Finding Strength in the Face of Hatred

From the desk of Lynn Davis, Director, Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project

Shavuot, one of the major festivals on the Jewish calendar, occurs seven weeks after Passover. This year, it began on the evening of Sunday, June 1st and will end nightfall on Tuesday, June 3rd. In Israel, the holiday is celebrated for only one day and ends a night earlier.

Shavuot commemorates one of the foundational events in Jewish tradition, the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The Torah was given in the wilderness - a desert much like ours - a place of silence and humility, where there were no walls, no borders, no ownership. In that vast openness, we have space to listen: to the voice of the Divine, to our own souls, and to the cries of those in pain, The Midrash tells us that every Jewish soul - past, present, and future - stood at Sinai. Every convert, every seeker, every person yearning for connection was there too.

This Shavuot, as Jews stand together once more at Sinai, the pain is still present. Recent attacks on members of the Jewish community in Washington, D.C., and just this past weekend in Boulder, Colorado, are a painful reminder that the scourge of antisemitism still shadows our lives. We mourn for those harmed, and we grieve for a world where hatred still burns.

And yet, Shavuot teaches us that in these moments of fear and agony, we can find strength - not just in ourselves, but in each other. Rabbi Soloveitchik, a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and 20th century Jewish philosopher, said that each of us carries a pintele yid - a spark of Jewish identity and connection. Even if we sometimes feel distant, even if the noise of the world distracts us, that spark remains. It is the imprint of Sinai within us, the chayei olam nata b’socheinu - the eternal Torah of life planted deep within our souls.

This is our task: to lift the head of every person, to ensure that none are left unseen or unheard, and to build a society that values each individual, especially the vulnerable - the widow, the orphan, the stranger. It can be hard work to be in a community of individuals, but this is the most challenging, empowering, inspiring work of all.

This Shavuot, we at Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center will recommit to building connection and standing together in untiy. We will honor the memories of those who cae before us by building a future where every soul is cherished, and no one is targeted for who they are. We will envision the Torah as a tree of life - a source of strength, justice, and hope for all.

Chag Shavuot Sameach. may it be a time of learning, healing, and renewed connection.