My Shavuos

By Tzippy Kay

Yom tov started out with a meal at the Sharfman household where something fun and exciting is always going on. (It just gets a bit embarrassing when 7 year old Ezzy knows more answers to the Shavuos questions than you do).
The holiday continued with some learning in the Beis Medrash, followed by three inspirational speakers. Rabbi Kahane, in particular, impacted us with his message of the cyclical nature of the Jewish calendar. He said that on Shavuos we are actually reliving the receiving of the Torah - and just like the occasion at Har Sinai - Hashem goes around and asks us if we want to accept the Torah. The question in our times, therefore, is whether we are willing to give up all of the follies and other things that interfere with us truly connecting to Hashem? This definitely lead to some soul searching in all of us.

By 4:30 am we started walking to the Kotel. The scene was indescribable! The closer you got to the Old City the bigger the crowd swelled. Streams of people became rivers of Jews all heading for one spot - it reminded me of Aliyah L'regel. You really felt like you were part of a bigger picture. When I saw the crowd at the Kotel - filling the plaza all the way back and up into the stairs - I really felt as if I, personally, was accepting the Torah again - it was the perfect culmination to a night of learning and preparation. I will cherish the memory always.

(picture not taken on Yom Tov - duh !)

- Regards from BTI