On Shavuot, there are two central themes that seemingly are disconnected. The biblical theme is Yom Ha-bikkurim and Chag Hakatzir, which refers to Shavuot as being the harvest festival and the first day upon which the farmers would bring their bikkurim, i.e. their first fruits, as an offering to the Temple (Chizkuni). The rabbinic theme of Shavuot is Chag Matan Torah, the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, which is based on a tradition that the Torah was given at Sinai on Shavuot. According to both themes, we are thankful for Divine providence even though this providence also requires an effort on our part.

In order to succeed in his/her harvest, the agriculturalist needed to master agronomy. This included a deep knowledge of climate, fertilization, irrigation, and the like, combined with a knowledge of commerce. This mastery is radically different from the traits needed to celebrate the Festival of the Giving of the Torah. For this festival to be celebrated to the full, one needs to master theology and have a comprehensive knowledge of the multiple dimensions of Torah. The agriculturalist resides in the “real world,” while the Torah scholar may very well reside in an “ivory tower.”

A second disconnection between the biblical and the rabbinic themes is their locus. The biblical theme focuses on the Land of Israel; the bikkurim are brought from the seven species common to the Land. From a biblical perspective, Shavuot can be fully celebrated only in Israel. The rabbinic theme, however, is not Israel-dependent. The Torah was given at Sinai, which was outside the borders of Israel; the Torah is universal.

While the biblical and rabbinic themes seem to be disconnected, in essence they create a tension that is existentially crucial for the future of Judaism. On the one hand, Judaism is grounded in a tradition of revelation; on the other hand, it is well aware of the importance of mastering science’s modern challenges and the celebration of this mastery. A Judaism that focuses only upon revelation and authenticity is in danger of becoming fossilized and irrelevant. A Judaism that only relates to a mastery of a current reality, which is in perpetual pursuit of relevance and personal meaning, may well be popular today, but it is in danger nevertheless of being irrelevant for the next generation, which may find relevancy and meaning in other cultures.

A Judaism that focuses only on Israel loses significance for those who wish to express their Judaism in the diaspora, whereas a Judaism that is universal and does not see the importance of Israel is in danger of being detached and unable to relate to the dreams and challenges of a Jewish sovereign nation in the Land of Israel, which is so central to our tradition.

It is this dialectic that I have aspired to make a central ethos of the globe-spanning Florence Melton Adult Mini-School over the past two decades. The program is available here through the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. Embracing a spirit of pluralism, we developed courses that ensure that our students appreciate the tension between these poles.

From our perspective, Jewish literacy is neither the study of dogma, nor a search for meaning. Rather, it is the embracing of a systematic set of ideas that live in tension with one another. Some ideas and precepts our students accept as binding; others they find meaningful and relevant.

The ultimate success, however, is the appreciation of the tension between these ideas and the grasping of their implications. In engaging in this process, hopefully a decision to make the study of Jewish texts will not only be a two-year journey, but a lifetime pursuit.

Chag sameach.

JERUSALEM – Unlike other Jewish holidays, the Torah does not specify a date for Shavuot; it is celebrated on the 50th day (seven weeks) after Passover. We moderns celebrate Shavuot on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in ancient times, when the first day of every month was declared only when the new moon was first seen, the holiday could have been celebrated on the fifth, sixth, or seventh day of Sivan.

Equally strange, the actual date on which the Torah was given is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible! We know more or less when it was, but no exact date is given. This is true even though the dates of many other events, all surely of far lesser importance, are written explicitly in the Torah.

And while we consider the focus of Shavuot to be the giving of the Torah, it is never referred to as such in the Bible. The festival has a few names, but none connected to its most important theme.

We do not even know the exact place where God gave the Torah. At least for the past two millennia, it has been completely unknown and none of the three contenders we have for Mount Sinai is the right place. According to Jewish tradition, Mount Sinai was not a high mountain. Those who believe that it was one of the highest spots in the Sinai Peninsula, thinking that a tall mountain is closer to God, seem to have slightly pagan ideas.

So there are three mysteries: Why doesn’t Shavuot have a date of its own? Why is it not explicitly connected to the Ten Commandments and the Giving of the Law? And why don’t we even know where the Torah was given? Commemorated by a festival seemingly disconnected from the event, the Israelites received this most sacred text on a date and on a site that are only vaguely known to us.

One way to understand this phenomenon is to consider the idea that the giving of the Torah is not a moment that belongs to the world in its natural run. It is, instead, a transcendental event and cannot be put within the boundaries, lists, and timetables of everyday life.

Possible analogies are the mathematical concepts of irrational and transcendental numbers. Even though one can give an approximate measure of such numbers, they cannot be defined as part of the world of ordinary numbers. In a way, irrational and transcendental numbers pass through the field of ordinary numbers — without ever touching them. Similarly, one may say that the giving of the Torah is not a part of the normal existence of this world; it cannot be treated with the same terms and measurements, and one can assume with certainty that no traces of this earth-shaking event will be found in the rocks of Sinai or anywhere else.

Thus, because the giving of the Torah is an act that does not belong to this world, it does not have a precise time or place. That is why the Torah was given in a desert, in what can be called “no man’s land”: The moment does not belong to the political realm and is not a part of any historical construct. That moment at Sinai is an event completely outside time and space, and from a different dimension altogether.

The counting of 50 days between Passover and Shavuot points to their internal connection. Shavuot can be defined as the conclusion of the festival of Passover, which is indeed what it is. Passover is the redemption from slavery and the beginning of our formation into a new, national entity. But the identity of the new nation that was formed as it left Egypt was still in question. The Israelites, just like many contemporary Jews, had a fuzzy notion that they were somehow connected with each other, but they had no idea what that connection meant.

The relationship of Passover and Shavuot, then, is like the relationship between a question and an answer. Passover is the question, as reflected in the most famous question asked on the seder night: Now that we have our freedom, what do we do with it? And the holiday of Shavuot, the Time of the Giving of the Torah, is the answer. Indeed, it is more than an answer: It is also the creation of a nation that becomes the vehicle for holding, safeguarding, and transmitting the Torah. Thus, these two holidays, which are joined together by the counting of those 50 days, form a full metaphysical sentence that is made up of a question and an answer.

Chag sameach from Jerusalem.

JTA Wire Service

BOSTON – There is a lot of hand-wringing these days about whether the rising costs of Jewish day schools are sustainable. The discussion has been about money, but this misses the point: The largest costs of day school tuition are not financial but moral, and the key to solving the financial dilemma is to address the moral problem.

What are the moral costs? Imagine that someone proposes a new Jewish practice that would have these outcomes:

Observing my children playing, I notice how the same toy, no matter how many times they play with it, can reveal the most remarkable things. My daughter, with the vocabulary befitting a 1 1/2-year-old, will bring her ball over to me and point to a mark on it with a delighted grunt.

“How remarkable!” I will say with (feigned) enthusiasm. To her, however, it is remarkable; she had never noticed it before.

As moviegoers continue to flock to see Marvel’s new superhero ensemble, they would understandably associate the idea of Nazi-fighting avengers with Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Black Widow. In fact, however, there was also a real-life band of Jewish freedom fighters with the same name who were bent on sticking it to Adolf Hitler’s henchmen.

Let us start with the new film. Without giving away anything, let us just say it goes there. And, of course, Captain America was launched in 1941 with the iconic image of him punching Hitler in the face, knocking him for a loop. That is no surprise — Cap (like Superman, Batman, X-Men and so many other superheroes) was created by two Jews: Joe Simon (born Hymie Simon) and Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg).

The teacher stands in front of the sparse classroom, its walls bare and paint peeling.

“This school looks like a prison,” one of my fellow travelers whispers.

Many of the children are huddled in coats; schools in this neighborhood do not have heat, and the unexpected rain and cool air chill the room.

Overcrowded classrooms, minimal instruction hours in core subjects, and a shortage of qualified teachers have taken a toll on the country’s education system. These children must study in an NGO-funded afterschool program to gain the basic academic foundation they need to break the cycle of poverty.

I am not a supporter of Gov. Chris Christie. l disagree with virtually all of his polices and I do not approve of his highly partisan style of governing. I do feel, however, that an op-ed article on these pages by Daniel Pipes and Steven Emerson regarding the governor is neither correct nor fair. It charged that Christie is unfit to serve as vice president because of what the authors feel are his pro-Islamic views and actions.

The authors cite four actions taken by Christie that attempt to portray the governor as being soft on lslamism. A closer review would reveal that the perception is incorrect.

Many public figures from all political points of view, as well as religious leaders including rabbis, supported Mohammad Qatanani when the Department of Homeland Security attempted to deport him. The deportation case against Qatanani was particularly weak. The issue was whether he failed to disclose that he had been detained for a period of time and questioned by Israeli officials. There was no indication that he had been convicted of any offense. Most of the evidence against him was so-called “secret evidence” to which he had no opportunity to rebut. The immigration judge dismissed the government’s case, finding that there was no proof that Qatanani had ever been arrested or attempted to mislead the government.

With regard to supporting the firing of a person who burned pages of a Koran, one cannot question that it was an “unacceptable” act of “intolerance.” Would someone not condemn a person burning three pages of a chumash? Christie is not the first politician of either party — nor will he be the last — to be on the other side of an issue from the American Civil Liberties Union. Derek Fenton should not have been fired, but that does not excuse his actions.

Sohail Mohammed is an excellent attorney who deserved to be appointed to the Superior Court. He is the first Muslim to serve as a state judge in New Jersey. As an attorney, he was a role model to the Muslim community and actively protected the rights of that community. Of special interest was his work in regard to the short-lived special registration program instituted by President George W. Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft, which required people from certain countries to report to the Department of Homeland Security, where many were taken into custody and deported.

This program was in many ways reminiscent to the actions in Germany with regard to Jews in the 1930s. To question Mohammed as to his views of Shari’a law would be no different than questioning an Orthodox Jewish appointee as to whether his views of Torah law would color his actions as a judge.

Christie was correct in continuing to support Mohammed in light of the xenophobia surrounding his appointment.

Finally, Christie was not the only political figure to condemn the actions of the New York Police Department in conducting surveillance in New Jersey on New Jersey residents including students at Rutgers University. Sen. Robert Menendez also questioned the propriety of these actions. Reasonable people can differ as to whether it is appropriate for a local police force from another state to conduct surveillance on New Jersey residents.

I find many reasons not to support Chris Christie for national oftice, but to say that he is “soft on lsIamism” and lacks a “moral compass and integrity” are not among those reasons.

ATLANTA, Ga. – When I was eight, I had names picked out for all of my future offspring (a dozen baby girls). At 13, I had my own babysitting business. After grad school, I was teaching a class of fourth-graders.

So by the time I became pregnant with my first child — a boy, go figure! — I knew exactly what kind of mother I was going to be: calm, organized and completely in charge.