Will you be celebrating Shavuot tomorrow night? Have you ever celebrated Shavuot?

If Purim is woefully neglected in the Reform Jewish world, Shavuot is doubly so! I once attended a Shavuot service at my old temple that had a grand total of 7 people present, including me and the Rabbi!

Folks, that is simply pitiful! We need to embrace our holidays, particularly those who have children. I think many don’t because of the boredom/irrelevancy factor. We need to make a special effort so holidays are fun and enjoyable, otherwise this wonderful Jewish culture will simply die out.

Shavuot is actually a very cool holiday. It was originally a harvest festival, but now it commemorates the giving of the Torah by God to the Jewish People. The dietary (Kosher) laws are part of the Torah and that’s why dairy foods are traditionally served on Shavuot.

Shavuot can be celebrated in many ways, but the one I like best is the ice cream social. This trend has been growing for a while now, but it seems to be much more popular in the Orthodox community. Chabad hosts wonderful Shavuot events, usually ice cream related, but sometimes featuring cheesecakes. This is something the rest of us can easily adopt, observant or not.

An ice cream social works wonderfully for the hesitant hostess since there’s no cooking involved. It’s a nice way for the Unaffiliated to get involved in a Jewish Holiday without it being about “religion.” Also, it’s perfect for Righteous Gentile friends to take part in, too. Everyone loves ice cream…

All you need are a variety of ice cream and toppings. Pick up some paper bowls if you don’t want to wash dishes, or serve the ice cream in cones. With the abundance of allergies today, be careful if serving nuts. I also recommend having at least one dairy-free item so nobody feels left out. Soy Delicious makes a decent ice cream substitute or try some Tofutti ice cream sandwiches.

Don’t feel like you have to duplicate an ice cream parlor. That’s a lot of expense and tends to be wasted anyway. Usually, I just buy vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, caramel, and chocolate jimmies. (Here in New England, we call them jimmies, other areas call them sprinkles.)

As always, I buy on sale and use coupons whenever possible. It helps to stock up well in advance, but if you haven’t, these items are cheap enough to be purchased at full price for tomorrow. The entire party can be done successfully for less than $20.00. I think 3,000 years of Jewish history is certainly worth that, don’t you…

Have you ever attend a Shavuot celebration?