Shavuot

The holiday of Shavuot is coming up next week. This commemorates the time the Jewish People left Egypt and were in the dessert for 40 years when Moses finally received the 10 commandments from Gd. The best experience I ever had on this holiday was in Israel. Late at night after we eat a big festive meal with family and friends we start our "walk" towards the western wall. Some people live very far so there walk takes longer but as we are walking we sees Jews coming out from little alleyways and eventually join the masses in the streets. It is the only time of year that it is understood for the Arabs to "leave us alone" and we are allowed to walk through the Arab quarter in the old city. When we finally get there, the courtyard is filled with thousands of Jews from all over, of all ages. There is barely room to move but there are hushed tones as we wait to watch the sunrise. Finally the sun starts to rise and people begin their prayers together. Their is such a holiness that is spread it is hard to describe. But one of my most memorable experiences to date.