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Shavuot is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Like the festivals of Passover and Sukkot, Shavuot is one of the shalosh regalim (three pilgrimage holidays), on which our ancestors were commanded to make pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. In the Diaspora, Shavuot is observed as a two-day festival on the sixth and seventh days of the Jewish month of Sivan. Shavuot is observed as a one-day holiday in Israel and by many Reform Jewish congregations. The festival is variously called hag ha-bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits), hag ha-katzir (the Festival of the Harvest), and hag ha-shavuot (the Festival of Weeks). In the liturgy, Shavuot is known as zeman matan torataynu, the season of the giving of our Torah. On the Jewish calendar, Shavuot marks the conclusion of a seven-week period known as sefirat ha-Omer, the counting of the Omer. Beginning on the second day of Passover, we count forty-nine days leading up to Shavuot. TabletsIn agricultural terms, this is a time of anxiety and anticipation for farmers who observe their ripening grain. In religious terms, counting the Omer links physical and spiritual redemption. Passover celebrates physical freedom, our redemption from bondage in Egypt. Shavuot celebrates spiritual liberation, our people's experience of God's presence in the revelation at Sinai. Commemorating the revelation at Mt. Sinai inspired many of Shavuot’s customs. Many also tie into the agricultural meaning of the day. It probably was after the destruction of the Temple in the year 70 by the Romans that the Rabbis, tried to find new meaning in a holiday that could no longer be celebrated with the agricultural customs of the Temple sacrifices. Realizing that the Revelation at Mount Sinai happened "in the third month" after the Children of Israel left Egypt (Exodus 9:1), they found Shavuot to be the perfect holiday to commemorate that pivotal historical event. And today, even though there are some remnants of the original agricultural celebration of the holiday, we celebrate it primarily as a holiday that reaffirms and strengthens our commitment to the Torah. |
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Customs
of Shavuot
Eating
Dairy - According to Jewish tradition, the Jewish people knew
that they would be receiving the laws of eating Kosher from G-D, which
included not mixing meat and dairy foods. Three days prior to Shavuot,
Moses instructed the Jewish people to prepare to receive the laws
from G-D. Since they didn't yet know the Kosher ways of slaughtering
and preparing meat, they chose to eat only dairy food during this
three-day period. It is, therefore, a tradition to eat dairy foods
during Shavuot in commemoration of the dedication that the Jewish
people had to keep the rules of the Torah even before they knew exactly
what they were. |
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Decorating the synagogue with greens - It is tradition to decorate the synagogue with branches or potted plants. The reason for this is that since G-D told the Children of Israel not to allow their flocks to graze on Mt. Sinai, it is assumed that Mt. Sinai must have been rich and green with vegetation. |
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Reading the book of Ruth - The story of the book takes place during the barley harvest - the Shavuot season. And the story is about Ruth, who accepts the Torah and the religion of Israel in order to support and care for the mother of her deceased husband.
Confirmation - During Shavuot many congregations hold "Confirmation" - a ceremony in which 16 year-olds affirm their commitment to Jewish life.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot - Many communities have a "Tikkun Leil Shavuot" - an all night study session. According to the sages, the Children of Israel fell asleep and had to be awoken by G-D in order to witness the revelation at Sinai. In order to make up for that event, many Jews today show their eagerness to accept G-D's laws by staying up the whole night of Shavuot studying the Torah. |
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Eruv Tavshilin - You can cook food on a festival provided you leave your oven or burner(s) on. However, you cannot cook food for the next day. But, when a festival falls out on a Friday, you can cook for Saturday providing you fulfill the mitzvah of eruv tavshilin.
An Eruv Tavshilin should be performed on Thursday and consists of taking matzoh along with other cooked food, such as fish, meat, or an egg, and saying the following blessing: :-
Blessed are You G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us concerning the mitzvah of eruv.
Through this eruv may we be permitted to bake, cook, insulate, kindle a flame, prepare and do anything necessary on the festival for the sake of Shabbat, for ourselves and for all Jews who live in your city. |
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Candle Lighting - Like all Jewish holidays, Shavuot begins the night before. However, unlike other holidays which begin at sundown, Shavuot must not begin until nightfall. This is because we are commanded to count forty-nine full days of the Omer, and lighting candles can only be made after a full day is completed.
On Shavuot, we wait until three stars appear before lighting the holiday candles, unless the first night of Shavuot coincides with Shabbat. If this happens, Sabbath candles are lit before sundown, while the holiday candles are lit later using a pre-existing flame, like the flame from a memorial candle.
Blessings over candles - Baruch ata Adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav lehadlik ner shel (Shabbat v’shel) yom tov.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the (Sabbath and) festival lights. |
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Blessing
of the season - Baruch ata Adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam, shehekheyanu,
v’kiyamanu, v’higgiyanu lazman hazeh.
Blessed
are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained
us, and brought us to this season.
Same
is true regarding the second night of Shavuot, minus the shehekheyanu blessing.
Shavuot
Greetings - The standard Hebrew greeting, Hag Sameach, happy holiday, or
in Yiddish, gut yom tov, happy holiday, is exchanged.
Kiddush
- The festival meal begins with the traditional recitation of kiddush. Kiddush
can be made over wine or grape juice. The full text can be found in any standard
siddur, or prayer book.
Appropriate
Dress - Clean Shabbat clothing is appropriate for the synagogue or home. |
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Baruch
ata Adonai eloeheinu melech ha’olam, borei pri hagafen.
Blessed
are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.
The
blessing over bread, usually two loaves, is made after the ritual washing of
hands.
Baruch
ata Adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al
netilat yadayim.
Blessed
are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us regarding washing the hands. |
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Blessing over Bread:
Baruch ata Adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.
Blessed are You, Lord
our G-d, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth.
Suggested Meal Plan:
Dairy dishes are generally served during the day. However, a meat-based dinner,
especially if Shavuot begins on a Friday night, may be served. Here’s one idea.
Spicy Meat Borekas
as appetizer. Chicken Marbella, Spanish rice, zuccini latkes and green salad
for dinner. Fruit and cookies for desert.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot -
After the holiday dinner, many people proceed to the synagogue for an all-night,
or into-the-night Torah study session. Some Torah study sessions last until
12:00 a.m., others last till dawn.
This practice, in Hebrew
called Tikkun Leil Shavuot, has its roots in Kabbalah, the Jewish study of mysticism,
began in Safed in the sixteenth century. |
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The
tikkun, or set order of study, can be different depending on who and where it’s
organized. Traditionally, the tikkun is taken from the Bible, rabbinic literature,
and even mystical literature, called the Zohar. In this way, the first Kabbalists
prepared themselves for the symbolic acceptance of the Torah.
Today,
the tikkun might consist of a series of seminars on a variety of Jewish topics
based on Torah texts, history, or current events. In Israel, the Western Wall
is a popular site for the all-night tikkun. In the United States, study sessions
are often held at the local synagogue or at someone’s home. Refreshments, such
as cheese cake and coffee are usually served. Breakfast might follow a sunrise
Shacharit service for those who stayed up all night.
Morning
Services - Besides a few additions, like the recitation of Hallel, the morning
service on Shavuot is the same as other festivals. Because Jewish tradition
says that King David was born and died on Shavuot, some people have the custom
to read from the Book of Psalms, which he authored.
Torah
readings are from Exodus 19:1 to 20:23, which describe the revelation at Mt.
Sinai, including the Ten Commandments. The Maftir portion is from Numbers 28:26
to 28:31, which describes the sacrifices for Shavuot. Then, the Haftorah from
Ezekiel 1 is read, ending with an added verse from Ezekiel 3:13. |
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Before the Torah reading
on the second day of Shavuot, the Book of Ruth is read. Then, two Torah scrolls
are removed from the ark. The Torah reading in the first scroll is from Deuteronomy
14:22 to 16:17. The Maftir is the same as the previous day, and the Haftorah
is Habakkuk 2:20 to 3:19.
On Shavuot, it is customary
to read the section containing the Ten Commandments in a special trop, manner
of chanting the Torah. Called the
ta’am elyon, this is a more dramatic way of reading the Torah than the usual
Sabbath or festival trop.
In some synagogues,
instead of only the service leader carrying the Torah scroll in procession around
the synagogue, it is passed from one person to another until everyone has had
a turn. This practice is a way of showing our willingness to accept the Torah
and its covenant and pass it on.
In Ashkenazic synagogues
it is customary to chant a medieval piyyut, or liturgical poem, called Akdamut
to a special tune before the Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot. The
poem, written in Aramaic by Rabbi Meir, the eleventh century cantor of Worms,
Germany, praises G-d’s glory and talks about a messianic future.
Rabbi Meir wrote Akdamut
in Aramaic so only Jews would understand its meaning. His purpose was to strengthen
Jewish faith during times of terrible oppression such as the Crusades, the first
of which claimed the lives of his wife and son.
In Sephardic synagogues
it is customary to recite a piyyut called azharut, which lists 613 mitzvot from
the Torah. Another Sephardic and specifically Yemenite custom is to read one
of several versions of a ketubah, a marriage contract, between Israel and G-d,
based on the traditional format used for a bride and groom.
It includes prophetic
verses alluding to the covenant between G-d and Israel (Jeremiah 31:31); Hosea
2:21-22). This version substitutes the gifts between G-d and Israel for what
a bride and groom normally promise each other and lists G-d and Moses or heaven
and earth as witnesses. It is usually dated 6 Sivan 2448, the year of revelation,
if you count creation at year 0.
Yizkor Yizkor, the
memorial prayer for the dead, is recited on the first or second day, depending
on observance.
Dairy or Milchig Meal
The holiday meal eaten during the day is generally dairy. Some derive the practice
from Exodus 3:8, a “land flowing
with milk and honey,” or from Song of Songs 4:11, “milk and honey are under
your tongue".
Some suggest that at
Sinai, the Israelites were as innocent as newborns, whose only food is milk.
Another suggestion for eating dairy stems from the initials of the four Hebrew
words in Numbers 28:26, mei chalav, from milk, which describes the sacrificial
meal offering on Shavuot.
Those who like Kabbalah,
equate the numerical value of the word chalav, forty, with the number of days
Moses spent on Mt. Sinai. Others look to the mountain itself, called in Psalms,
mount of gavnunim (68:15) meaning many peaks. They connect that description
with the Hebrew word g’vinah, meaning cheese.
Another reason, a little
more practical, could be that following Sinai and the giving of the Torah, the
Israelites felt that they should not eat previously prepared meat which had
not been properly butchered and prepared according to the laws of Kashrut. So,
instead, they took dairy food that was readily available. |
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Here is one suggested
meal plan.
Start with Gezphacho
soup and taco chips. Then serve a warm French onion soup, followed by a cold,
poached salmon and dill sauce, lasagna rolls, and salad. Desert can include
the traditional cheese cake and / or ice cream.
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Conclusion - Like all
festivals, the conclusion of Shavuot is marked by a brief ceremony called Havdalah,
which literally means separation. This can be performed in the synagogue after
the evening service of Maariv at home after nightfall.
If the end of the festival
coincides with the end of Shabbat, the full Havdalah service is recited. This
can be found in any basic siddur, or prayer book. On a weeknight, however, only
blessings over wine and separation are said.
Isru Hag - The day after
Shavuot is known as Isru Hag. It is a minor day of rejoicing and a way of holding
onto the holiday a little longer.
Our sages said that
whoever observes a continuation of the festival of eating and drinking, the
Torah considers it as if that person had built the altar and offered the sacrifice
on it. “Bind the festival (Isru Hag) with cords unto the horns of the altar,”
(Psalm 18:27). |
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HEROES &
VILLAINS: Of the five megillot, or scrolls, found in the bible, three
have no obvious heroes. Only two are named after actual historical figures,
both of whom are women: Ruth and Esther.
Both
stories begin almost identically. The Book of Ruth begins with the words, “And
it happened in the days of the Judges,” and the Scroll of Esther begins with
“And it happened in the days of Achashverosh.”
Both
Ruth and Esther confronted a new world as strangers.
Ruth,
a Moabite princess, left her native land of Moab and pledged her allegiance
to her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, after the death of her Jewish husband, brother-in-law,
and father-in-law. Ruth had married into the family of Naomi and her husband,
Elimelech, when they moved to Moab during a famine in the land of Judea.
Esther,
who married King Achashverosh, was a secret Jew inside a hostile Persian court.
Both were out of their elements. Ruth had to learn the ways of Israel, and Esther
had to learn her way through the often dangerous pagan court.
Both
Ruth and Esther used their womanly charms to protect the ones they love.
Ruth
came to Boaz, a noble and pious Judean judge and relative of Naomi, in the night
and slept by his feet until morning. She then established a bond which culminated
in marriage and protection for her family.
Esther,
who also used her beauty and charms, managed to unmask Haman’s evil plot against
the Jews of Persia, ultimately saving her people from certain destruction.
Even
more significant, however, was the way in which both Ruth and Esther acted independently
and with great wisdom. |
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Against
the wishes of her mother-in-law, Naomi, Ruth did not allow her widowed and childless
mother-in-law to return to Bethlehem in poverty and without honor.
In
fact, Ruth is credited with one of the most famous passages in scripture: “For
wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people will
be my people and your G-d my G-d.” (1:16)
Esther
too acted with courage. When she found out about Haman’s plot to murder the
Jews of Persia, she decreed a national fast for her people. This gave her the
strength to defy one of the court’s strictest orders: not to enter the King’s
chamber without being called. Esther defied this decree, and her courage led
to Haman’s downfall and the savior of her family and people.
These
were exceptional women, unusual for their beauty, grace and courage. Little
wonder their names are linked to the titles of their stories. Both were masters
of their own destiny, and in their merits, transformed the futures of the Jewish
people.
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