麻豆社

From Julia Neuberger Senior Rabbi at the west London Synagogue:

On Tuesday, Rabbi Harvey talked about the festival of Shavuot, Pentecost, which took place last weekend, and described the exhaustion of the all-night study session. 聽I feel his pain.

My synagogue 鈥� which has a partly Sephardi, Spanish and Portuguese Jewish background has different Shavuot traditions.

The custom I like best comes from that part of Europe.聽 We spread rose petals on the floor of the synagogue and get the little children to jump up and down on them, releasing their sweet scent.

It鈥檚 an absolutely heavenly experience, but the underlying idea is that the smell reminds us of the sweetness of Torah, the five books of Moses, which Shavuot celebrates receiving. There is something magical about seeing small children rejoicing in being allowed, and encouraged, to throw rose petals around the synagogue and make a mess. 鈥淭his is about Torah鈥�, we say, and they don鈥檛 really understand. But they know we鈥檙e celebrating, and at the word 鈥榮ummer鈥� they perk up,

For summer is finally with us, with flowers in full bloom, and Shavuot is about flowers and rose petals, as if a celebration of nature is absolutely in order. And I cannot think of a year when the weather has been so perfect for Shavuot, and the children so joyful. We adults always rejoice in the smiles and gurgles of babies, the infectious laughter of small children as they throw themselves wholeheartedly into whatever activity we put before them. This year that joy was exceptional - we are so privileged to hear those voices, and know that their joy is something that makes the world a better place. The Biblical prophet Jeremiah reminds us to rejoice, in order to give us hope. 鈥淭he sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD鈥�. Yes, we should rejoice with the bride and the groom. But all the more we should rejoice with the children, for their infectious laughter, their wholehearted joy, is exactly what we need to give us comfort and hope in an uncertain world.