YOUNG ISRAEL OF NORTH BEVERLY HILLS

PRIMER FOR THE HOLIDAY OF SHAVUOT 5768

Chag HaShavuot , the Feast of Weeks, is known by five different names in the Bible, Talmud and our Tefillot. Being one of the Shalosh Regalim , one of the three Pilgrim Festivals, Shavuot Commemorates both an agricultural, as well as a religious and national event in Jewish history.

AGRICULTURAL FEAST

Shavuot, which is celebrated on the 6 th of Sivan, and outside Eretz Yisrael, on both the 6 th and 7 th of the month, was, in Biblical times, in the main an agricultural Feast. It marked the season of the wheat harvest, and is known in the Bible as Chag Hakatsir , the Feast of the Harvest, and also as Yom HaBikurim , the day of the First Fruits. It was on this day that the first fruits of the wheat harvest were offered as an expression of gratitude to the Almighty. The Bible calls it Chag HaShavuo t, the Feast of Weeks, on account of its celebration at the end of the seven weeks counted form the time of the offering of the Omer , emphasizing once again, the agricultural character of the Feast. The term, “ Pentacost ”, by which this Festival is often referred to, is the Greek word, “fiftieth”, signifying that it is the Feast which we celebrate on the fiftieth day after the first day of Pesach .

Our sages regarded Shavuot as the concluding Festival of Passover. Hence, they called it, in the Mishna and Talmud, Atzeret , meaning “conclusion” – just as Shemini Atzeret is the concluding day of Succot. Indeed, Onkelos, in his Aramaic version of the Bible, translates the word Shavuot as Atzeret,

SEASON OF THE GIVING OF THE TORAH

Shavuot also commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai , and is, therefore, referred to in our Liturgy as Zman Matan Torateinu,” the season of the giving of our Law”. Our Rabbis, in a reasoned argument based on a number of passages in the Bible dealing with Israel ’s journeys through the wilderness and arrival at Sinai, prove that the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai must have taken place on the 6 th of Sivan, which is the first day of Shavuot. Rabbi Yossi, however, argues that the Torah was given on the 7 th day of Sivan. Be that as it may, the giving of the Torah marked the end off Israel ’s childhood and its entry into national maturity. At the moment it accepted the Law of justice, truth and loving-kindness, and proclaimed the Unity of G-d and swore to observe His commandments, Israel secured for itself permanent and eternal existence.

CUSTOMS OF THE FESTIVAL

There are a number of customs associated with this Festival. Thus, to remind us of its agricultural character, our homes and synagogues are decorated with different kinds of herbs and flowers, and, in some countries, the floor of the synagogue is strewn with bundles of fresh grass. Some communities also adorn their synagogues with large plants, as a reminder that, on Shavuot, the world is judged through the fruits of the trees, a judgment that is demonstrated by the richness or meagerness of the fruit harvest. Said, Rabbi Judah in the name of Rabbi Akiva … Because Shavuot is the season for the fruit of the tree… the Holy One, blessed be He, said: “Bring before Me two loaves on Shavuot, so that the fruit of your trees may be blessed.”

There are a number of reasons for the custom of eating dairy foods and honey on Shavuot. One of them is that it is derived by our sages from the passage, “honey and milk shall be under your tongue”, which implies that the words of the Torah may be as pleasant and acceptable to our ears and hearts as are milk and honey to our tongues. A famous Midrash teaches us that our ancestors ate only dairy food items since they had not been taught the Laws of Shechitah.

Shavuot has also been considered the most fitting period for introducing the young child to his Hebrew studies. He was taken on that day to “cheder” and given his first lesson, thus declaring symbolically and confirming his allegiance to the Torah.

It is customary to spend many hours on Shavuot night in reading and studying the Tikun Shavuot , a compilation of passages from the Bible, Mishna and Talmud, the Zohar and other sacred books. Special gatherings are held in the synagogue on this occasion.

AKDAMUT-1 st Day

Perhaps no other of the liturgical poems of our prayer book has become as well known as Akdamot which we recite on Shavuot. This poem, ascribed to Rabbi Meir ben Isaac of Orleans, who lived in the 11 th century, praises the Jewish people and its attachment to its Maker and His Law. It was accorded such importance that, at one time, it was recited immediately after the first verse of the portion of the Torah read on Shavuot.

Later, however, it was ruled that Akdamot should be recited before the commencement of the reading of the Torah. The tune in which it is chanted has become universally known and is immediately recognizable.

READING OF THE BOOK OF RUTH-2 nd Day

On Shavuot we read the Book of Ruth before we read the Torah. The reason for its association with the festival is the story how Ruth embraced Judaism and the account it gives of the grain-harvest and the treatment of the poor in the harvest season. There is also a tradition, mentioned in the Talmud, that King David was born and died on Shavuot; and, since David descended from Ruth, the reading of this book, where the birth of David is recorded, is appropriate to the occasion.

During the time of the Beit HaMikdash, the first fruits, Bikurim, were brought on Shavuot to Jerusalem with much pageantry; the Mishna gives a most vivid description of the ceremony, in which tens of thousands participated. Today, Bikurim are brought in Israel ’s villages and towns, at special festivities, as a remembrance to our glorious past.

Thus, Shavuot gives full expression to the eternal truth that Israel , the Torah and the Land are one and indivisible.