shavuot
As many of you know, we will soon reach the holiday of Shavuot - the second of the three pilgrimage festivals (Pesach and Sukkot being the other two), on which the ancient Hebrews used to travel on foot to the Bet Hamikdash in Jerusalem to perform the requisite sacrifices.
Like many Jewish holidays, Shavuot contains both agricultural and historical significance. With regards to the former, Shavuot marks the end of the counting of the Omer, the seven-week period beginning with the second night of Pesach. It was around the end of this period that the first wheat was harvested and brought to the temple. For this reason, Shavuot is often referred to a "Hag Hakatzir" (harvest festival). From a historical perspective, Shavuot is important because it marks the giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai seven weeks after the exodus from Egypt. For this reason, the holiday is sometimes called "Zeman Matan Torataynu" (the time of the giving of our Torah).
There are many observances and customs which have developed in connection with Shavuot in addition to the typical Shabbat/Holiday prohibitions. The first is the "Tikun Layl Shavuot." People who follow this custom stay awake all night the first night of Shavuot to study Torah. This is done in order to celebrate the anniversary of the giving of the Torah. A second custom that has developed is that of eating only dairy dishes on the first night of Shavuot. There are many potential explanations given for this, but my personal favorite is the verse, "honey and milk shall be under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11), which is often applied to Shavuot.
Finally, the Book of Ruth is read on the second day of Shavuot. There are many explanations given for this as well. One states that Ruth's coming to Israel took place around the time of Shavuot and that her acceptance of Jewish faith was similar to the Israelites' acceptance of the Torah. Another explanation states that since Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David, and David died on Shavuot, it is appropriate to read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot.
I hope you all learned a little bit about Shavuot from this letter. Anyone interested in learning more should read pages 147-153 of Rabbi Isaac Klein's "Guide to Jewish Religious Practice."
This page was originally created by John Davis and Michael Kay, and can be found at http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jdd16/guide/.
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