Shavuot • Parashat Naso
Shavuot, the Festival of Revelation, commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is the culmination of our Omer-counting journey.
For forty-nine days we have been counting the Omer, moving from freedom toward revelation. Day by day, week by week, we have been asked to prepare ourselves—to become more mindful, more refined, more ready to receive. Shavuot reminds us that revelation is not only something that happened long ago. It is something that continues to call to us. Sinai eternally awaits, transcending the conveyor belt of linear time.
This page, handwritten in 2023, evolved into my prayer for Shavuot.
My Prayer for Shavuot:
Journey Toward Revelation
Sinai eternally awaits—
transcending
the conveyor belt
of linear time.
Revelation,
continuously unfolding,
insistently beckons us
to encounter
the Mystery.
Braced by community,
surrounded by the generations
who came before us
and those yet to come,
we answer the sacred call.
We gather the sparks,
we sow the seeds,
we ascend the mountain
of inner transformation.
May each step we take
draw us closer
to who we are meant to become.
May we rise to the challenge
of living the Torah we receive—
weaving the sacred into the everyday,
bringing compassion, courage,
justice, and truth into the world.
May we become vessels
of Divine presence,
radiating holiness
in a world longing for healing.
And when we stand
at the threshold of revelation,
may the Light of Sinai
illuminate our path.
Last year in At the Mountain, I wrote about not simply remembering what happened at Sinai, but placing ourselves back into the story. Imagining ourselves standing there with those who came before us and those who will come after us, and listening for the wisdom we most need in this moment.
Almost immediately after Shavuot, we enter Parashat Naso, which contains one of the most beloved passages in all of Torah: Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing. These ancient words have accompanied generations of Jews—spoken over children on Friday nights, offered at life cycle moments, woven into worship, memory, and love. Last year, in The Art of Blessing, I wrote about how deeply grounding that blessing practice is in my own life.
What moves me most is that the Priestly Blessing is not only about what we hope to receive. It is also about who we are called to become.
A blessing is not just something spoken over us.
It is something we carry.
Something we offer.
Something we live.
That is the heart of the prayer I created for Parashat Naso, A Contemporary Birkat HaKohanim. I wanted to hold onto the spirit of the ancient words while opening them into language that feels deeply alive for this moment—spaciousness, luminous presence, goodness, and the call to help forge a path to peace in our hearts, in our homes, and in our world. That prayer grew out of the same impulse that shapes so much of my work: the desire to create art and liturgy that blesses, encourages, and illuminates.
My prayer for this week: A Contemporary Birkat HaKohanim
May God’s Infinite Spaciousness
bless and keep you
and grant you the opportunity
to be a blessing to others.
May God’s Luminous Presence
shine upon you and those you love
and illuminate your path.
May God’s Limitless Goodness
bless you with the ability
to help forge a path to peace
in our hearts,
in our homes,
and in our world.
This year, I want to share not only the prayers and art, but also one of the tools I’ve created to help Jewish communities mark sacred moments with beauty and meaning.
That tool is ZenScribe.
ZenScribe was born from my desire to make it easier to create personalized Judaic certificates that look beautiful, feel meaningful, and will help honor memorable moments. Whether you are marking a B-Mitzvah, baby naming, conversion, wedding, Confirmation, consecration, or another milestone, I want communities to have beautiful options that can be personalized easily and affordably.
That is why I’m happy to share that through the end of May, www.MyZenScribe.com is offering a 30% discount on the subscription of your choice with the coupon code
SHAVUOT30.
And because this is a season when many communities are marking meaningful moments, I’m also sharing samples from ZenScribe’s certificate collections so you can see some of the possibilities.
Shavuot invites us to receive Torah.
Naso invites us to bless.
And the creative work of Jewish life invites us to give form to what matters.
Art can do that.
Prayer can do that.
Celebrating the people who strengthen your community can do that.
Here are some recognition certificate designs that can be personalized for those who make a difference in your community.
Watch this video if you’d like to see how easy it is to personalize a certificate using ZenScribe.
Click here if you’d like to see the hundreds of design options in ZenScribe.
Guided journaling questions
- What does revelation mean to you at this point in your life?
- What blessing do you most need to receive right now?
- In what ways are you being called to become a blessing to others?
- What helps you weave the sacred into the everyday?
- Complete this sentence: The blessing I most want to carry forward from Sinai is…
Closing blessing
May the Light of Sinai
illuminate your path.
May the wisdom of Torah
continue to unfold within you.
May the ancient blessing of Naso
rest gently upon you and those you love.
May peace find its way
into your heart,
your home,
and our world.
And may you become
a vessel of blessing—
radiating holiness,
creativity, and love.
