Those Shavuos Memories

By: Larry Gordon

If you’re reading this on yom tov, then you know Shavuos is one great chag. We have everything packed into it. There are special prayers and liturgy recited in shuls, including the recitation of Megillat Ruth, a tale of transformation that we can learn so much from even today.

Not to mention that our meals are something out of the ordinary—unique, innovative, creative, and tasteful.

Additionally, on the first night of Shavuos as we recall the gift of Torah, we get to stay awake all night learning until the sun rises. These are some of the outstanding dimensions of Jewish life: sometimes we get to fast all day and other times we get to learn all through the night.

That’s one aspect of Jewish life—either we’re not eating or not sleeping. But in reality, we’re eating pretty well so really, just kidding. Actually, on days when we fast like on Tishah B’Av and the other fasts, while we do not eat, there’s plenty of time to sleep or at least take a nap (except on Yom Kippur).

To my parents, Shavuos was the perfect yom tov to get away as a family and we frequently did just that. Those were great days. Back when we were teenagers, my dad was a fairly well-known and respected Yiddish journalist who usually drew lots of attention.

In those days, my dad didn’t want to hear about going away for Pesach or Sukkos and after all these years, I finally understand how he felt.

While my kids were still single, we tried going away to a hotel for Sukkos or to a friend’s home a few times. Recently, I spent part of Sukkos in Florida, which I learned very quickly was a huge miscalculation. You cannot know what it’s like to sit in a sukkah on yom tov when it’s 95 degrees outside and the humidity is competing with the temperature.

If you’re from New York or New Jersey, you’re well aware that if it’s raining outside, you’re not halachically required to endure the inclement weather by sitting in the sukkah. But what about the unbearable heat? If someone is patur from sitting in a sukkah because of the rain, is he also exempt if it’s excruciatingly hot?

But most New Yorkers, according to my observations, don’t think along those lines. To us if it rains—except for the first night—the rules and regulations loosen up a bit. My son is going to read this and tell me that I should mention that in Chabad you eat in the sukkah no matter what and you don’t even sip water out of thesukkah.

At the same time, as I’m sure I explained in the past, Chabad Chassidim don’t sleep in the sukkah.

Years before that, I discovered why it’s not a good idea to park yourself in a hotel over Sukkos—especially in the Catskills—for several reasons. We were at the Homowack many years ago one particular Sukkos when it rained intermittently throughout the first days of yom tov.

It looked as if people were unaware that according to our laws and customs, once it begins to rain and you have to exit the sukkah, even though it may stop raining, you don’t have to go back outside to finish your meal. That is, unless you’re in a hotel and are not sure about the halacha. All of a sudden, you have lines of people moving in opposite directions like the angels in Yaakov’s dream ascending and descending a heavenly ladder.

It looked like no one knew for sure what to do. Should we stay in the dining room or go back into the sukkah? So, some people shuttled back and forth and some sat still. It mostly looked like an uncomfortable situation more than anything else.

My father was not a fan of packing up and going to a hotel or similar venue for Pesach. Back in those days, hotels for Pesach were nothing like the industry it turned into today. I don’t even know if I was aware at the time that such a thing existed.

But Shavuos was different, especially at some of the fine, upscale hotels in the Catskills. There was a point a few decades ago when if you didn’t book a room in one of the hotels weeks prior to Shavuos, they would be sold out, and you would be locked out.

When I was a teenager with a slightly older brother and sister along with a younger brother, we had a great time on Shavuos when we stayed at the Pioneer Country Club. It was a beautiful and expansive property in Greenfield Park, New York, not far from Ellenville. Today they have a summer camp on those grounds. I went back to visit in 2021 when lots of places were closed because of Covid and we rented a place for the family over the summer in Ellenville.

In later years it was the Homowack Hotel that became the place to be with family over Shavuos. (We even spent a Pesach there with our young family in the early 1980s.) It was just this past year that I ran into Paul and Ann Davidman, who owned and ran the Homowack until it was sold about 25 years ago.

We celebrated our son Nison’s bar mitzvah in the Homowack on Shavuos in 2005. We were a group of 50 family members and friends, and it was a spectacular celebration. Nison was born on Shavuos of 1992 when erev Shavuos was Shabbos, then we celebrated on Sunday and Monday for a yom tov trifecta. We went to Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on Saturday night, and after Nison was born on Sunday morning of yom tov, I spent the next two days walking around the city, checking out the shuls and nearby minyanim.

I finally landed at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue where I heard Cantor Joseph Malovany and I was able to recite Yizkor for my dad. I guess the Cantor recognized that I had that “lost look” on my face and not only did he invite me to his home for the rest of the yom tov meals, but he also invited me to sleep over at his house instead of sitting in a chair all night in Esta’s hospital room.

Those were great days that created strong and eternal memories. Happy birthday Nison! And chag sameach to all. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.