Once a granddaughter shared with her grandfather a vision that was about to be realized. She announced, with tremendous fanfare,
that she was flying to Israel, traveling to the wilderness of the Sinai and then climbing Mt. Sinai. Once atop Mt. Sinai, she declared,
she would show her respect and admiration to the Ten Commandments by reading them aloud on this mountain peak.
Her grandfather paused and responded: so let me fully understand. In order to pay your respect to the
Ten Commandments, you are packing up, flying to Israel, shlepping to the Sinai and then climbing a
big rock in order to read the Ten Commandments. Oy! Instead of paying respect to the Ten Commandments, why don’t you save yourself the
long trip and just observe them here at home?! I am reminded of the cynical comment on the TV series M*A*S*H (and today it seems that every
show from the 60’s and 70’s is currently undergoing a revival!). The character Hawkeye Pierce in one
episode turns to Father Mulcahy and says, The Ten Commandments: quite a number of them are on the critical list. Paying tribute to the Ten
Commandments is a nice gesture; ultimate respect is when we observe the mitzvot and traditions of our people.
Shavuot is the celebration of Revelation – that the Divine Presence gifted our world with a moral blueprint, an ever evolving law code that is the
distinguishing element of the Jewish people – and a beacon of justice and humanity to the entire world. At a mountain called Sinai more than three
millennia ago, the nexus of the Divine and the Jewish people was ratified with a covenant call the Torah as the sacred teachings were transmitted to
Moses and the Jewish people. Annually on Shavuot we revel in this inspiring moment in Jewish history as sacred words and uplifting teachings, the coda
of holy imperatives, transformed and defined our world. The Ten Commandments and the Torah are the bedrock principles of the Western world and the
hallmarks of humanity and the vision of a just and moral civilization. It is quite a coincidence that Shavuot this year coincides with Memorial Day weekend (with
Shavuot commencing on Saturday evening, May 26 and Sunday and Monday, May 27 and 28). Memorial Day weekend is when we pay our
homage and respects to the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country, having lost their lives in defending our land
and our values in each generation of their service in the Armed Forces of these United States. The very term paying respects is a colloquial
phrase used for those whom have passed away. When we ‘pay our respects’ it is generally utilized as a reference those who are deceased. In Judaism,
respect is KAVOD – an honored approbation which is rooted in the word weightiness. Honor and true honor is earned by the weighty tasks we fulfill and
in doing so create an aura of honor for those around us in the community. On Shavuot, we do not pay respect to the Torah –
that is saved for an ancient relic found in a museum display case. On Shavuot we honor the Torah and create KAVOD by bring the teachings of Torah into
our lives – we become the living Torah through our deeds, our actions and our Jewish commitments. The joy of Shavuot is found as we spend an evening
of study in our annual Torathon on Saturday evening, May 26 commencing at 8:00 pm. The engaging dynamic of teaching, learning and living
Torah is found in this engaging Jewish moment. As we celebrate Shavuot on Sunday and Monday, we weave the sacred text of the Divine teachings
into aspects of our lives as we are open to the Ten Commandments. Charlton Heston had the commanding voice to enunciate the Ten Commandments in the movie by
that name. Judaism teaches us that true KAVOD – ultimate honor – is when the commanding Voice of Sinai transforms our deeds and actions as we live
lives filled with more holiness, more goodness and kindness and embrace the values of our community. In contrast to the granddaughter story noted above,
instead of paying our respect and lip service to the Ten Commandments, Shavuot is about living a life of respect and service to God, faith, family and
community. KAVOD is also about the HONOR bestowed upon our community by the tremendous and gifted leadership of Brenda Rosenberg and her talented
leadership team in her tenure as President of DHJC. As she completes her Presidential term this June, we salute her dynamic presence and powerful
accomplishments along with her engaging presence and stellar leadership style. Brenda has demonstrated her devotion to the Jewish community by leading
by example. Brenda is a role model of involvement in the Jewish life of our community and that is what KAVOD, honor and respect mandates – that Judaism is an active force for crafting goodness. We celebrate and demonstrate our KAVOD for Brenda Rosenberg by following her exemplar of leadership
through our involvement in the daily and inspiring Jewish life at DHJC. We are grateful to Brenda for her tenure as President and look forward to many,
many more years of your inspiring leadership, sage advice filled with blessings of good health and joy! We wish the new leadership team, to be led by
Nina Sandler gifted opportunities of KAVOD, of the joyous mantle of leadership and gifted visions for our mission of Torah and Jewish life in our
community. We also this month, through the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs demonstrate our KAVOD, inspired respect as we honor Michael Burstein as the Men’s
Club Honoree of the Year, and Erika Slepian and Sam Gochman as our Youth Honorees. Michael is a long term member of our DHJC Board of Trustees,
a leader in our Men’s Club and it is our delight to show KAVOD to Michael for all of his ongoing
leadership involvement at DHJC. Mazel Tov to Barbara, his wife and their children Alyssa and Mallory! Our future leadership is exemplified by our J-Team members Sam Gochman and Erika Slepian and mazel tov on their well deserved accolades as they have already demonstrated leadership skills
at DHJC, in the Jewish community and in their academic world as well. Congratulations to their kvelling families. Also, KAVOD incorporates our
gratitude to the entire leadership of our synagogue with special thanks to Aaron Altman and the Men’s Club and Ronnit Kessler, Chloe Dubin and Shari
Slepian of the Sisterhood! Though Shavuot only lasts for two days of sacred holiday celebrations, the message of KAVOD, of
living the words of Torah is an everlasting and ongoing Jewish message. All of us are aware of the social network FACEBOOK. Imagine the revelatory
power of knowing that we FACE the BOOK of Torah each and every moment and that the FACEBOOK of Torah is to engage us in living our lives with deep
content and contentment. Let us on Shavuot and every day FACE the BOOK of Torah as we scroll through our lives with KAVOD, living our days with
honor and creating respect for God, humanity and community! Shalom and a joyous and richly blessed summer in which we see one another often in shul
and in joyous Jewish moments.

Rabbi Howard R. Buechler