Saturday, June 11, 2016 Shavuot begins at sundown
Today is my elder sister Donna Marie's ?? birthday I ask your prayers for her health and happiness!
Luke, Chapter 1, Verse 50
Luke, Chapter 1, Verse 50
His
mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
We are to rejoice just as Mary did in her Canticle
of Praise when she entered the house of Zechariah.
“My soul proclaims the
greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked
upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me
blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is
his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has
shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has
thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The
hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He
has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to
his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
I
would like to focus on the words from “age to age”. In physics, spacetime (also
space–time, space time or space–time continuum) is any mathematical model that
combines space and time into a single interwoven continuum.[1] As I understand it what has been done in the past and in the future
continues forever rippling through time and space from “age to age”. If this is
the case let us follow Mary’s example and develop in ourselves Holy fear through her virtues of: humility,
generosity, chastity, patience, self-control and of course love. Happiness is a
choice; just as love is. We either decide to be happy or we do not. No amount
of money or material things will bring us joy, no amount of pleasure or power
either. Mary knew that true happiness comes from God’s mercy. That is a choice
too. God’s mercy is given to those who fear
Him and then in turn honor the gift of love. We in order to accept the gift of mercy
must be open to receive. We make a choice.
Shavuot
– The Holiday that Nurtures Our Souls[2]
Jews throughout the world recently
celebrated the holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot is one of the three major Jewish
festivals and comes exactly fifty days after Passover. After being redeemed
from Egyptian slavery, the Jews arrived on Mount Sinai and received the Torah
from God. This wonderful event took place 3,316 years ago.
The word Shavuot means “weeks.” It
marks the completion of the seven weeks, 49 days, between Passover and Shavuot
during which the Jewish people prepared themselves for the giving of the Torah.
During this time period they prepared themselves spiritually and entered into
an eternal covenant with God with the giving of the Torah.
Shavuot also means “oaths.” With the
giving of the Torah, the Jewish people and God exchanged oaths, forming an
everlasting covenant, not to forsake one another. Every year on this day we
celebrate and renew our acceptance of God’s gift and our eternal bond with Him.
There are several interesting customs
associated with this holiday. We stay up all night learning Torah, read the Ten
Commandments and the book of Ruth, and eat milk products, especially
cheesecake.
The custom of learning is especially
fitting for the holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah. The custom
of dairy products seems surprising. Among the different explanations given for
this custom, one points out that the Hebrew word for milk is chalav. When the
numerical value of the letters in this word are added together – 8; 30; 2 – the
total is forty. Forty hints to the number of days Moses was on Mount Sinai
receiving the Torah.
I would like to present another, perhaps
more personal and spiritual reason for this custom. Unlike meat that nourishes
the flesh, milk is full of calcium which nourishes the bones. The Hebrew for
bones is “Atzmot תמוצע ” which is also the word that means “essence.” This
custom hints to the fact that on this holiday we absorb the Torah which
nourishes our essence.
Additionally, milk is the most basic
of foods that a nursing mother shares with her infant. The mother literally
gives of her essence and nurtures the essence of the baby. This relationship
parallels the personal bond and love that a mother shares with her child.
On Shavuot we celebrate the personal
relationship that we have with God, when He gives over His essence, the Torah,
and we absorb it into the essence of our soul.
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