Dear Clergy/Staff of Temple B’nai Jeshurun/ to anyone this may
concern
As
the Confirmation Class of 5772 we would like to request a date change for the
confirmation service now schedule on, Saturday May 26, 2012. Being American, Jewish teenagers we
like to balance our customs equally.
In America, Memorial Day weekend is time that we get to spend with our
families and loved ones before we leave for our summers away. This is a weekend when many of us have
traditional family and friend gatherings, often not in the immediate area. Because secular school is still in
session, many of us also have academic and athletic commitments over this
weekend.
We do understand that as Jewish teenagers we are scheduled to be
confirmed into temples every year on the holiday of Shavuot. The holiday of Shavuot begins at
sundown; this year the service is set to begin an hour before sundown, and is
considered “in the spirit of Shavuot”.
We feel that if we held the service, on a day prior to the weekend, it
would still be considered “in the Spirit of Shavuot”. We feel that doing this, we would be able to balance out our
hybrid-heritages.
As Jewish people we are taught to question everything, there are
no limitations. We can exercise
our freedom of speech and demonstrate our feelings, which we would like to do
in this case.
We understand this date is a decision directed by Reform
movement, but we would like TBJ to make a decision that accommodate our
confirmation class.
Most of us have grown up together, attending pre-school and
religious school together. Being one of the biggest confirmation classes at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in recent memory, it shows that a large portion of us are
committed and really want to attend the confirmation service. Many of us have
shared milestones with each other, such as our bar or bat mitzvah. We want as
many of our fellow classmates to be there to share this stepping-stone in our
Jewish lives together.
We
would like to ask you to reconsider the date to make it an all-inclusive event.
Thank You
Confirmation
Class of 5772