Confirmands with chaperone brave the New York City weather!
Shavu’ot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot).
Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah).
The period from Passover to Shavu’ot is a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu’ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. ( Counting of the Omer). The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu’ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu’ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality.
From Judaism 101
Each year at Shavuot, Beth Israel holds a Confirmation ceremony, the culmination of a year-long, intensive educational program for tenth grade students. The Confirmation program gives our teens the opportunity to debate and discuss Jewish values and traditions with our rabbis. Part of the curriculum includes spending a weekend in New York City, where our confirmands attend Shabbat services at other synagogues, visit Jewish historical sights, and participate in the “Midnight Run”, a tzedakah project for the homeless that starts at midnight.
Our Confirmation service at Shavuot is completely written and led by our confirmands. This is an important celebration in our Religious School year, and our community comes out in force to support our teens.