHNA describes people presenting their first fruits with the fanfare of a majestic parade through the streets of Jerusalem.(photo credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
What is more joyous than a parade of new lambs riding through the center of town on tractors adorned with fresh produce and flowers, announcing the bounty of the harvest season? What is more awe inspiring than an energized, citywide all-night event that brings together hundreds of secular and religious Jews to study Torah and to hear to their combined voices in collaborative study, celebrating the holiday of the Giving of the Torah?Living in Zichron Ya’acov, Israel, is a blessing and one that I particularly appreciate on Shavuot. But when it became clear that Shavuot would be different this year, we at Moed – an organization bringing together secular and religious Israelis to study and act – mourned the plans we had made and asked ourselves “Now what?”In addition to grappling with the moment-by-moment challenges that COVID-19 pandemic has wrought upon the world, we focused on how best to address the physical, financial, psychological and religious needs of the people around us. As we approached the holiday, we faced the feeling that, without physical connections, the party was simply canceled and we would be sitting at home in a dark and sad reality each of us eating cheesecake all on our own.So we shelved our planned Shavuot programming as we knew it, licked our wounds and set off to dream. Shir Shavuot was born.Shir Shavuot summons intergenerational, home-based conversations on the value and the importance of song and singing and later connects the at-home conversations in public forums. The project is guided by a creative offering from the wisdom of Torah, the insight of thinkers and personalities around the world, day-to-day human experience and the voices of those closest to us to actively consider the value of song.What is meant when the Torah refers to itself as a song? Is a song best sung with uniform voices? What sensations do we experience when “The Song of Angry Men” is sung at the dramatic peak of Les Misérables? Is this the kind of song that you like to just listen to, or do you want to burst out in song yourself? Did you know that people with brain injury and amnesia can still remember songs and music?Shir Shavuot provides the sparks for productive conversation, which we believe lies at the foundation of the development of our moral character and our connection to our family and to Torah. This active opportunity to learn Torah and ask questions is at the essence of what receiving the Torah is about.In addition to the theme of the time of the giving of the Torah, Shavuot is the historic time to bring the first harvested fruits to the Temple. The Mishna (Bikkurim 3:3) describes people gathered to present their first fruits with the fanfare of a majestic parade through the streets of Jerusalem: A gathering of great pomp and circumstance, with oxen crowned in olive wreaths and gold-plated horns carrying baskets of produce approaching the Temple. The Mishna pans out from the scene to take note of the residents of the city emerging to greet the pilgrims lining their streets with shouts, “Our brothers and sisters of town X, we welcome you in peace!” Accompanied by flutes, the marchers would finally reach the Temple, where the Levites receive them in song “I will praise You God, for You have raised me up” (Psalms 30:2).This image of communities of Jews farmers, musicians, city dwellers, and Levites all working together to orchestrate a most glorious shared celebration is the guiding image for this Shir Shavuot project. Each of us has a profound part to share that lifts us up together in the celebration of the Shavuot holiday.Zichron Ya’akov is not an island. These synchronized conversations in 12 communities from Warsaw to New York, Atlanta to Zurich preserve strength at a time where many are so thinly stretched.
One of the great truths that has been revealed over the last several weeks and months is that all of us are in need. No matter where we reside in the world, each of us has struggled with the loss of face-to-face interaction and the vulnerability of our health, if not a more acute experience of illness or personal loss.This Torah learning is engaging, rigorous yet fun, at home but connected. We can see eye to eye while in conversation from the place of mutual respect and caring. The premise of a conversation is that it is a two-way dialogue. This makes an exciting feature for a chorus based on the Israel-Diaspora relationship and the potential within it.For more information on the project: shir.shavuot.moed.org.ilThe writer is the Director of Moed, a community-based nonprofit in Zichron Ya’acov fostering connections between secular and religious Israelis through shared study and social action. ilana.fodiman@moed.org.il
