| Shavuot memories - How the circular became linear again |
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In our social and individual life we have already experienced so many celebrations and ceremonies that they are fully entitled to blend in our awareness into a special festive period, which follows its own rules. The Jewish history is so long and crucial, with so many dramatic events since the exodus from Egipt or the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, that we would have to travel back thousands of years to feel the real holiday atmosphere. The time becomes circular again, while we are coming back to the same place over and over again – sometimes spellbound, sometimes irritated with the repeatability of the rituals and their meaning. It is only after the celebrations that we are allowed to rejoin the present day.
The gap between the cyclical time of holidays and the linear secular time grows constantly bigger. After every celebration, when we browse the Internet and check what has changed in the world during the past few hours, we find out, terrorstruck, that the distance we must cover afer every Havdala to get back to the modern world is each time longer. I am recalling my reflections because it was during these Shavuot celebrations that I understood that it does not necessarily must stay like that. Why was that night so different from all other nights? Maybe it was the visit of Rabi Ariel Tal, which gave us the opportunity to consider whether he is the rabi we are looking for? Maybe because we had the possibility to discuss together how to bring up Jewish children at this time and place? Or maybe it was the fact that we were studying in Polish, English and Hebrew – together, yet apart. I felt that, despite all the differences undoubtedly present in our community, we still have something that joins us – let’s just think of the determination to study and discuss untill the dawn what happened in the past, what is happening now and what will happen in the future. Some of us were discovering Torah in the Torah itself, others in the Jewish Bund or secular Jewish upbringing. Some were discussing the Jewish law, others were listening to Bela Schwarcman talking beautifully about how the love of a daughter-in-law gave the strength and saved her mother-I-law, opening the door to converting to Judaism wide for everyone willing. About how the Torah and mercy make the world a better place and give people the strength to persist despite life’s adversities. We were talking not only about what happened thousands of years ago, but also about things that are important for our community right now. I do not know whether we accepted the Torah of our own free will or whether we were forced, but I do know that on its pages our present day is still happening and that we are reaching for it to learn how to live right now. I therefore would like to thank all the debaters – both the more and less persistent and glib—and our lecturers for the effort they made.
Miriam Gonczarska |
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