Shavuot
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Shavuot (help·info) (or
Shavuos (help·info), in
Ashkenazi usage;
Shavuʿoth in Classical and Mizrahi Hebrew
Hebrew:
שבועות, lit. "Weeks") is a
Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of
Sivan (late May or early June). Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day
God gave the
Torah to the entire
Israelite nation assembled at
Mount Sinai, although the association between the giving of the Torah (
Matan Torah) and Shavuot is not explicit in the Biblical text. The holiday is one of the
Shalosh Regalim, the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals. It marks the conclusion of the
Counting of the Omer.
The date of Shavuot is directly linked to that of
Passover. The
Torah mandates the seven-week
Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover and immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the Giving of the Torah. On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to
Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.
In the Bible, Shavuot is called the
Festival of Weeks (Hebrew: חג השבועות,
Ḥag ha-Shavuot,
Exodus 34:22,
Deuteronomy 16:10);
Festival of Reaping (Hebrew: חג הקציר,
Ḥag ha-Katsir,
Exodus 23:16), and
Day of the First Fruits (Hebrew יום הבכורים,
Yom ha-Bikkurim,
Numbers 28:26). The
Mishnah and
Talmud refer to Shavuot as
Atzeret (Hebrew: עצרת, a solemn assembly), as it provides closure for the festival activities during and following the holiday of Passover. Since Shavuot occurs 50 days after Passover, Hellenistic Jews gave it the name
Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, "fiftieth
day").
One thing that Shavuot is known for is being little-known. It is postulated that among other reasons, its obscurity is related to the gravitas of the Torah itself, with its numerous positive commandments and negative commandments.
[1][2] According to Jewish tradition, Shavuot is celebrated in
Israel for one day and in the
Diaspora (outside of Israel) for two days.
Reform Jews celebrate only one day, even in the Diaspora.
[3] [edit] Connection with the harvest
Besides its significance as the day on which the Torah was revealed by God to the Jewish nation at Mount Sinai (which includes the
Ten Commandments), Shavuot is also connected to the season of the grain harvest in
Israel. In ancient times, the grain harvest lasted seven weeks and was a season of gladness (
Jer. 5:24;
Deut. 16:9-11;
Isa. 9:2). It began with the harvesting of the barley during Passover and ended with the harvesting of the wheat at Shavuot. Shavuot was thus the concluding festival of the grain harvest, just as the eighth day of
Sukkot (Tabernacles) was the concluding festival of the fruit harvest. During the existence of the
Temple in Jerusalem, an
offering of two loaves of bread from the wheat harvest was made on Shavuot.
[edit] Ceremony of Bikkurim
Shavuot was also the first day on which individuals could bring the
Bikkurim (
first fruits) to the
Temple in Jerusalem (
Mishnah Bikkurim 1:3). The
Bikkurim were brought from the
Seven Species for which the
Land of Israel is praised:
wheat,
barley,
grapes,
figs,
pomegranates,
olives, and
dates (Deut. 8:8). In the largely agrarian society of ancient Israel, Jewish farmers would tie a reed around the first ripening fruits from each of these species in their fields. At the time of harvest, the fruits identified by the reed would be cut and placed in baskets woven of gold and silver. The baskets would then be loaded on oxen whose horns were gilded and laced with garlands of flowers, and who were led in a grand procession to
Jerusalem. As the farmer and his entourage passed through cities and towns, they would be accompanied by music and parades.
[4] At the Temple, each farmer would present his
Bikkurim to a
kohen in a ceremony that followed the text of
Deut. 26:1-10. This text begins by stating, "An Aramean tried to destroy my father," referring to
Laban's efforts to weaken
Jacob and rob him of his progeny (
Rashi on Deut. 26:5)—or by an alternate translation, the text states "My father was a wandering Aramean," referring to the fact that Jacob was a penniless wanderer in the land of
Aram for 20 years (ibid.,
Abraham ibn Ezra). The text proceeds to retell the history of the Jewish people as they went into exile in Egypt and were enslaved and oppressed; following which
God redeemed them and brought them to the land of Israel. The ceremony of
Bikkurim conveys the Jew's gratitude to God both for the first fruits of the field and for His guidance throughout Jewish history (Scherman, p. 1068).
[edit] Modern observances
A
synagogue sanctuary decked out in greenery in honor of Shavuot
Shavuot is unlike other Jewish holidays in that it has no prescribed
mitzvot (Torah commandments) other than the traditional festival observances of abstention from work, special prayer services and holiday meals. However, it is characterized by many
minhagim (customs). A mnemonic for these customs is the letters of the Hebrew word
acharit (אחרית, "last"). Since the Torah is called
reishit (ראשית, "first"), the customs of Shavuot highlight the importance of custom for the continuation and preservation of Jewish religious observance. These customs, largely observed in
Ashkenazic communities, are:
- אקדמות – Akdamut, the reading of a liturgical poem during Shavuot morning synagogue services
- חלב – Chalav (milk), the consumption of dairy products like milk and cheese
- רות – Ruth, the reading of the Book of Ruth at morning services
- ירק – Yerek, the decoration of homes and synagogues with greenery
- תורה – Torah, engaging in all-night Torah study.
[edit] Akdamut
Akdamut (
Aramaic: אקדמות) is a liturgical poem extolling the greatness of God, the Torah and Israel that is read publicly in the synagogue right before the morning reading of the
Torah on the first day of Shavuot. It was composed by Rabbi Meir of
Worms, whose son was murdered during the
Crusade of 1096. Rabbi Meir was forced to defend the Torah and his Jewish faith in a debate with local priests, and successfully conveyed his certainty of God's power, His love for the Jewish people, and the excellence of Torah. Afterwards he wrote
Akdamut, a 90-line poem in
Aramaic which stresses these themes. The poem is written in a double acrostic pattern according to the order of the
Hebrew alphabet. In addition, each line ends with the syllable
"ta" (תא), the last and first letters of the Hebrew alphabet, alluding to the endlessness of Torah. The traditional melody which accompanies this poem also conveys a sense of grandeur and triumph.
Sephardim do not read
akdamut, but before the evening service they sing a poem called
Azharot which sets out the
613 Biblical commandments. The positive commandments are recited on the first day and the negative commandments on the second day.
[edit] Dairy foods
Dairy foods such as
cheesecake and
blintzes with cheese and other fillings are traditionally served on Shavuot.
[5] One explanation for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday is that the Israelites had not yet received the Torah, with its laws of
shechita (ritual slaughtering of animals). As the food they had prepared beforehand was not in accordance with these laws, they opted to eat simple dairy meals to honor the holiday. Some say it harks back to King Solomon's portrayal of the Torah as "honey and milk are under your tongue" (
Song of Songs 4:11).
[6] [edit] Book of Ruth
There are five books in
Tanakh that are known as
Megillot (Hebrew: מגילות, "scrolls") and are publicly read in the synagogues on different Jewish holidays. The
Book of Lamentations, which details the destruction of the Holy Temple, is the reading for
Tisha B'Av; the
Book of Ecclesiastes, which touches on the ephemeralness of life, corresponds to
Sukkot; the
Book of Esther (
Megillat Esther) retells the events of
Purim; and the
Song of Songs, which echoes the themes of springtime and God's love for the Jewish people, is the reading for Passover.
The
Book of Ruth (מגילת רות,
Megillat Ruth) corresponds to the holiday of Shavuot both in its descriptions of the barley and wheat harvest seasons and Ruth's desire to become a member of the Jewish people, who are defined by their acceptance of the Torah. Moreover, the lineage described at the end of the Book lists
King David as Ruth's great-grandson. According to tradition, David was born and died on Shavuot.
[7] [edit] Greenery
According to the
Midrash, Mount Sinai suddenly blossomed with flowers in anticipation of the giving of the Torah on its summit. Greenery also figures in the story of the baby
Moses being found among the
bulrushes in a watertight cradle (
Ex. 2:3) when he was three months old (Moses was born on 7 Adar and placed in the
Nile River on 6 Sivan, the same day he later brought the Jewish nation to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah).
[citation needed] For these reasons, many Jewish families traditionally decorate their homes and
synagogues with plants, flowers and leafy branches in honor of Shavuot. Some synagogues decorate the
bimah with a canopy of flowers and plants so that it resembles a
chuppah, as Shavuot is mystically referred to as the day the matchmaker (Moses) brought the bride (the Jewish people) to the chuppah (Mount Sinai) to marry the bridegroom (God); the
ketubbah (marriage contract) was the Torah. Some Eastern Sephardi communities actually read out a
ketubbah between God and Israel as part of the service.
The
Vilna Gaon cancelled the tradition of decorating with plants because it too closely resembles the Christian decorations for their holidays.
[edit] All-night Torah study
The custom of all-night Torah study goes back to 1533 when Rabbi
Joseph Caro, author of the
Shulchan Aruch, then living in Ottoman Salonika, invited his
Kabbalistic colleagues to hold a night-long study vigil, in the course of which an angel appeared before them and commanded them to go live in
Eretz Yisrael. According to a story in the
Midrash, the night before the Torah was given, the Israelites retired early to be well-rested for the momentous day ahead, but they overslept and Moses had to wake them up because God was already waiting on the mountaintop.
[8] To rectify this flaw in the national character, religious Jews stay up all night to learn Torah.
Any subject may be studied, although Talmud, Mishna and Torah typically top the list. In many communities, men and women attend classes and lectures until the early hours of the morning. In
Jerusalem, thousands of people finish off the nighttime study session by walking to the
Kotel before dawn and joining the sunrise
minyan there. The latter activity is reminiscent of Shavuot's status as one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals, when the Jews living in the Land of Israel journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday.
[9] [edit] Tikkun Leil Shavuot
In keeping with the custom of engaging in all-night Torah study, the
Arizal, a leading
Kabbalist of the 16th century, arranged a special service for the evening of Shavuot. The
Tikkun Leil Shavuot ("Rectification for Shavuot Night") consists of excerpts from the beginning and end of each of the 24 books of
Tanakh (including the reading in full of several key sections such as the account of the days of
creation,
The Exodus, the giving of the
Ten Commandments and the
Shema) and the 63 chapters of Mishnah. This is followed by the reading of
Sefer Yetzirah, the 613 commandments as enumerated by
Maimonides, and excerpts from the
Zohar, with opening and concluding prayers. The whole reading is divided into thirteen parts, after each of which a
Kaddish di-Rabbanan is recited when the Tikkun is studied in a group of at least ten Jewish, Bar Mitzvahed men.
This service is printed in a special book, and is widely used in Eastern Sephardic, some German and Hasidic communities. There are similar books for the vigils before the seventh day of
Pesach and
Hosha'ana Rabbah.
The
Spanish and Portuguese Jews do not observe this custom.
[edit] Confirmation
Reform Jewish synagogues will typically hold celebrations of
Confirmation for
tenth graders on the evening or morning of Shavuot. The holiday falls around the end of the school year in the northern hemisphere, and the giving of the
Ten Commandments naturally fits into the theme of continued Jewish learning.
[citation needed] [edit] Dates in dispute
Since the Torah does not specify the actual day on which Shavuot falls, differing interpretations of this date have arisen both in traditional and non-traditional Jewish circles. These discussions center around two ways of looking at Shavuot: the day it actually occurs (i.e., the day the Torah was given on Mount Sinai), and the day it occurs in relation to the Counting of the Omer (being the 50th day from the first day of the Counting).
[edit] Giving of the Torah
While most of the Talmudic Sages concur that the Torah was given on the sixth of Sivan; R. Jose holds that it was given on the seventh of that month. According to the classical timeline, the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sinai on the new moon (
Ex. 19:1) and the
Ten Commandments were given on the following Shabbat (i.e., Saturday). The question of whether the new moon fell on Sunday or Monday is undecided (Talmud, tractate Shabbat 86b). In practice, Shavuot is observed on the sixth day of Sivan in
Israel and a second day is added in the Jewish diaspora (in keeping with a separate rabbinical ruling that applies to all biblical holidays, called
Yom Tov Sheini Shebegaliyot, Second-Day Yom Tov in the
Diaspora).
[edit] Counting of the Omer
The Torah states that the Omer offering (i.e., the first day of counting the Omer) is the first day of corn harvest (
Deut. 16:9). It should begin "on the morrow after the
Shabbat", and continue to be counted for seven Sabbaths. (
Lev. 23:11). The Talmudic Sages determined that "Shabbat" here means a day of rest and refers to the first day of Passover. Thus, the counting of the Omer begins on the second day of Passover and continues for the next 49 days, or seven complete weeks, ending on the day before Shavuot.
According to this calculation, Shavuot will fall on the day of the week after that of the first day of Passover (e.g., if Passover starts on a Thursday, Shavuot will begin on a Friday).
Most secular scholarship, and the
Karaites, as well as
Catholics[10] and the historical
Sadducees and
Boethusians, dispute this interpretation. They infer the "Shabbat" referenced is the weekly Shabbat. Accordingly, Shavuot falls on the day after the weekly shabbat, counting from seven weeks since the day after the first shabbat during Pesach.
This interpretation was shared by the second-century BCE author of the
Book of Jubilees who was motivated by the priestly sabbatical
solar calendar of the third and second centuries BCE, which was designed to have festivals and Sabbaths fall on the same day of the week every year. On this calendar (best known from the Book of Luminaries in
1 Enoch), Shavuot fell on the 15th of Sivan, a Sunday. The date was reckoned fifty days from the first
Sabbath after
Passover (i.e. from the 25th of Nisan). Thus, Jub. 1:1 claims that Moses ascended
Mount Sinai to receive the Torah "on the sixteenth day of the third month in the first year of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt".
[edit] Critical scholarship
The Book of
Jubilees describes the celebration of Shavuot in pre-Mosaic times. In Jub. 6:15-22 and 44:1-5, the holiday is traced to the appearance of the first rainbow on the 15th of Sivan, the day on which God made his covenant with Noah. The covenant renewal feature of Shavuot is thus attributed to this first covenant. Subsequently, it was observed by Noah until his death but revived again by Abraham (Jub. 15:1), and after Abraham's death it was forgotten again until Moses restored it once more.
Qumran scholar
Gabriele Boccaccini has suggested that the 1,290 and 1,335 days of
Daniel 12:11-12 point to the observance of Shavuot in a restored Israel, as reckoned by the priestly solar calendar. These durations are exactly 30 and 45 days longer than the 3½ years mentioned in
Dan. 7:25 and
9:27. The period of 3½ years amounts to 1,260 days in the priestly solar calendar because the equinoxes and solstices count as markers of the seasons rather than monthly days (1 En. 74:11, 75:1, 82:4). The blessings expected at the end of the 1,335 days pertain to the resurrection to "everlasting life" mentioned a few verses earlier (
12:2), and this is the reward to those who refused to forsake the covenant unto death (
Dan. 11:22,
11:28,
11:30,
11:33-35), while those who forsook the covenant (
11:30-32) face "everlasting contempt".
Boccaccini sees the 3½ years as ending at the spring equinox (equinoxes and solstices were important markers of the seasons in the solar calendar), to be followed by 30 days to complete the 1,290 days (the month of Passover), and an additional 45 days to reach the 15
th of Sivan, the purported day of Shavuot. For those who refused to forsake the covenant, this would be the day the covenant would be renewed and the expected blessings would be realized.
The
Jewish Encyclopedia points to the similarities between the Christian and Jewish
Pentecost, as an outpouring of the spirit or the giving of the Law in seventy languages.
[10] The first day of Shavuot begins on:
- 2010: Tuesday night/Wednesday 18–19 May
- 2011: Tuesday night/Wednesday 7–8 June
- 2012: Saturday night/Sunday 26–27 May
