Today is Shavuot, the festival of the first fruits of the harvest and the festival of the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai. In honor of the festival, this email will be brief, but there are a few important things I want to note.
1) If you are available this morning, please join us for our Shavuot Festival Service and Yizkor at 10am. Details below.
2) As Shavuot comes to an end, Shabbat begins. Links for all of our Shabbat activities are below.
3) Please note the Kol Dorot Congregational Meeting, this Sunday at 11:00am. Despite the circumstances, we have a lot to celebrate from our first year of Kol Dorot. And there is important information to share and discuss about the path ahead.
Today, may each of us be receptive to Torah and receive the Torah that we need.
Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Noah
Torah for Today
Rabbi Noah
Commandment #10: "You shall not covet."
It is so hard not to look around and want the things that others have. It's impossible, really. Two thousand years ago in Egypt, the Jewish philosopher Philo called this kind of desire the "fountain of all iniquity:"
...from which flow all the most unlawful actions, whether of individuals or of states, whether important or trivial, whether sacred or profane, whether they relate to one’s life and soul, or to what are called external things; for, as I have said before, nothing ever escapes desire, but, like a fire in a wood, it proceeds onward, consuming and destroying everything. (On The Ten Commandments XXXII)
How do we quench these flames? There is only one way: gratitude. A century after Philo, the sage Ben Zoma taught: "Who is rich? One who rejoices in their portion" (Pirkei Avot 4:1). Being satisfied with what we have is not a matter of achieving a particular level of "stuff" or success. It is a matter of transforming our relationship to desire. It is the fulfillment of the Tenth Commandment, "Thou shall not covet," with which God sent our Jewish people out into the world.
The Ten Commandments conclude with a spiritual challenge, the path to contentment. May we learn to walk it better and better together.
Celebrate Shabbat
*LIVE* Candle Lighting and Shabbat Blessings
Friday, 5/29, 6:00pm
Check you daily email for how to join online.
*LIVE* Kol Dorot Shabbat Service
Friday, 5/29, 7:30pm
Check you daily email for how to join online.
Shabbat Morning Torah Study
Saturday, 5/30, 9:00-10:00am
Check you daily email for how to join online.
Havdallah with Morah Anat and Family
Saturday, 5/30, 6:00pm
Check Kol Dorot Facebook for link.
Important Congregational Meeting
Kol Dorot Congregational Meeting
Sunday, May 31, 11:00am
Check you daily email for how to join online.