Dear Congregation Beth Israel members and friends,

I always feel something in me unclench in May, as the trees and the hills green up again and the outside world wakes from its seasonal slumber. Lately a quartet of ducks have been visiting us at the synagogue (I’m pretty sure they live next door), quacking merrily past our gazebo. I like to think they’re rejoicing in the new season too.

The next big Jewish holiday on our horizon is Shavuot. When the Temple still stood this was one of the Big Three pilgrimage festivals, though in modern Jewish life it is often more of a side note.

In antiquity, Shavuot was a festival of First Fruits, when we brought the best of our harvest to the Temple as an offering of gratitude to God. Later, once we were living in Diaspora, it became a celebration of the day when we receive Torah at Sinai. Some have the custom of staying up late (even overnight!) to study Torah at that festival, which this year begins at sundown on June 1.

We’ll be celebrating Shavuot at CBI this year in a different way. At Shavuot, it’s customary to read the Book of Ruth. That scroll contains the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman who fled famine as a refugee and married into the Jewish people. She’s celebrated as the first Jew-by-choice (aka convert to Judaism – speaking of which, I’m hoping to offer a Journey Into Judaism / conversion class again beginning sometime in late 2025, so stay tuned for information on that).

In honor of that story, we’re offering a concert called We Were Strangers, featuring music about and/or written by immigrants and refugees. Works draw from sources including the Book of Ruth and the poetry of Emma Lazarus, featuring music by Ysaÿe M. Barnwell, Laura Copel, Irving Berlin, and more. Members of the CBI choir and community musicians have been hard at work preparing this concert over the course of the spring, and I hope you’ll join us at 3pm on Sunday, May 25.

Singing in the CBI choir is one of my greatest joys. Making music nourishes my soul, as does singing in harmony. It’s also a treat to grow in musicianship alongside members of our community with the gentle and unwavering support of our Music Director Adam Green.

Preparing for this concert has been particularly emotional for me, and I think for others, too. Among other things, I’m really moved by the different settings we’re singing of the Emma Lazarus poem “The New Colossus.” That’s the one engraved at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, including the famous lines, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!” Those words evoke my highest hopes for what America can be: a refuge for people in need, a beacon of hope and welcome, a bastion of liberty and justice for all.

As a nation we’re still working our way toward fully embodying that vision. Sometimes I’m struck by how far away that dream of America can feel. And at other times I’m struck by the recognition of how much it matters that we work toward that dream, even when it’s hard.

I hope the music in our Shavuot concert will inspire, uplift, and move you, as it does me.

“We Were Strangers” is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome, and proceeds will benefit the Berkshire Immigrant Center, a local nonprofit that is dedicated to supporting immigrants and refugees in our community. Please RSVP via our website so we know how many chairs to set up.

Blessings to all,

— Rabbi Rachel