Decorating the Synagogue for Shavuot
Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman as explores the beautiful custom of decorating the synagogue interior for the holiday of Shavuot. What are the sources for this minhag and are there any halachic issues?
Decorating the Synagogue for Shavuot: Decorating the Synagogue
In Shulchan Aruch the Rema mentions an apparently innocuous and lovely custom. The custom is to decorate the synagogue and homes with greenery on Shavuot.
As lovely as the custom sounds, the Gaon of Vilna zt”l opposed it and it has indeed fallen out of practice in many Ashkenazi communities.
In this meeting we will discuss the reasons given for this custom and the reason that the Gaon of Vilna opposed it.
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman graduated from Yeshiva University in 1980 and the dental school of Columbia University in 1985. In 1989 he began studying and teaching at Yeshivat Hamivtar and now studies and teaches at Yeshivat Machanaim in Efrat. He has rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.