We are approaching one of the most forgotten festivals of the Torah. In Israel, even those living on kibbutzim, who generally do not live an observant life, remember this festival because of its connection to the harvest and the first fruits brought to the Temple. However, in the Diaspora, this festival was relegated to the background after the other two major festivals: Passover and Sukkot.<\/p>\n
La raz\u00f3n de esto, en el sentido m\u00e1s simple, es porque Pesaj tiene Matz\u00e1, el Seder de Pesaj, kn\u00e9idalaj, afikom\u00e1n y un mont\u00f3n de otros ingredientes que la hacen una fiesta propicia para la reuni\u00f3n familiar, el compartir la libertad, etc. Sucot, por su parte, cuenta con la Suca, una caba\u00f1a con techo de ramas u hojas, que invita a compartir un momento agradable a la luz de la luna (si no llueve…), sin siquiera hablar del lulav, el etrog y dem\u00e1s componentes que la hacen una fiesta alegre. Adem\u00e1s, ambas fiestas duran 7 u 8 d\u00edas (seg\u00fan si es en Israel o en la di\u00e1spora).<\/p>\n
Pero Shavuot no cuenta con ninguno de estos ingredientes \u00abdiferentes\u00bb: no tiene leyes propias de qu\u00e9 comer, d\u00f3nde comer (comer comidas l\u00e1cteas es s\u00f3lo una costumbre, no figura en la Tor\u00e1 Escrita, como la Matz\u00e1 o la Suc\u00e1) y dura s\u00f3lo uno o dos d\u00edas.<\/p>\n
Por eso Shavuot se volvi\u00f3 (en la di\u00e1spora) una fiesta que lamentablemente pasa sin pena ni gloria…<\/p>\n
However, it is thanks to Shavuot that the other holidays exist. And not only that, but the message of Shavuot is so profound and fundamental that it allows for the existence of the entire Jewish people as we know them today.<\/p>\n
Of course, it is very difficult to explain all the depth of this celebration in an editorial whose objective is to be short and to the point; however, in short, a short story.<\/p>\n
Una de las cosas que ocurri\u00f3 como preparaci\u00f3n para Shavuot y se concret\u00f3 en esta fiesta para el resto de las generaciones es la elecci\u00f3n de pueblo jud\u00edo por Di-s, para ser un \u00abpueblo de sacerdotes\u00bb. Charlando con un amigo sobre el tema, me coment\u00f3 al respecto: \u00abYo no quiero ser un sacerdote…\u00bb<\/p>\n
Por supuesto, el contexto de la palabra sacerdote que yo dije es diferente de la que mi amigo entendi\u00f3… Y aqu\u00ed reside uno de los mensajes de Shavuot y una de las explicaciones (m\u00e1s profunda) de por qu\u00e9 es una fiesta olvidada.<\/p>\n
God created the universe and placed within it a world, which we call Planet Earth. In that world, He created thousands of creatures, from inanimate objects like stones, to plants, animals, and finally human beings.<\/p>\n
Then, from among humankind, He chose a people, the Jewish people, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be the priestly people. What does this mean? God created a physical world, governed by the natural and normal rules of coexistence, but He did not stop there. Instead, He introduced into creation a Torah, that is, a method by which one can rise above worldliness and ascend to spirituality\u2014not to the false mysticism created by humankind, but to the true spirituality of the most spiritual Being of all: God.<\/p>\n
And it didn't stop there either; rather, through the Torah itself, this chosen people has the capacity to introduce that sublime spirituality into worldly matters, transforming everyday time and space into holy time and space.<\/p>\n
That is the context of a priest. A person who rises above his own limitations by connecting with God, who is beyond human understanding and limitations, and at the same time, brings that same transcendent God to earth, revealing Him in the simplest and most everyday things in life.<\/p>\n
That is the achievement of Shavuot: the connection of the physical with the spiritual, of the mundane with the holy. And this is achieved through a people of priests\u2014a people given the power to connect and unite the mundane with the holy and bring God to earth.<\/p>\n
Pero esto requiere de esfuerzo y compromiso, de fe y responsabilidad para con sigo mismo, el pr\u00f3jimo y el mundo que nos rodea. Quiz\u00e1s ese es el significado profundo de por qu\u00e9 Shavuot es una fiesta olvidada y por qu\u00e9 mi amigo no quer\u00eda ser un sacerdote…<\/p>\n
May we receive the Torah with joy and internalize it,<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are approaching one of the most forgotten festivals of the Torah. In Israel, even people living on kibbutzim, who generally do not live observant lives, remember this festival because of its connection to the harvest and the first fruits brought to the Temple. However, in the Diaspora, this festival\u2026 Read More \u00bbThe priest<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,94],"tags":[981,1008,953,950,1025,967,996,954,962,983,1225,1222,973,942],"series":[],"class_list":["post-2559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editoriales","category-shavuot","tag-alegria","tag-avraham","tag-comida","tag-di-s","tag-iaacov","tag-israel","tag-itzjak","tag-judio","tag-ley","tag-matza","tag-pesaj","tag-shavuot","tag-templo","tag-tora"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/Pueblo-Jud\u00edo.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/avatar1400.jpeg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"castbox":{"key":"castbox","url":"","label":"CastBox","class":"castbox","icon":"castbox.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/feed\/podcast\/rabino-tuvia-serber","embedCode":"El sacerdote<\/a><\/blockquote>