Seven Weeks of Stuff ‘til Sinai

April has been a bittersweet month with each bitter taste accompanied by a sweet dessert. It began with erev Pesach’s Fast of the First-Born, followed by two family-filled sedarim, Chol Ha’Moed and another round of Yom Tov and Shabbat including one of the four poignant Yizkor days when we remember departed loved ones. A week ago we shared a somber community wide Yom Hashoah commemoration at Congregation Beth Sholom. On Wednesday we joined together again at Young Israel of Woodmere to mark Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day, then segued into the joy of Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. Our emotions are played with, made to rise and fall from joy to grief and back to joy again as we mark each significant date in the Jewish calendar.

Two upcoming happenings mesh perfectly with these dates. I plan to participate in this Sunday’s 5K run/walk in North Woodmere Park to benefit FIDV, Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans, Beit Halochem Centers in Israel. I have attended twice before with my husband and daughter, and am revved up to speed walk again while shmoozing with friends, walking and talking - I won’t be surprised or disappointed when I cross the finish line leading the last 10% of the group! This is also a race for the hard-core with awards for frontrunners, but is mostly geared for slower paced walkers and runners of all ages. For a $25 donation, this is a fun, healthy, meaningful way to begin the week. The Kids Fun Run is at 9:30 am, the race at 10. Last year over 500 people participated and they actually ran out of numbers. They’re hoping for 1000 this time, so if you haven’t registered yet, race on to www.5towns5k.org.

Yom Yerushalayim, on Sunday, May 20, commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 during the Six Day War. Celebrated on the 28th of Iyar, six weeks after the Pesach seder and a week before Shavuot, it’s the latest edition to the Jewish calendar.

Wednesday, May 23rd marks the Five Towns and Greater South Shore Inaugural Dinner for Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. MCd by the wonderful Ben Brafman, this evening will include a tribute to our own Five Towns’ sons and daughters who are currently volunteering in the IDF. They are called “lone soldiers,” these young adults who have gone to Israel on their own, leaving their families behind to accomplish their dream of giving their time and their soul to the state of Israel, with incredible personal sacrifice. I happen to know two of these special young people, Leor Bareli of Woodmere and Jacob Steinblatt of North Woodmere. I feel quite honored to be able to sit with their moms - my friends, and kvell with them that evening as we support IDF.

Shavuot, that holiday we literally count the days for, arrives on Saturday eve, May 26. We will eat delicious dairy dishes and remember seeing each other at Sinai. Being mostly vegetarian, this is clearly my favorite holiday, and I’ll cook up a lactose-intolerant nightmare.

I received an email from the Mets (yes, I’m a sad yet loyal fan dating back to my days living in Queens and the 1986 World Series), promoting Celebrate Israel Night at Shea, oops, I mean Citi Field, on Wednesday night, May 30. There’s mincha, kosher food, and hopefully beating the Phillies, to enjoy.

I hope to see you marching or watching from the sidelines on Sunday, June 3 at the Celebrate Israel Parade! Support your shul, school or favorite Jewish organization as they march up Fifth Ave. I definitely prefer “Celebrate” to the former “Salute”; celebrating sounds way more upbeat than the stiffer saluting! There’s also a pre-parade four mile run through Central Park with markers along the route symbolically representing a journey from Eilat to Tel Aviv.

I remember marching with Yeshivah of Flatbush High School; it was a required day of attendance for students and teachers, along with the Rally for Soviet Jewry. Along with providing a venue for camp reunions, those two days enabled us to act on the Zionist ideals and lessons about Jewish unity we absorbed in school. We were taught the great significance of Israel to us Diasporans and learned about the responsibility we have towards fellow Jews around the world. I can still chant the slogans we screamed at the top of our lungs at those gatherings. I even have some T-shirts I wore in 1977 though they wouldn’t fit now. We’ve proudly watched our children march with HAFTR these past 18 years and have amassed quite a collection of their colorful T-shirts!

What I love most about these upcoming dates in the Five Towns, Queens and the city, is that they are open to all Jews and supporters of Jews and Israel. Participation is all inclusive, regardless of gender, age or affiliation. Whether we commemorate a tragic time or celebrate an uplifting event, we do it in one voice, joining together if only for awhile, and getting a taste of the goodness of being part of a unified, supportive group. May we only celebrate!

Miriam Bradman Abrahams is Cuban born, Brooklyn bred and lives in Woodmere. She organizes author events for Hadassah, reviews books for Jewish Book World and is very slowly writing her father’s immigration story. She can be reached at:. mabraha1@optonline.net