Shabbat Parashat Behar-Bechukkotai Shabbat Mevarekhim HaChodesh Covenant and Confirmation

Dear Friends,

I hope you will join us this Friday night as we celebrate Shabbat and the Confirmation of Julia Blaha, David Dorfman, Lainey Epstein and Carson Frank. Mazal Tov and Yasher Koach to our Confirmands and to their families!

Confirmation is a form of affirmation on the part of our younger generation of our communal commitment to Torah and to Jewish living – the essence of our Covenant with God.

The double Torah portion of Behar and Bechukkotai reminds us that our Covenant with God, and with one another, was initiated on Mount Sinai, and has been reaffirmed throughout the generations. Behar means “On the Mountain”, and Bechukkotai means “My Laws”.

We, as a people, see Mount Sinai as a challenge and as an inspiration, and we see the laws of our Torah as a fountain of wisdom and of strength. With the help of God and of one another, this Shabbat, in more ways than one, we reaffirm our connection, our history, and our determination to bring greater light and blessing into the world – one step at a time, one moment at a time.

Our four Confirmands are wonderful examples of Jewish strength and of connection. It has been a pleasure to see each and every one of them reach this very special moment in time! To them, to their families, and to all of us, I say: Shehecheyanu! May our Confirmands find challenges, inspiration, wisdom and strength in our tradition and in our community, and beyond, for many years to come.

This Shabbat will lead us into Rosh Chodesh – the beginning of a new Jewish month. New beginnings always reveal new vistas and the promise of new possibilities. Rosh Chodesh Sivan will be on Tuesday night and Wednesday of this coming week. May it be a month of new beginnings, of joy, of healing and of blessing.

And, speaking of blessing…I take this opportunity to wish us all a Happy Mother’s Day weekend. And, lest you think Mother’s Day is not a Jewish thing..Just remember that in the Ten Commandments, the essence of our Covenant, we are reminded to “Honor Your Father and Your Mother!”. So, don’t forget….and do celebrate!

Wishing us all many blessings, many new beginnings, many simchas and many celebrations.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Gilah Dror