THE RABBI'S SHAVUOT MESSAGE:

Rabbi Max Fox The Rabbis remark: "Everything depends on luck, even the Torah in the Ark." One Torah is read from constantly; the other one stands in a comer of the Holy Ark, forlorn and deserted. This applies equally well to the Jewish festivals. Some holidays have mazel and others do not. Shavuot is one of the "Sholosh Regalim" - one of the three pilgrimage festivals. Passover and Sukkot are observed for over a week. Shavuot, on the other hand, is celebrated for just two days, and even this is because we are in the Galut (Diaspora). In Israel it is only one day. There is an even more interesting difference between the Festivals. Every Jewish holiday has some unique symbol; some special "mitzvah" which must be performed. On Pesach we are required to eat matzo for seven days. On Sukkot we say the blessings over the Lulav and the Esrog, and we dwell in the Sukkah for seven days. On Rosh Hashanah we are commanded to blow the Shofar one hundred times. On Yom Kippur we fast for twenty-four hours. Shavuot, however, is not only the shortest festival in duration, but is devoid of any symbols or specific

mitzvot which must be fulfilled. Yet, Shavuot is not a minor holiday. This festival celebrates "Z'man Matan Toratenu" - the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Shavuot celebrates the birthday of our Jewish Faith - a Faith that has given meaning and purpose to our existence. Unlike the other holidays, Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and

there is no symbol for Torah. There is only one way to celebrate this festival that commemorates that awesome moment in history when G-d revealed Himself and gave our people a most precious gift - the Torah. And that is, by practicing and living in accordance with the precepts and moral teachings of the Torah. To reduce Torah to a symbol is to distort the very concept of Torah. The true celebration of Shavuot lasts more than a day or week. It should be observed 365 days a year, and in a lifetime of practicing and living a life of Torah. As the great Saadyah said: "Our people are a nation only by virtue of the Torah."

Rabbi Max Fox is the spiritual leader at Rodef Sholom in Atlantic City.