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

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