‘Sinai at Home’ Offers Shiurim from World-Renowned Torah Scholars
In an effort to assist communities celebrating the holiday of Shavuos at home, the Orthodox Union, the nation’s oldest and largest umbrella organization for the North American Orthodox Jewish community, has created a unique online pre-Shavuos Torah learning platform. “Sinai at Home” will offer learning resources from world-renowned Torah scholars on a variety of Torah topics with the aim of empowering people to learn at a high level on their own or with their families.
The holiday of Shavuos, normally celebrated with all-night learning in synagogues on its first eve, will be celebrated from sundown, Thursday, May 28, through nightfall on May 30. Similar to other Jewish holidays, its typical celebration includes large gatherings for prayers and meals with family and friends. Most communities also celebrate with widely attended learning programs like lectures and small-group or paired learning.
This year, due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is highly unlikely that most communities will have returned to their synagogues before Shavuos begins, and even less likely that they will be able to return to the large-scale learning programs they previously experienced.
The Orthodox Union’s Department of Torah Initiatives has created “Sinai at Home” to empower learning in the home. The platform will host learning material and accompanying explanatory video, organized by categories like Tanach, Musar, Gemara, etc. Site visitors will be able to then add shiurim to their “carts,” which will allow them to print all the PDFs in one packet. Those interested in taking part in “Sinai at Home” can visit ou.org/sinai.
“We’re bringing the beis midrash to you through the “Sinai at Home” program. We will be virtually learning together online this Shavuos by enabling the community to tap into a rich treasure trove of shiurim that they can share with their families,” said Orthodox Union President Moishe Bane.
The speakers range from those leading OU shuls across North America to renowned lecturers from Israel.