Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

This Sunday is Rosh Chodesh Sivan. The new month brings with it new hopes and aspirations. We pray that with the onset of Sivan, we will continue to be healthy and see some signs of of normalcy returning.

An indirect reference to Rosh Chodesh Sivan is found in the Torah: "On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt, on that very day, they entered the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1)." The Oral Tradition identifies "that very day" as Rosh Chodesh Sivan.

As we know, the sixth of Sivan is Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks. We will have counted seven full weeks from the second night of Pesach. The fiftieth day, sixth of Sivan, commemorates the giving of Torah.

It is interesting to note that when the Israelites encamped at Mount Sinai, the language of the Torah shifts to the singular, as if Israel were being personified as a single person with one heart. What an amazing statement of unity having hundreds of thousands as one.

These days due to the pandemic, we are affirming our Jewishness as individuals. With synagogues having to be closed, our virtual synagogues offer on line services and classes. Still, we require nowadays more individual self motivation to assert our Jewish commitments.

In Biblical times while encamped at Sinai, hundreds of thousands were like one person. Today, each person, while observing physical distancing, is bound to an eternal people with an eternal legacy.

While our synagogue doors will be closed on Shavuot, there are many Torah learning opportunities on line in preparation for Shavuot. Check our website for sessions emanating from the Schechter Institute, Mercaz-Masorti Canada, and our own Beth Emeth team.

In advance of this Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh, I wish us all Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov.

Rabbi Howard Morrison