Shabbat Blast

Dear CBO Family,
 
This weekend brings the holiday of Shavuot. The holiday of Shavuot has a couple of different names, the festival of weeks, relating to the counting of the Omer from Pesach to Shavuot; as well as Chag Ha bikkurim-the holiday of the first fruits. People would bring their first fruits to the Temple during ancient times.
One of the unique aspects of Shavuot is a prayer that we only say once a year. It is recited on the first day of the Holiday and is called Akdamut. It is a liturgical poem known as a piyut and was written by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak in the eleventh century. Akdamut is no little prayer, it is written in difficult poetic Aramaic and is ninety verses long. The Art scroll Siddur describes the prayer by saying “The first forty-four verses form a double acrostic of the aleph bet, while the first letters of the remaining verses spell the authors name and a blessing: Meir, the son of Rabbi Yitzchak, may he grow in Torah and in Good deeds. Amen. Be strong and of Good courage.”

When examining Akdamut I found different ways that it elevates us by hearing it or studying it. First off the rhyming sequence; each verse ends with the suffix
"Ta " the letters Tav and Aleph. These are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. By ending each verse with this suffix it shows us that the cycle of studying the Torah is endless and as soon as one completes the Torah he or she should begin again.

Second is the way the prayer is divided thematically. The Art scroll siddur clarifies this by saying, “The poem is divided into two major themes: God’s greatness; and the Jewish people’s faith in God and obedience to the Torah, despite oppression and ridicule-and three subordinate themes: the angels praising God, the Torah’s greatness, and the reward awaiting the righteous for upholding the Torah.”
Lastly the mystical imagery throughout the prayer. At one point during Akdamut it talks about how the prayers of the Jewish people are woven into a crown by an angel. This crown sits next to God’s tefillin which have praises of the Jewish people in them.

Because of all of this Akdamut is a unique prayer that precedes the reading of the Ten Commandments and brings multiple layers of holiness that elevate the congregation as they hear it. This prayer enables us to be worthy of hearing of the recitation of the commandments and links us to our ancestors who received the Torah from God on Mount Sinai.
 
Wishing everyone a lovely Shabbat a blessed holiday,
 
Cantor Kowitz

REMINDER
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If you have not already done so, it is imperative that you return the entire COMPLETED package to the synagogue as soon as possible.

Thank you for your cooperation.

SERVICES
Friday, June 7 - Thursday, June 13

Click the links below to view some of
our upcoming events!

Science and Judaism: Tradition and Modernity Shavuot

Tot Shabbat at Newbridge Road Park  

Shabbat Celebration and Brunch with Temple Israel 

Carol Burnett "The Grand Dame of Comedy"

​​​​​​​Meditation at the Beach
 

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