Message From The Rabbi

Rabbi Max Miller

Today is still Shavuot—at least until sunset. While it’s one of the Torah’s major festivals, Shavuot often feels like the quietest. There’s no seder plate, no shofar, no sukkah. And we’re not the first to notice.

Two thousand years ago, after the Jewish people were exiled from the Land of Israel, our sages faced a challenge: how do you celebrate an agricultural holiday when you’re no longer living in the land it’s tied to? Shavuot, originally a harvest festival, suddenly lacked context.

So, the rabbis gave it new meaning. They redefined Shavuot as the day we received the Torah at Mount Sinai—a moment that changed everything. You might be thinking, Isn’t that Simchat Torah? Not quite. Simchat Torah celebrates the end of the annual reading cycle. Shavuot marks the actual event—the giving of the Torah itself.

And what a moment it was.
Of all the things that make the Jewish people unique, our relationship with the Torah stands at the center. It’s the source of our values, our traditions, and our resilience. In every generation, we’ve turned to Torah study to help us navigate the challenges of our time.

Shavuot asks us a timeless question:
Now that we’ve received this wisdom, what will we do with it?

Our ancestors answered: “We will do, and we will learn.”
That’s our task too—to live with Torah in our actions and to keep learning its lessons.