Two Minute Torah Podcast

Vayikra 5772 by Richard S. Moline

Shalom, this is Rich Moline, Chief Outreach Officer for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Welcome to Two Minute Torah, a project of KOACH, our fantastic college outreach department.

There are times in our calendar when we have special Shabbatot. Five times a year, we begin a new book of the Torah. There are thirteen special Shabbatot each year, all connected to festivals or other historical events in our calendar. Of those thirteen, eight require a special maftir Torah reading and the recitation of a specially designated Haftarah. We also have certain times during the year when Rosh Hodesh, a new Hebrew month, falls on Shabbat and we are required to recite most of the Hallel prayers and add a special paragraph to the Amidah, in addition to reciting another special maftir reading and Haftarah.

While these different things often make the service a bit longer, they add to the drama of the Shabbat morning experience and are usually annual highlights in the Jewish calendar.

Well fasten your seat belts, because this week, we get them all. Through a confluence of dates and the events tied to them, this Shabbat we begin the book of Leviticus, Vayikra, we observe Shabbat HaHodesh, the Shabbat commemorating the first month in our calendar, the month of Nissan, and we celebrate Rosh Hodesh, since this Shabbat also happens to be the first of the month.

This means:

• Adding a special paragraph to the Amidah;
• The regular Torah reading;
• A special reading for Shabbat Rosh Hodesh
• Another special reading for Shabbat HaHodesh;
• For those fortunate enough to have them, THREE Sifrei Torah are used;
• And in some congregations, the recitation of a special psalm for the new month.

WOW. Add to that a good D’var Torah and we certainly have ourselves a very full morning.

Uh oh. I fear now that I have convinced you to stay home – er, I mean attend services at Sha’arei Sheyna, the Gates of Sleep Congregation.

It’s a quirk in the calendar – and while it happens from time-to-time, it’s not often that we get to experience all of this at once. Sure, anybody can be present on an average Shabbat morning, but this one is just too good to miss.

We don’t hesitate to look at that lunar eclipse, because it’s special and happens only every so often. We watch the season finale of our favorite TV show, because, really, it’s the season finale. We get tickets to a playoff game, because at least in my home town of Chicago, such occurrences are rare.

Well this is our lunar eclipse, season finale and playoff game all wrapped into one. It’s like opening day to me. The month of Nissan means spring and spring means Pesah. We begin another book of the Torah, which means our perpetual countdown to one thing or another continues. We have three Torahs – which means we need three strong people to show us their stuff. We have Hallel, which in my community means lots of singing.