Courtesy Rebecca Sugar
The Jewish holiday of Shavuot is approaching and many American Jews reading this will not know what I am talking about. Shavuot (Pentecost) celebrates the giving of the Torah (Bible) to the ancient Hebrews at Mount Sinai whereupon they became the Jewish nation, entrusted with the laws that would inspire and change their history and that of the entire worldâs forever. It is one of the most important days on the Jewish calendar and sadly so few even know how to pronounce it.
What happens to a people that is so disconnected from its own foundational texts and traditions? Contemporary American Jewry provides the answer. Our community is thinning through assimilation and intermarriage and ignorance has led large portions of it to rebrand Judaism as social justice. More non-Orthodox Jews in America are likely informed about books likeÂ