Cheesecake at 2 a.m.

Hi Mom,

They piled cheesecake boxes like pizzas on the long folding tables. The elbows flew fast and the forks even faster as people edged their way toward the slices. It wasn't that they were impolite, more like people were fighting for a spot at the Fairway deli counter with the distinct fear of a corned beef shortage.

Shavuot brings hoards of people out to the JCC to study all night long while eating more cheesecake than their stomachs could possibly handle. Some say we stay up all night studying because the day the Torah was given over the Jews overslept, so we compensate just in case.

I've tried this all-night tactic to catch flights, attend 9 a.m. classes, even to get to work on time. So for me it's a holiday that combines food, late-night learning, and a fear of tardiness. Sounds about right.

The Ten Commandments and the relationship between God and man are in this revelation-based holiday experience, too. Heard some great speakers elaborate on the theme, too many theories and too much to type here, but all interesting to think about.

Met up with a bunch of friends to eat hummus beforehand (it's a whole meal, even a trendy kind of thing to eat for dinner around here) and then we bounced from session to session. They run them about every hour and a half, with speakers from all across the community. There is also dancing, cooking, pretty much everything you could think of to do with an eight-hour middle of the night span.

It's my third year going. I'm always amazed by how many people there are, how many classes they run and how much you can learn just sitting around. Only in New York.

Love,
Karen

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