The bad news is, we’re still in a pandemic (wear your mask and get your shots, please). The good news is that because COVID remains very much present, you can attend tikkun leil Shavuot virtually. Here are a few interesting sessions that culled from synagogues and other organizations, along with how to find them. All events are in EST and on Zoom. 

SUNDAY, MAY 16th 

9 am

Trans Halakha and Building a More Liberatory World: Becky Silverstein, Trans Halakhah Project

Where: ShavuotLIVE. Register here. 

10 am

Who is the God feminists meet at Sinai?: Mara Benjamin

Where: ShavuotLIVE. 

2 pm 

Kol Yisrael Areivin Zeh BaZeh: All of Israel are [BLANK] to One Another: Eliana Fishman, Hishbati

Where:  ShavuotLIVE. 

4 pm 

You don’t have to be a Rabbi or Professor to Teach a Jewish Class : Bobbi Cohen

Where: Center City Jews. Register here. 

6 pm 

Prophecy, Peoplehood, and Collective Power: A Convo with the Jewish Liberation Fund: April Baskin & Joanna Ware, Jewish Liberation Fund

Where: ShavuotLIVE.

750 pm 

Injustice and Blindness – Seeing Injury: Sam Fleischacker

Where: J Street Virtual Tikkun Leil Shavuot. Register here.

830 pm 

Embodying Shekhinah: An Introduction to Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Practice: Rav Kohenet Jill Hammer, Taya Mâ Shere, Shoshana Jedwab + Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. Register here. 

9 pm 

Seeing Ourselves in Tradition: Queer Characters in Jewish Text: Abby Stein

Where: ShavuotLIVE.  

Kol Tzedek’s Abolition Teach-in

In honor of Shavuot, we invite you to join us for an exploration of abolitionist practices in different modalities. We will be studying Jewish texts, discussing adrienne maree brown’s new book We Will Not Cancel Us and learning about the Breathe Act with KT4BlackLives members. Bring your questions and your curiosity. 

Where: Kol Tzedek. Register here. 

930 pm 

The Diversity of Asian American Jews: Gen Xia Ye Slosberg

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

Daf Yomi: A Page of Talmud : Elisha Wiesel and Rabbi Joy Levitt

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

This Is Torah: Sex + Judaism: Rabbi Jenn Queen

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

10 pm 

“Why do we call them ‘criminals’?”  Rabbi Barat Ellman, Ph.D. 

Where: Shavuot Across Brooklyn. More information here. 

1030 pm 

Heroes: The True History of the Ethiopian-Israeli People: Avishai Mekonnen

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

How to Return “Back to Normal” After a Plague: Tazria-Metzora and COVID-19: Rabbi Brian Fink 

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

1130 pm 

We Keep Us Safe: How to Fight Hate Violence and Become an Upstander: Leo Ferguson, Director of Strategic Projects, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ)

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

MONDAY, MAY 17th

1230 am 

The Blewish Dybbuk Project, Part 1 : Rebecca S’manga Frank + Kendell Pinkney

The Blewish Dybbuk Experience is a four-part adaptation of S. Ansky’s The Dybbuk, currently in development. Through a Black Jewish lens, the “dead soul” is discovered to be the soul of Elijah McClain. This evening we will explore parts 1 and 2, a conversation about justice, love, God, and Judaism between the living and the dead.

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

COVID-19 in Israel: Ronni Gamzu + Amir Tibon

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

The Revelatory Power of the Pandemic: What Wisdom Do We Carry Forward? What Insights Do We Leave Behind? : Rabbi Adina Lewittes

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

1 am 

Shavuot Songs by Women

Where: Reconstructing Judaism. Register here.

130 am 

The Blewish Dybbuk Project, Part 2: Rebecca S’manga Frank

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.

From Narrowness to Expansiveness: Allyship as Spiritual Practice: Rabbi Lauren Tuchman

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

The State of Israel v. Benjamin Netanyahu: Ittay Flescher

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

230 am

History of the Israeli Protest Movement: Ittay Flescher

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

330 am

Past Wisdom, Present Practice: Meet the Midwives: Kohenet Rachel Rose Reid

Where: Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan. 

430 am 

Shavuot in Jerusalem: Then and Now: Rabbi Hannah Estrin

Where: The Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative/Masorti). More information here.

Going to a virtual Shavuot event? Tell us about it in the comments.