Shavuot in Jerusalem

Hanoch Ne’eman 12 Iyar 5782 Tekoa

Even though we moved to Tekoa the day before, we returned to Yerushalayim for Shabbos-Shavuot, aliyat l’regel. 

Moshe and Tzipooah Rothkoph had a minyan at their Shul in the Rova both days, and we went in on both Shabbat and the holiday, which added a lot to our yom tov. The Shavuot minyan was a netz minyan, starting at 4:45 am. They had learning there all night, which we did not participate in. We slept, but got up after four to walk in. We got there about 5:15 am. It was nice walking in with a lot of other people. Some group of teenage girls were going up the steps with us to Zion Gate. They were singing a tune from Hallel or something, it was nice. Many people were also leaving the Old City before dawn. They presumably had stayed up learning all night at the Kotel and would pray at a normal time. Moshe intersperses the prayers with some great divrei Torah. He said that his teacher Shlomo would say, what is special about the ten utterances spoken at Mount Sinai? Each one is able in itself to change the world. Imagine if everyone in the world believed there was one God, or if everyone believed it was forbidden to murder, or to steal, to take something God did not let you have? 

Eliyahu Rosenblum was Baal shacharis. We were also privileged to have him sing and play at our wedding. 

At kiddush Moshe spoke about Ruth. About how just when she was crossing the border into the land of Israel, the Sanhedrin was meeting and ruling that the Halacha was that a Moabite woman was allowed to enter the people of Israel. This shows, Moshe said, that sometimes Hashem can as it were change the Torah for one person. Moshe used that as an opportunity to make the comparison to our day, that sometimes there are poskim who are able to help pople with unique problems, and therefore one should not despair. I thought about the example of people with celiac who can’t say Grace after meals. Perhaps a posek will say it is not dependent just on bread for them. 

Tags: shavuot