Shavuot at AC

Schedule — Service and Programming Info Below

Saturday, June 4

7:30-9pm – Shavuot Tikkun Under the Stars

Sunday, June 5

9:45am – Sanctuary Shavuot Service, Including “First Fruits” Aliyah

10am – Minyan M’at Shavuot Service

12:30pm – #TheSabbathChallenge with St. Michael’s Episcopal Church

Monday, June 6

9:45am – Sanctuary Shavuot Service, Including Yizkor

10am – Minyan M’at Shavuot Service

11am – Family Shavuot Nature Walk with Jacob Kose

 

First Fruits

Every year on the first day of Shavuot — the holiday in which ancient Israelites brought bikkurim, the first fruits of their harvests, to the Temple in Jerusalem — Ansche Chesed invites parents of newborns to bring their babies for a celebratory aliya. Yet another chance to express gratitude for God’s blessings in the last year!
On Sunday, June 5th, we invite parents and their new babies to join us for a group aliyah to the Torah. You can come for the whole service (which begins at 9:45am) or just slip in for a short visit around 10:30am for the aliya. Please reach out to Rabbi Yael with any questions, rabbiyael@anschechesed.org.

 

Shavuot Tikkun Under the Stars

Saturday, June 4, 7:30-9pm In-Person on the AC Roof

Please join us to greet Shavuot with study, celebration and cheesecake on the Ansche Chesed roof, as Shabbat ends and the holiday of “Giving and Receiving Torah” begins.

We’ll gather for an early evening “Pre-kun Leil Shavuot” as we explore the theme of “Widening Our Holy Space.” Yizhar Hess, Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, will teach about current issues of religious pluralism in Israel. Rabbi Mia Simring, Jewish prison chaplain, will teach about holiness on the margins and finding kedushah in unholy spaces,

We will also daven the festival maariv service at the conclusion of the Tikkun.

 

Shavuot Morning Sanctuary Services

Sunday, June 5 and Monday, June 6 at 9:45am In-Person, Livestreamed or on Zoom

Join the Ansche Chesed community in the Sanctuary to celebrate Shavuot. Yizkor service will be held on the second day of Shavuot (June 6).

JOIN US IN-PERSON
or JOIN US ON LIVESTREAM
or JOIN US VIA ZOOM
or call 929 205 6099
Meeting ID: 875 1782 0145 | Passcode: Shabbat

Family Shavuot Nature Walk with Jacob Kose

Monday, June 6 at 11am In-Person in Central Park (Enter @ 100th Street and CPW, follow the path to the bridge that arrives at the bottom of the pond)

Parents and children are invited to join us for a guided nature walk in Central Park. We’ll meet and follow the water around the north woods to discuss how Shavuot, the middle of our three pilgrimage festivals, is rooted in nature’s ancient rhythms. We will tell the story of our ancient grain harvests, and how Jewish farmers knew when to plant and when to harvest wheat—we’ll even plant sunflower seeds in the park, and feed songbirds, to continue telling the story of our mid-year rhythms.

What and how we study on Shavuot means many things to many Jews, but at the heart of every harvest story is water. As we explore and listen to the woods, we’ll learn a different way to see and feel water that will remind us of our harvest festivals every year.

We’ll emerge for a picnic lunch at the Great Hill. Please bring your own lunch. There are bathrooms at the Great Hill. Click here to RSVP.

Please contact Matt Check, Interim Education Director, with any questions at MCheck@anschechesed.org.

ABOUT JACOB KOSE
Jacob Kose is a Jewish environmental educator, farmer, and storyteller based near the last old growth New York City forest in Inwood Park. He is the in-house nature and sustainability educator at the Heschel School and former farm manager at Eden Village Camp, with ten years of farming and outdoor education experience teaching preschoolers through adults. He loves to walk around the North Woods with a sense of wonder and people of all ages and backgrounds.

 

#TheSabbathChallenge with St. Michael’s Episcopal Church

Sunday, June 5 (1st Day of Shavuot/Pentecost), 12:30pm at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (225 West 99th Street)

The weeks between Passover / Easter and Shavuot / Pentecost, offer us 7 weeks — a week of weeks — of reflection and action. This spring, along with our neighbors at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, we will take part in #TheSabbathChallenge.

#TheSabbathChallenge is an opportunity for our communities to engage with Shabbat / the Sabbath in new ways, both individually and communally. We will study and practice together with our neighbors, and we encourage you, our community members, to experiment with your own Shabbat / Sabbath practices. Come set aside time for holy rest and delight!

Please RSVP to Rabbi Yael Hammerman if you plan to join her at St. Michael’s.