SAN DIEGO (Press Release)–On May 18, San Diego Jewish Academy and several local synagogues will host a community wide event entitled Tikkun Leil Shavuot: An Evening of Learning, which will focus on uniting the Jewish community.
In July of last year, San Diego Jewish Academy (SDJA) invited local synagogues to participate in a compact designed to broaden and enhance the educational and spiritual opportunities available to San Diego’s Jewish community. This partnership became known as the Synagogue – SDJA Compact.
In conjunction with local synagogues Congregation Beth Am, Beth El, Beth Israel, Temple Solel and Ohr Shalom, SDJA will host this May 18 event on its campus. Shavuot is a traditional Jewish holiday that involves studying late into the evening. The goal of the event is to bring the diverse Jewish community together to explore its differences by examining the topic of pluralism, which is also a core value of SDJA.
Pluralism is defined as the tolerance of multiple religious beliefs in one community or society. Although Judaism is a unified culture, the religion has various sects with different beliefs, which makes pluralism an appropriate topic for the evening. The evening will feature various study groups and discussion panels relating to this topic.
“San Diego’s Jewish community is broad,” stated David Kornberg, Rabbi at Congregation Beth Am. “An event like Tikkun Leil Shavuot gives us an opportunity to come together as a community, explore our differences and figure out how we can work together.”
Tikkun Leil Shavuot: An Evening of Learning will begin at 6:00 pm with a candle lighting and prayer, and then be followed by an optional kosher dinner for $10. Dinner tickets need to be purchased in advance to observe religious beliefs. At 7:15 pm, the evening will culminate with the keynote speaker, Rabbi Mordecai Finley, Ph.D., who is the former president of the Academy for Jewish Religion. After the keynote speaker, the event will continue with various learning sessions and discussion panels from prominent Jewish San Diegans. The study groups will continue late into the evening, as is traditional on Shavuot, and a dairy dessert will be available to attendees as well.
“We tried to offer diverse programming that would appeal to a wide Jewish audience,” said Larry Acheatel, executive director at SDJA and discussion group leader. “It is important to provide an event that can accommodate all ages and Jewish beliefs. We are even offering special teen programming,” continued Acheatel.
The event is free to the public and welcomes all San Diegans. For more information or to purchase dinner tickets, visit www.sandiegojewishcommunity.com or contact Rebecca Besquin at (858) 704-3861 or rbesquin@sdja.com.
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Preceding provided by San Diego Jewish Academy