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I don’t know about you, but I find that I can’t stop thinking about our Shabbat service last Friday night.  We celebrated our high school seniors – a group of young people who are expressive, enthusiastic and ready to fly!  What’s more, they were happy to be together again and clearly cherish the strong roots TBD has contributed to their Jewish identities.

This is not to say there won’t be adjustments or difficult feelings and experiences woven into their next stage.  We who appreciate them hope they know we are in their corner and supportive of who they are and who they will become.

That is the part that so many of us at any age are reluctant to show.  Our flaws, our rough edges, the seasons of our lives in which things are not going all that well.

Which brings me to one of my favorite teachings, always a timely as Shavuot, the festival celebrating the giving of the Torah, draws near.  A midrash tells us that when God was looking for a place to reveal the Torah to the Israelites, all the surrounding mountains wanted to be that place.  They practically jostled each other for attention, proclaiming their virtues like height, a beautiful stream or a breathtaking view.  In contrast, Mt. Sinai was quiet, having no uniqueness to extoll.  Or so it seemed.

God chose Sinai as the site of revelation precisely because of its simplicity and absence of distraction.  I believe we learn from this to be alert to what or who may be plain and unassuming on the outside, yet shines on the inside

Sinai and its surrounding wilderness had the most propensity to hold God’s presence; to be glad and rejoice.  May this Shabbat be just such a time. 

Shabbat Shalom,