The holiday of Shavuot connects us to each other and to our ancestors as we commemorate and relive revelation of Torah. This year, GJC is gathering together with P’nai Or Philadelphia, RRC, and Mishkan Shalom for our annual Tikkun Leyl Shavuot (traditionally an all-night Torah study). See below for details about this year’s Tikkun!
“Be a Rodeph Shalom – A Pursuer of Peace”
Plenary talk with R. Mordechai Liebling
We are living in a period of increasing divisions, animosity, and uncertainty. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it, Psalm 34:15. In this time, what does it mean to pursue peace– and in which arena? We can see peace within ourselves, our families (shalom bayit), our own communities, our nation, the larger world. We will study and reflect on what this commandment is calling upon us to be and to do.
Schedule:
* Please note that streaming is not available in the Temin Canteen Room.
- 7:00-7:30 PM: Mingling & Refreshments
- Location: GJC Playground & Temin Canteen Room
- 7:30-7:45 PM: Welcome from GJC, Mishkan Shalom, P’nai Or Philadelphia, & RRC
- Location: Temin Canteen Room
- 7:45-8:15 PM: Ma’ariv, led by R. Shawn Zevit
- Location: Temin Canteen Room
- 8:15-9:15 PM: Opening Plenary Session with R. Mordechai Liebling and Hevruta
- Location: Temin Canteen Room
- 9:15-9:30 PM: Break for Nosh, Coffee, & Drinks
- Location: Temin Canteen Room
- 9:30-10:30 PM: Class Session 1
- Awe As A Way into Experiencing Peace with Claudia Apfelbaum
- Location: Magil Chapel
- Livestream Link: HERE || See emails for passcode
- Resisting the Weaponization of Antisemitism with Alex Avelin, Lila Corwin Berman & Jennifer Paget
- Location: Maslow Auditorium
- Description: In recent years, think tanks, federal government actors, and some Jewish communal organizations have used antisemitism as a smoke screen to undermine democratic rights to free speech and due process. In this session, we will examine texts to understand how this was carried out and to hear other approaches to Jewish safety.
- Livestream Link: HERE || See emails for passcode
- Taking Risks to Pursue Peace 1.0 (7th-9th graders) with Bridget Siegel-Fultz
- Location: Quitman Library
- Description: What risks must we be ok with taking to pursue peace? We will study Pirkei Avot and do activity-based learning to understand how risks can help us create the world we want to live in. Designed for 7th-9th grade attendees.
- Eichah Rabah! Inherited War Trauma in Judaism & Across Cultures with Merissa Nathan Gerson
- Location: Temin Canteen Room
- Awe As A Way into Experiencing Peace with Claudia Apfelbaum
- 10:45-11:45 PM: Class Session 2
- The Presents and Presence of Torah and Queerness with Sai Koros
- Location: Magil Chapel
- Livestream Link: HERE || See emails for passcode
- Description: Join us for an interactive text study on temple gifts for Shavuot, using a queer lens. In pursuing a world of peace, what are our responsibilities to give and receive blessings as and for LGBTQIA+ people?
- Slaying the Dragon of Terror: A Rabbinic Challenge to the Necessity of War with Raphael Morris
- Location: Maslow Auditorium
- Livestream Link: HERE || See emails for passcode
- Taking Risks to Pursue Peace 2.0 (10th-12th graders) with Bridget Siegel-Fultz
- Location: Quitman Library
- Description: What risks must we be ok with taking to pursue peace? We will study Pirkei Avot and do activity-based learning to understand how risks can help us create the world we want to live in. Designed for 10th grade through college aged attendees.
- Receiving the Luminous with Elissa Yaffe & R. Malkah Binah Klein
- Location: Temin Canteen Room
- Description: What is ours to do in this moment in history? A creative, mystical exploration of this vital questions through listening for the wisdom of our ancestors.
- The Presents and Presence of Torah and Queerness with Sai Koros
Please note that classes from 12 AM on will not be livestreamed.
- 12:00-12:30 AM: Singing Torah at Midnight – Verses on Peace from Torah in Song with R. Adam Zeff
- Location: Magil Chapel
- Description: Come sing!
- 12:45-1:45 AM: “All of her Paths are Peace”: Is Torah a Path to Peace? with R. Alex Weissman
- Location: Magil Chapel
- 2:00-3:00 AM: Al Tifrosh Min Hatzibur – Don’t separate yourself from the community with R. Maria Pulzetti
- Location: Magil Chapel
- 3:15-4:15 AM: Hitzoni V’Pnimi – Internal and External Peace with R. Adam Zeff
- Location: Magil Chapel
Please join us from 4:30-6:00 AM for a Shacharit Service & Sunrise Reading of the Ten Commandments, led by R. Adam Zeff, R. Maria Pulzetti, and others!