| Shavuot, or Shavuos in some Ashkenazi usage, commonly known in English as the Feast of Weeks, is a major Jewish holiday, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. In the Bible, Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel. Also called: "Feast of Weeks" (English)Date: Thu, May 25, 2023 – Fri, May 26, 2023 In the Bible, Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel. In addition, rabbinic tradition teaches that the date also marks the revelation of the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai, which, according to the tradition of Orthodox Judaism, occurred at this date in 1314 BCE. The word Shavuot means "weeks", and it marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer. Its date is directly linked to that of Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be 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 people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.
One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Shavuot is traditionally celebrated in Israel for one day, where it is a public holiday, and for two days in the diaspora. Shavuot is not explicitly named in the Bible as the day on which the Torah was revealed by God to the Israelite nation at Mount Sinai, although this is commonly considered to be its main significance. Unlike other major holidays, the Torah does not specify the date of Shavuot, but only that it falls 50 days after Passover, placing it at the 6th of Sivan according to the current fixed calendar (in earlier times when months were fixed by lunar observation, the date could vary by a day or two). The Torah states that the Israelites reached Sinai on the first[day of the third month following the Exodus, i.e. Sivan. Then several events occurred, taking a total of at least three days, before the Torah was given. Besides the timing, several aspects of the Shavuot Temple sacrifice (shtei halechem) suggest a connection to the Exodus and the giving of the Torah. The shtei halechem is the only holiday sacrifice which includes a communal shelamim ("peace") offering, recalling the communal shelamim offering which was offered after the acceptance of the Torah (Exodus 24:5–11). Also, the shtei halechem is one of the few sacrifices to include chametz, suggesting that Shavuot is a counterpoint to Passover and its historical events. Most of the Talmudic sages agreed that the Torah was given on the 6 Sivan (the date of Shavuot), but Rabbi Jose holds that it was given on 7 Sivan. According to the classical timeline, the Israelites arrived at the wilderness of Sinai on the new moon (Exodus 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. In practice, Shavuot is observed on 6 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 sheni shel galuyot, Second-Day Yom Tov in the diaspora). Thus, according to Rabbi Jose, only outside Israel does Shavuot fall out on the day the Torah was given. Modern religious observances A synagogue sanctuary adorned in greenery in honor of Shavuot Nowadays in the post-Temple era, Shavuot is the only biblically ordained holiday that has no specific laws attached to it other than usual festival requirements of abstaining from creative work. The rabbinic observances for the holiday include reciting additional prayers, making kiddush, partaking of meals and being in a state of joy. There are however many customs which are observed on Shavuot. A mnemonic for the customs largely observed in Ashkenazi communities spells the Hebrew word aḥarit (אחרית, "last"): - אקדמות – Aqdamut, the reading of a piyyut (liturgical poem) during Shavuot morning synagogue services
- חלב – ḥalav (milk), the consumption of dairy products like milk and cheese
- רות – Rut, the reading of the Book of Ruth at morning services (outside Israel: on the second day)
- ירק – Yereq (greening), the decoration of homes and synagogues with greenery
- תורה – Torah, engaging in all-night Torah study.
The yahrzeit of King David is traditionally observed on Shavuot. Hasidic Jews also observe the yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov | 
No comments:
Post a Comment