By Lorne Hanick:
“You can’t have your cheesecake and eat it too.”
In Judaism, you can. Our tradition contains complementary and sometimes contradictory narratives about the origin of the Festivals, from which they each obtain more than one name.
Sukkot is both the Festival of Booths and Chag HaAsif, the festival of ingathering the crops. Passover is both Pesach, recalling the paschal sacrifice, and Chag HaMatzot, the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Shavuot is the Feast of Weeks, and also Bikkurei K’tzir Chittim, the first fruits of the wheat harvest. Shavuot marks both the culmination of an agricultural season and the anniversary of the giving of the Torah.
On the first morning of Shavuot, we read the Torah’s most powerful story in the book of Exodus—the revelation—one of several accounts that contain multiple perspectives or contradictions. Did the people see God, or did they only hear a voice? Was the mountain Sinai or Horeb? Were the Israelites afraid to approach, or were they eager to draw near? Did they hear the version of the Ten Commandments that tells us to “remember” or “observe” Shabbat?
Judaism does not force us to choose between one truth or experience. It teaches us that holiness can be multi-dimensional. A festival can be both historical and agricultural. The revelation at Sinai can be both overwhelming and inviting.
On Shavuot, we celebrate not only the Torah we received, but the many layers of meaning it continues to reveal. For some, Shavuot will be coming on Thursday night to hear a great line-up of lay and professional speakers at our Tikkun Leyl Shavuot Tzedec Talks. For others, Shavuot will be hearing the 10 Commandments or participating in Babies on the Bimah on Friday morning. For others, Shavuot will be commemorating our loved ones on Shabbat morning with Yizkor or helping to honour our volunteers with Yasher Koach Awards.
In Judaism, it turns out, you really can have your cheesecake and eat it too.