This weekend Jews throughout the world celebrate Shavuot, a somewhat unknown holiday as it occurs towards the end of the year (so often ignored in Hebrew School curricula) and before the summer (and thus not celebrated in Jewish summer camps!). But in fact, Shavuot is a major Jewish holiday. Shavuot, the “Feast of Weeks,” is celebrated seven weeks after Passover and although its origins are to be found in an ancient grain harvest festival, Shavuot has been identified since biblical times with the giving of the Torah. It in many ways marks the time when we become a people. Until this point the Israelites were nomads in the Middle Eastern desert, slaves serving the Egyptians and then meandering in an extremely circuitous journey through the desert. Shavuot celebrates the arrival of the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, and the acceptance of the Torah, the basis for all of our laws and our communal narrative.
Celebrating Shavuot on the brink of year-end feels extremely fitting as we too are completing a journey. The children, the teachers, and all of you have been on a journey of nearly 40 weeks. Over this time your children have grown so much – physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually. It is incredible to watch this transformation occur. And no matter how many years I witness the growth, I continue to be awed by what occurs. With the potent combination of gifted educators, supportive peers, loving parents, quality materials, time, patience, natural development potential which is programmed into our very DNA, and a great deal of good fortune, your children flourish. It is a spectacular set of ingredients which combine together in front of our eyes.
When the Jewish people received the Torah, their journey did not end. For after receiving the Ten Commandments along the foot of Mount Sinai, the Jews then had to figure out how to live with these rules. How were they going to take what they were given and then actually use it? In many ways your children (and you) will have a similar challenge. The children have had a strong, growing year with many lessons learned, skills acquired, theories developed, friendships built. But now what? How are they (and you) going to help to build on these? How are you going to talk about the time you have spent here this year and what learnings do you want to continue to take with you?
There are some Rabbis who explain that after Moses broke the first set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments, they put the shattered stones into an ark and carried them with them through the next leg of their journey. One way of understanding this choice was that it served as a reminder to the Jewish people – perhaps of their mistakes when they built the Golden Calf, perhaps of what happens when we lose our temper, as Moses did when he first returned from Mount Sinai to discover his people all dancing around this Golden Calf, or perhaps it served as a reminder that God stays close even when we mess up. What challenges did you or your child face this year? How can you carry your shattered stones (the memories and the lessons) with you as a source of inspiration and learning moving forward? It can be very powerful to remind your child at some later date that they successfully navigated a challenging social situation, or that they struggled at first to write their name but that with hard work and patience, they were able to succeed. And as parents, perhaps our child had a teacher who at first we didn’t like but then grew to see as an advocate for our child. Perhaps our child was separated from a close friend from the prior year but then successfully made new friends. How did we support our child through the bumps this year and what did we learn through this experience? Can we remember this the next time we face similar bumps?
Your children’s backpacks are full. They have so many lessons packed away – they have grown in their curiosity, responsibility, confidence, resourcefulness, flexibility, stamina, appreciation, kindness, care of others, respect for nature, and appreciation for their world. Your children now have stowed away in their packs a formative experience of trusting a group of peers and teachers – they have learned together, laughed together, and shared their dreams and fears. In their packs they have warm memories of celebrating Shabbat and holidays, eating Challah and cooking special treats. They have experienced the enormous benefits of being a part of a group, and probably also some of the challenges – perhaps even a few scratches or bruises that can come from sharing a room with other young people! But hopefully all of these experiences and memories will help them take their next steps on their travels, carrying forward their lessons from this leg of the trip.
Over this long holiday weekend take some moments to celebrate what is in your child’s backpack and what has been recently added to your own as well. I hope that you will find that indeed you are all prepared for the road ahead.
Shabbat shalom and happy Shavuot and Memorial Day
Ilana received her B.A. from Harvard College and a Master's Degree in Education from Bank Street College. She was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and now lives there with her husband and three children.
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