Last Thursday, The Jewish Life Committee (JLC) at Emery put on a very special Ma’amad in which they discussed Shavuot and how it is practiced. The Ma’amad was very engaging and successfully introduced the upcoming Jewish holiday. 

The Ma’amad began with an educational video from Chabad.org about what Shavuot is and why we celebrate it. The video spoke about how God can be found around us in everyday activities like eating ice cream. Then Leah Cororve, the JLC president, along with the rest of the JLC board decided to give the entire student body different flavors of delicious ice cream that everyone liked. There were bomb pops, ice cream sandwiches, oreo cones, and even delicious crunchy chocolate ice cream popsicles. 

After discussing the icecream that students would receive after Ma’Maad, Cororve said, “Shavuot has become a holiday where we honor learning the Torah, so some students are now going to come up and talk about some students that they are thankful for and why they are thankful for them.” nine students proceeded to go to the stage where they discussed teachers that they are thankful for. It was a very meaningful moment for the whole school because teachers are the ones who are constantly helping the students, but they are very rarely actually thanked. There has always been a day in the Emery school year when teachers express their gratitude for certain students, but this new tradition that was introduced by the JLC allows teachers to feel just as appreciated as the students. 

After introducing this new tradition to the student body, Rabbi Michael Morgan read the ten commandments to the entire high school, and Rabbi Laura Sheinkopf and Rabbi Ari Vernon lead everyone in song and prayer. The students were all told to rise and sing The Tree of Life, and Cororve, along with JLC board Jacob Silberlicht, Carly Katz and Sheinkopf transferred to the school’s Torahs to the new Ark where the Torahs will be held. This was very important to the school’s future because this Ark transfer ceremony signifies the transition into next year and a better home for our Torahs. 

In the end, Shavuot 2023 at Emery was very successful and everyone is very pleased with the celebration. Member of the JLC board Jacob Silberlicht stated, “We are very pleased with the outcome of the event and I hope that we can continue to have such successful holidays in the future at Emery.”