Join the community on Thursday, May 21, for a Shavuot Program and Dinner hosted at Portland Jewish Academy.

Please RSVP by Thursday, May 14 so we can plan for everyone’s comfort.

• 5:30-6:30pm Hands-on Shavuot Activities for Families (Students with parents/caregivers)
• 6:30-7:15pm Dinner
• 7:15-8:15pm Middle School/Teen Program (With Meg Bernstein)
• 7:15-8:15pm Adult Learning Session 1
  • Adult Learning Option 1 – Amy Katz: Talking Torah with Children
  • Adult Learning Option 2 – Rabbi April Villarreal: The Day We Got the Torah Back: Shavuot is typically thought of as the giving and receiving of the Torah. However, one Talmudic description suggests that it was almost snatched away by fearsome forces, but in the end we prevailed. We’ll study this remarkable story in chavruta (with a learning partner), and through it come to a better understanding of Torah and our relationship to it.
• 8:30-9:30pm Adult Learning Session 2
  • Adult Learning Option 1 – Rabbi Oren: Standing at the Mountain or Under the Mountain?
    What really happened at Sinai? Through close reading of texts, we’ll explore the enduring tension between divine love and divine pressure. The midrash imagines God holding the mountain above us—accept the Torah or else—raising a profound question: was revelation forced, freely chosen, or something in between? Together, we’ll consider not only how our relationship to Torah may have begun, but how we choose to stand today—willingly, faithfully, and with intention—at Sinai in our own lives.
  • Adult Learning Option 2 – Mel Berwin: Ruth & Redemption
    At the heart of the Book of Ruth, which we traditionally read on Shavuot, is a story about Redemption. In today’s world, where we are faced daily with the rupture of norms and the shattering of our Jewish hearts, what does redemption mean? What does it look like? We will delve into the Book of Ruth as well as other traditional and contemporary sources to gain a model for redemption and hope, grounded in our texts.