A Ritual to Connect Standing Together on Shavuot

As we approach the holiday of Shavuot, in the month of Sivan, we are presented with the perfect opportunity to embrace this quality of interconnectedness. It is often during critical moments in the Jewish story that we are reminded of how we are all connected, and that we stand together as one people.

In What to Remember When Waking, poet David Whyte suggests that being human involves a series of necessary relationships, or conversations, in which we are continuously engaged. Whyte often calls this the “conversational nature of reality.”

Physicist Carlo Rovelli shares a similar perspective, suggesting that each one of us is more than just a singular human being, but rather composed of a “net” of relationships.

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“I’m a net of interactions with the world around me, with the people who know me, who love me.”

— CARLO ROVELLI

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We each stand here due to countless interactions and connections with those around us—the parental figures who nurtured us, the teachers who guided us, the friendships that shaped us. Many of us stand here because of countless actions by people we don’t know, people who farmed the land that grew our food, who built the schools we attended, who cared for and protected the environments that nourished our growth.

In Exodus 24:3, as the Jewish people receive the laws of the Torah and prepare for an encounter with the Divine, they come together as one. It is written, “Moses went and repeated to the people all the commands of the Lord and all the rules; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, “All the things that the Lord has commanded we will do!”

And later, in parshat Nitzavim, in Deuteronomy 29:13, as the Jewish people are about to enter the land of Israel, G-d says ‘You stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your G-d...to enter into the covenant. I make this covenant, not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day and with those who are not with us here this day.’”

One interpretation of these two verses is that in moments of great importance, when we stand together to connect with G-d/the Divine, we are reminded that we are part of a vast network of relationships. Rather than seeing ourselves as independent, we can see that we are in fact one voice. Each one of us is the summation of the compassionate connections that shape our lives, and we stand together in recognition of the interdependent nature of being human.

As we approach Shavuot, we have the chance to reflect on this sense of oneness. Here we are, all connected, all together at Sinai. By standing together, we become ready to receive the Torah and embrace intimate connection with the Divine.

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Activity:

Your Web of Compassionate Connections

Take some time to reflect on the net of relationships that have supported you in getting to this point in your life. You can do this activity alone, or with your Well Circle. Set aside some time to write/draw solo, and then discuss together.

• What are some of the core relationships that have sustained you up to this point? Perhaps your parental relationships, influential teachers, friends, or family members. What is one thing that you gained from each of these foundational relationships that shaped who you are today?
• Can you think of some of the less obvious relationships that have made your life path possible? Examples might include the people who made the clothes you are wearing or the kitchen staff at the school you attended.
• Pick one person from either of your lists above. What would you like to say to them? How might you thank them for their kind efforts to support you? How can you acknowledge the part they have played in your ability to stand here today?

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