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Tikkun Leil Shavuot Overnight Learning Celebration

Thu, May 21-5:30 PM-Fri, May 22-8:30 AM

Ahavath Achim Synagogue
תִּיקּוּן לֵיל שָׁבוּעוֹת
All-Night Torah Study
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
5786
Evening of Thursday, May 21 – Morning of Friday, May 22, 2026  ·  Ahavath Achim Synagogue

Koplin Borochoff Library

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Cavalier Conference Room

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Ellman Chapel

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6:00 – 6:30 pm
Daily Minyan
Ellman Chapel   ▶ Join Zoom

6:30 – 8:00 pm
Psalms of Preparation
Bonnie Levine and Shelly Dollar
One of the many purposes tehillim (psalms) serve in Jewish tradition is as a warm up for a spiritual experience. Before we begin our Tikkun Leil Shavuot, join our Hadar community group for music and study of special psalms in preparation for receiving the Torah.
Cohn Conference Room  ·  In-person only

7:00 – 8:00 pm
Sacred Storytelling for Kids
Jim Dricker
Paradies Hall  ·  In-person only

Plenary Session
8:30 – 9:30 pm
Where is God, and How Do We Encounter That Presence Today?
An Interfaith Conversation
Featured Guest Speakers
Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal
Ahavath Achim Synagogue

Reverend Rebekah LeMon
Trinity Presbyterian Church

Kemal Korucu
Atlantic Institute

Facilitated by
Rabbi Eric Feld
On the holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Sinai — that singular, transformative moment when an entire people stood together in the Presence of God — we gather across faith lines to ask one of the most ancient and urgent questions of human life. Together, Rabbi Rosenthal, Reverend LeMon, and Mr. Korucu will explore how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have each understood, named, sought, and experienced the Presence of God — from Scripture and sacred text, to prayer and ritual, to the intimacy of the home and the urgency of our common world. This is not a debate, but a conversation rooted in deep listening, genuine curiosity, and shared reverence.
Ellman Chapel
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Source materials for select sessions are available in our shared resource library on Google Drive

📚 Open Source Materials

Time
Koplin Borochoff Library

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Cavalier Conference Room

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Ellman Chapel

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10:00
PM
The Torah Service Remodeled
Steve Grossman
The Meteorology of Midrash: Jewish Narratives in a Warming World
Mark Papier
Judaism's foundational stories often center on the delicate balance between human behavior and the natural world. This session explores the tension between climate disaster and climate resilience.
What Can a Garden Produce?
Rabbi Neil Sandler
Is there anyone unfamiliar with Choni's conversation with the 70-year-old man planting a carob tree? Let's read this sacred story anew to see what we can gain from it.
11:00
PM
Sacred Slaughter in the Modern Age
Ava Shaevel
How can tapping into the sacred and ancient ritual of Kosher Ritual Animal Slaughter connect us to the fully actualized and integrated world we want to see?
What's In a Psalm? A Study of Psalm 148
Eric Miller
"Is That Really Jewish?!" Angels, Demons, and the Jewish Afterlife
Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal
This lively exploration of actual Talmudic and prophetic texts uncovers the wild, strange, and surprisingly vivid supernatural imagination at the heart of Jewish tradition.
12:00
AM
We Didn't Start the Fire. Moses Transmitted It
Paul Feldman
Shavuot celebrates revelation but what was revealed? The answer is not clear. This opacity makes it mystical, mythical, and intriguing.
Ruth: From Outsider to Insider — Relearning Radical Empathy
Ralph Lovell
Reviving the Ma'amad: An Ancient Ritual Connecting Prayer and Place
Rabbi Eric Feld
This session explores the origins of reciting the "ma'amad" and makes a case for reviving it as a daily practice at a time when ecological consciousness is needed now more than ever.
1:00
AM
From Out of the Whirlwind: What Job Teaches Us About Moving Beyond "Why"
Michael Sabin
This session explores themes of heartbreak, uncertainty, and wrestling with difficult questions in the pursuit of peace — and invites all to see parts of their own story in Job's story.
Toward the Other: Levinas on Forgiveness and Yom Kippur
Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal
What does it mean to seek forgiveness from another person — and what happens when they refuse? Drawing on Levinas's celebrated reading of Talmud Tractate Yoma.
2:00
AM
The Mystical Jewish Caveman
Rabbi Chaim Listfield
Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983) created Reconstructionist Judaism. At its heart is the rejection of belief in a supernatural God. What kind of rabbi doesn't believe in God?
Combatting Antisemitism on Campus and Beyond
Avram Eli Rosenthal
3:00
AM
An Introduction to Jewish Philosophy
Zach Goss
Open My Lips: How Loud Should the "Silent Amidah" Be?
Rabbi Eric Feld
Prayer has the power to probe the deepest recesses of our souls while also making us feel connected to those around us. What does God hear when we pray? Is there really such a thing as "silent" prayer? This session will explore the role of silence, whispering, and volume in Jewish prayer.
4:00
AM
What Is Jonah's Journey Really About?
Tuwanda Muhammad
Read Jonah as a group and discuss the themes and story elements. Discuss the similarities of Jonah's journey with the Hero's journey based on Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
One Day or Two?
Jordan Forman
The Conservative Movement is grappling with the need for two days of Chag. We will discuss the history and arguments for and against retaining two days of Chag in the Diaspora.

Welcoming the Dawn
5:30 – 7:00 am
Hashkama "Sunrise" Minyan
Outside Courtyard   ▶ Join Zoom

7:30 am
Community Breakfast

Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal
Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal grew up in Los Angeles, graduating from the University of Southern California and eventually earning a Master of Arts degree in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic Ordination from the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in May 2008. Laurence has played a significant role in the rejuvenation and strengthening of Ahavath Achim Synagogue by deepening the spiritual and ritual life of its congregants. Rabbi Rosenthal also engages with the greater Atlanta Jewish community through social justice initiatives and interfaith dialogue.

In addition to his duties as senior rabbi, he has served as president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association (2019–2021) and immediate past Board Chair for Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, inspiring faith-based organizations to take up the cause of environmental stewardship and justice.

Rabbi Eric Feld
Rabbi Feld joined AA in July 2025 as Associate Rabbi and Director of Lifelong Learning. In addition to his Rabbinical ordination, he has a Master's in City and Regional Planning and a BA in Environmental and Political Science.

Rabbi Feld received his ordination from Hebrew College Rabbinical School in Boston. Before joining AA, he was Assistant Rabbi and Director of Lifelong Learning at Beth Shalom. Prior to that, he served as the Assistant Director of the Genesis Summer Program at Brandeis, the Hillel Director at Boston College, and the Rabbinic Intern with the Hillel Council of New England and with Hebrew College. Before attending Rabbinical School, in his first career, he was a town planner in Chapel Hill, N.C., and remains an avid Tar Heels fan.

Rabbi Neil Sandler
Neil Sandler is the Rabbi Emeritus of Ahavath Achim Synagogue and the self-proclaimed Chief Rabbi of Fitzgerald, GA. He also serves as a volunteer chaplain to the Jewish community at Emory St. Joe's Hospital. Neil most enjoys being "Saba" to his five grandchildren: Remi, Avery, Bennett, Caleb, and Noah.

Rabbi Chaim Listfield
Chaim (Steve) Listfield was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1974. Rabbi Listfield is a proud member of Ahavath Achim, and he is rabbi of Etz Chayim Congregation in Huntsville, AL, where he officiates one weekend a month.

Jordan Forman
Jordan Forman has been the Ritual Coordinator of AA Synagogue since 2010, one of our Shlichei Tzibbur (service leaders) since 2010, and the Ba'al Korei (primary Torah reader) at AA since 1998. He has tutored many B'nai Mitzvah at AA since 1995. Jordan is also a partner at Fox Rothschild and has been a practicing attorney since 2000.

Paul Feldman
Paul Feldman has attended Torah study "religiously" for 25 years. He enjoys the historicity of Tanakh and likes his biblical characters "sweaty" — real people in real situations looking for real answers. He likes to think of the Pesach–Shavuot holidays as a "civil war reenactment" and not a Star Wars convention.

Bonnie Levine
Bonnie Levine and Shelly Dollar co-facilitate a Hadar Community Group focused on studying and reciting psalms as a spiritual practice.

Mark Papier
Mark Papier is a Co-Chair of the AA Green Team, a Principal Meteorologist for AT&T, an American Meteorological Society Certified Consulting Meteorologist, and board chair of GIPL (Georgia Interfaith Power and Light). He holds degrees from Rutgers University and Georgia Tech in atmospheric sciences.

Michael Sabin
Michael Sabin is a husband, father, and community member who works in nonprofit development. His personal journey raising a child with special needs has deeply shaped the way he thinks about faith, refinement through trials and challenges (yissurim), and maintaining perspective during difficult seasons of life.

Ava Shaevel
Ava Shaevel graduated from Emory University in 2020 with a Bachelor's in Religion and Sociology, then studied at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and participated in Adamah, the Jewish Farm Fellowship, where she first experienced a kosher slaughter. Ava has been training in ofot (poultry) slaughter this year and, b'Ezrat Hashem, will be a certified Shochetet come mid-June.

Avram Eli Rosenthal
Avram Eli Rosenthal (AE) is an undergraduate student at Brandeis University. A musician and passionate music lover, he got his start in teaching right here at AA, helping out with Kesher. He has continued teaching since and is excited to share what he has learned this Shavuot — and to learn from all of you.

Tuwanda Muhammad
Tuwanda Muhammad is a playwright, poet, blogger and storyteller. She analyzes stories to discover universal themes in literature and scripture.

חַג שָׁבוּעוֹת שָׂמֵחַ
Chag Shavuot Sameach — Wishing you a joyous and illuminating Festival of Weeks

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