This Shavuot, the season of the revelation of our Torah, I find myself blessed beyond measure. After the incredible celebration of my 20th anniversary as your Rabbi here at Temple Sinai, my cup had not yet overflowed.

On June 1st I will be back at my rabbinical school, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, to receive my honorary Doctor of Divinity. This degree is awarded in honor of my 25 years of service in the rabbinate. I will be reunited with my colleagues from the class of 1983. We are all certainly older and somewhat wiser, but the fire has not yet dimmed in our eyes and our hearts.

My older colleagues insist that this doctorate is more difficult to achieve than any Ph.D., yet it is not an academic degree, which is why I won’t be called “Doctor” any time soon!

I think that what is remarkable about the Shavuot holiday is the Torah comes all at once to our mothers and fathers gathered at Mt. Sinai. Most of us experience our life’s “revelations” slowly over time and in flashes of insight, often with considerable pain.

Is the diagnosis of cancer any less a revelation than the Torah’s prodding to moral behavior? When we repeatedly lose our footing on the steps of our home, is that any less a message to us than the call to Shabbat? When we are forced to be accountable for falling short of our own ethical standards, isn’t the message clearer than a thunderbolt from on high? All revelation demands life change.

Shavuot is a holiday of beauty, joy, purpose and a healthy dose of trembling. Our people are to meet God. In the face of God’s “voice,” spoken thunder and flame, our people alternately draw near and flee for their lives, according to the rabbis.

The lesson for us this Shavuot is that when we draw near to Sinai, we necessarily stand closer to each other and gain strength and hope. We all move toward the same mountaintop where God and Torah await us. When we panic and flee, we are left to our own devices. We suffer as much from loneliness and alienation as whatever we fear is pursuing us.

To stand on our own feet within a community whose faces are aligned in the same direction is what our tradition asks of us. On Shavuot we gaze toward God, we look into the essence of Torah, we gaze upon each others’ faces. There is revelation to be found in all three.

Come be with us for the holiday. On Sunday night June 8, we welcome the holiday with the Confirmation of our 10th graders, who share their hearts and insight with us. Later that same night we delve into the essence and secrets of Torah in late night study called Tikkun Layl Shavuot. Monday, June 9th, we will recreate our ancestors’ standing at Sinai as we hear the 10 Commandments for ourselves and offer our Yizkor memorial prayers.

There is revelation at every moment. It is easier to see and feel when standing together at Sinai.

Soon we will be celebrating two years together, and for me it still feels like a very short time! But there are changes on the way; my position is going to develop in the coming year. I will be heading our new Caring Center as well as continuing to take a meaningful role in all other rabbinic and educational areas.

I am looking forward to expanding our caring initiatives and hope this will enhance us as a sacred community. Our dedicated Caring Committee members have worked hard to develop the foundation from which we can grow. Our Shiva minyans have been actively supported by our members along with caring visits and food deliveries for various occasions.

Recently our committee has developed door hangers for emergency information that will be distributed to our whole congregation. Projects like this serve to strengthen our feeling of being a family of families and are a good example of our desire to reach out to our members in the spirit of the Jewish value of mutual responsibility.

A lot has been done in the area of caring within our Reform movement. The Department of Family Concerns of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) has published valuable and innovative materials on caring aspects of congregational life, such as Bikkur Cholim (visiting the sick) Sacred Aging, Consoling the Bereaved, etc., much of which is available on their website, http://urj.org/jfc/. One of my first goals is to learn this “Torah” and think about how each of the different caring aspects might relate to our community.

Naturally this process requires a closer look at ourselves as a community, which includes members of varying ages and life situations. By doing that we hope to identify the needs of our Temple family and find the best and most valuable ways to serve ourselves.

I believe that, as human beings, we all are in need of chesed (acts of love and kindness) and we all wish to make a difference in the lives of others as well.

Let us help ourselves to support each other