Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah at Sinai and celebrates the late spring harvest. One of the traditional ways to celebrate Shavuot is to stay up all night studying Torah. For more than 15 years the Kansas City Jewish community has been doing just that at an annual communitywide Shavuot program held at Kehilath Israel Synagogue and sponsored by the Rabbinical Association and area congregations. This year’s program will be held June 7. (For more details, see below.)

This year’s keynote speaker will be Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, an internationally acclaimed author and speaker.  He is also a professor of liturgy, worship and ritual at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. The topic of his speech will be “The Many Paths to Jewish Spirituality.”

KI Senior Rabbi Herbert Mandl said as many as 500 people attend this event every year, and he thinks that’s incredible for Kansas City, especially here “where they roll the sidewalks in.”

“When (Rabbi Joseph) Telushkin was here two years ago he said there wasn’t a place in New York City that carries those types of numbers all night. He really enjoyed himself,” Rabbi Mandl said.

Rabbi Mandl said they always try to make sure the event appeals to all denominations of Jews, and Rabbi Hoffman has a large following here. He was supposed to speak here last year but at the last minute had to cancel due to illness.

Congregation Beth Torah’s Rabbi Mark Levin noted that Rabbi Hoffman is the author of “some 30 books, including the renowned siddur commentary, ‘My People’s Prayer Book.’ He is a renowned scholar whose work has influenced many Jews from all movements. His work is transdenominational, and pertinent to the Jewish lives of all members of our community.”

Rabbi Hoffman said he is proud that he can appeal to all denominations. He said his speech here will focus on Jewish spirituality as opposed to spiritualty for Jews. He explained the difference.

“There is a generic spirituality out there, which is what we all know of as seeing a sunset or climbing a mountain … all of which is the kind of spirituality people are used to,” Rabbi Hoffman said. “That is not necessarily Jewish spirituality. It is spirituality for Jews and for other people. It’s generic. The question is: Is there anything that is specifically Jewish spirituality that comes deeply from within Jewish tradition. I believe there is and I will be discussing that.”

Rabbi Hoffman believes American Jews are moving from being an ethnic people to a spiritual people. He has explained that when the Eastern European influx of Jews to the United States happened at the beginning of the 20th century, “we were very much engaged in Jewish peoplehood, not for a transcendent purpose but just because we liked being Jews.”

“We were nostalgic for Eastern Europe, for Jewish food, for Yiddish, Jewish jokes, that sort of thing. Eventually that became a deep concern for saving Jewish lives, Jews behind the Iron Curtain, Jews in Israel and what became what might be called a foreign affairs agenda of saving Jews and making sure Jews were safe and sound. “

He said that by 1990, when the population study took place, the American Jewish community discovered that the ethnic approach had resulted in a loss of Jewish identity.

“The reason we were losing Jews here is because ethnicity only lasts three generations. The first generation is the people who still speak the language, the second generation is determined to become Americanized and fight their parents’ ethnicity. The third generation can’t believe how foolish their parents were and love to get whatever they can from their grandparents. By the fourth generation nobody cares. We have now entered that fourth generation,” he said.

Now, Rabbi Hoffman said the question is: Why should anybody be Jewish when there is no automatic nostalgia for anything that was past.

“The answer for that has to be something of compelling rationale for Judaism and part of that rationale is spirituality. That’s the one thing that people do seek and they are seeking it everywhere. You can see it on shelf after shelf of bookstores or the variety of virtual books on Amazon. Every survey that we have demonstrates the search for meaning in life. The question is can religion provide meaning and that’s the spiritual question I will be talking about.”

Communitywide Shavuot program

The Jewish community will join together for an evening of prayer, study and celebration at the annual all-night Shavuot program Tuesday, June 7, at Kehilath Israel Synagogue. The evening begins at 8:30 p.m. with two Mincha services led by Rabbis Herbert Mandl and Scott White and will be followed by a catered dairy buffet dinner.

At 10:30 p.m. Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman will deliver the keynote, “The Many Paths to Jewish Spirituality.”

A panel discussion and study sessions will continue throughout the night. A sunrise service and breakfast will conclude this holiday celebration.

A catered dairy buffet dinner including blintzes and cheesecake will be served at 9:20 p.m. The cost is $14 per adult and $10 per student (age 21 and under). Mandatory advance reservations are required by Wednesday, June 1, and should be sent (make checks payable to Rabbinical Association) to Rabbinical Association, 5801 W. 115, Suite 113, Overland Park, KS 66211. Reservations received after June 1 will cost $18 per adult. There is no charge to the community to attend the study programs only, which begin at 10:30 p.m.

For additional information, visit www.kcrabbis.org. If planning to attend the study program only, please respond to Annette Fish, administrator/program director for the Rabbinical Association, or (913) 327-4622.