Shavuot:
A Celebration for Receiving the Torah PHILLIP APPLEBAUM FROM THE JN ARCHIVES MAY 20, 1988
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top counting and pass the cheesecake; it’s Shavuot! Shavuot — Z’man matan Torateinu — is “The time of the giving of our Torah,” when Moses ascended Mount Sinai to meet the Almighty “face to face” and bring back the divine teachings to the Children of Israel. That’s the historical side of the holiday. But what’s all this about counting and cheesecake? Counting refers to the fact that we determine the date of Shavuot by counting 50 days after the first day of Pesach (Passover). Why do we count? The Torah in the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus 23:15-21) commands the Jewish people to begin counting off the days and weeks beginning with the second day of Pesach “until seven full weeks have elapsed; you shall count 50 days, until the day after the seventh week.” The 50th and last day of this period becomes the holiday of Shavuot.
All of this counting is referred to as Sefirat HaOmer (the counting of the omer), because during this period, an omer (a specific dry measure) of barley was offered up as a sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem. Thus, Shavuot is the only major holiday on the Jewish calendar whose observance is not established by a fixed date, but by calculation from another holiday. During the Hellenistic period of Jewish history, Greek-speaking Jews began to call the holiday “Pentecost” (“50”). In Hebrew, Shavuot means “weeks.” It’s interesting to note that there is also a Christian Pentecost: the 50th day after Easter (usually called Whitsunday), a direct copy of our Shavuot. Shavuot is also known as Yom HaBikurim (Day of the First Fruits) and Chag HaKatzir (Harvest Festival) because the holiday marked the offering of new produce in the Temple, and also the
end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. DAIRY DINING Now, what about the cheesecake? There is no precise reason why we eat dairy foods on Shavuot, but among the explanations is the fact that in the Book of Shemot (Exodus 23:19), the laws of first fruits and the separation of meat and milk are stated in the same verse. Also, the rabbis point out that it was not until after Sinai that Jews were permitted to eat nonsacrificial meat. On Erev Shavuot — the first eve of the holiday — many observe the custom of staying up all night and studying Torah to commemorate the vigil our ancestors kept the night before the theophany at Sinai. There are also a number of Shavuot synagogue traditions. We read the Book of Ruth, which describes her conversion to Judaism, for
likewise, when the Israelites received the Torah, they too, were “converted.” Also, the main story in the book centers on the harvest, and Ruth is an ancestor of King David, whose yahrtzeit is traditionally observed on Shavuot. In fact, many people recite the entire Book of Psalms on Shavuot (in light of the tradition that David was its author). The synagogue is adorned with greenery, flowers and trees, because tradition tells us that Mount Sinai was lush with vegetation. The Torah portion on the first day of Shavuot includes the Ten Commandments. And, on the first and second days, we chant two Aramaic hymns in praise of the Torah: Akdamut and Yatziv Pitgam. In memory of the departed, we recite Yizkor on the second day. Many congregations use this opportunity to hold an appeal for a worthy cause. In many Reform and Conservative congregations, Shavuot is the time for confirmations. So, try to stay awake the first night, listen attentively to the story of Ruth, respond generously to your local appeal, and ladle the sour cream on the blintzes as thick as you like. Enjoy Shavuot! At the time this was originally published, Phillip Applebaum was a past president of Young Israel of OakWoods. This year, Shavuot begins the evening of Sunday, May 16, and ends the evening of Tuesday, May 18.
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