By Josh Traulsen, Senior Manager of Alumni Engagement
Earlier this month MHWOW hosts from around the world hosted more than 60 Shavuot programs. As a Moishe House staff member, I always love getting to see how creative some of you are with the kinds of events you are hosting. We want you to use MHWOW to create your ideal Jewish community and that came to life in the wide variety of Shavuot events this year. We saw Queer Shavuot, a Shavuot Shabbat and clothing drive, all-night study sessions, ice cream sundae bars, a grain-less sugar-less and lactose-free Shavuot lunch, and so many more! Below are just a few of the programs that stuck out to us.
Rebecca Bass in Portland, Maine, led her friends on a hike with goats that included a tasting of fresh goat’s milk and lessons on how to milk a goat. She rounded out her event with a discussion on the history of eating dairy on Shavuot.
Ben Kwait’s Shavuot Extravaganza in Cleveland, Ohio, brought together friends for an afternoon of dairy and learning.
Kylie Unell in New York City hosted a program she called: Rooftop Rosé: Shavuot Edition.
She brought together a group of Jews open to learning about Judaism taught about Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch and his “The Nineteen Letters.” They specifically focused discussions around the following themes: What is the purpose of Torah? What is the purpose of man? What is the role of the Jewish nation in humanity? What does Judaism have to offer us and what do we have to offer Judaism?
Lisa Zingman in Arlington, Virginia, took the idea of doing a dairy dessert event and mixed it with a pub crawl to host the Arlington Dessert Crawl. Bringing her community together to sample desserts at multiple locations and hosting a Jewish Learning discussion.
Do you have a favorite Shavuot tradition or an idea for an amazing Shavuot resource for next year? Send it to me at josh.traulsen@moishehouse.org or post it in the Facebook group!
