The view from Daven with Dov's shul in Hollywood Beach, Florida is stunning and inspirational... a true reminder of G-d's wonder and very appropriate for this season of receiving the Torah.

This year for Shavuot, Rabbi Ben and I will be in Hollywood, Florida. Just north of Miami, it’s an incredible location. Rabbi Ben will be performing as chazzan, or cantor, at Anshei Chesed v’Emes, a little synagogue more commonly known as “Daven with Dov.” We spent last Shavuot here, just days after our engagement, and it was an inspirational experience.

Personally, I can’t think of a better place to spend Shavuot. Shavuot is the holiday that celebrates the Jews receiving the Torah. After running from the foreign land of Egypt (and their hostile hosts), the Jews had to travel through the desert for a long time in order to finally reach their destination: the small and unimposing mountain called Sinai. There, they were finally able to reach a high enough spiritual level to receive the Torah.

Rabbi Ben and I are similar wanderers… and it seems we have come to Sinai! We are not spending Shavuot at a big, flashy synagogue. Like the small and ego-free mountain of Sinai, Daven with Dov is small but mighty. Just as each Jew heard G-d speaking the words of the Torah just to him, so too will we be in an intimate environment where learning is personalized and valued.

Not only that, but an important element of Shavuot is to feel as if we are at Sinai, accepting the Torah. Imagine the awe and wonder the Jews felt when they first saw the booming sounds of G-d’s voice. Here at Daven with Dov, we will eat, pray, and sleep with a magnificent view of the beautiful, bright, blue Atlantic Ocean. To view the waves, the beauty of the sky, the clouds that turn pink each sunrise and sunset, to feel the warm, golden sand beneath our feet is a reminder of the majesty that is G-d and the gifts he has bestowed upon us.

This Shavuot, let’s all look around at our synagogues and view them as miniature versions of Mt. Sinai. Let’s look at the world and the creations around us with eyes newly opened with wonder, like children. Let’s let the awe flow into us and become part of us. Let us re-accept the Torah with hearts full of love.

Chag sameach!