Pesach and sukkot are the other two pilgrimage holidays. Seven weeks after passover, we mark the festival of shavuot weeks or pentecost also known in our tradition as zman matan toratenuthe time of the giving of our torah. On the second day of shavuot, we read the book of ruth. Shavuot is the most important jewish holiday most people have never heard of. Also known as the festival of torah or the feast of weeks, the literal translation from hebrew reveals two meanings to the word shavuot. It is celebrated one day in israel and two days outside of israel. Shavuot the festival of shavuot or shavuos, in ashkenazi usage. Shavuot takes place seven weeks from the second night of passover. On shavuot, it has become customary to study all night long. But in 2016, the definition of jewish text is broader than that.
Jewish text commonly the book of ruth and wait for the torah while eating lots. Shavuot is a jewish holiday celebrated either on the 6th or 7th of sivan depending on that months rosh chodesh, since it has to start when the omer ends. Dan and lex dive into this book and ask the question. Although the holiday began as one of the three harvest festivals sukkot and passover, shavuot is often associated with the receiving of the torah on. The current holiday shavuot is not biblical israel. Shavuot weeks in hebrew is the feast of weeks and commemorates the.
Shavuot marks the time that the jews received the torah on mount sinai. Shavuot is a minor, ancient pilgrimage festival that marked the harvest of barley. The holiday of shavuot is a twoday holiday, beginning at sundown of the 5th of sivan and lasting until nightfall of the 7th of. Shavuot may 2930, 2020, the holiday of weeks, commemorates israels receiving the torah at sinai. The book of ruth was connected to the holiday of shavuot.
Buchwald, founder and director or jewish treats parent organization, the national j. The book of acts shows us that the temple was the geographical locus of the yeshuamovement, and it portrays the firstcentury believers as a templebased sect of jerusalem judaism. Learn about the jewish holiday of sukkot, also known as the feast of. The holiday is also known as pentecost, since it is the 50th day after passover.
For example, you might spend your tikkun leil shavuot reading the book of ruth, one of shavuots traditional texts. Since it is the holiday that celebrates the giving of the torah on mount sinai, the custom is to engage in torah study. However, reform jews celebrate one day outside of israel as well. Learn about the jewish festival of shavuot, the festival of the giving of the torah. Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the temple, and is known as hag habikkurim the festival of the first fruits. From all night study sessions to mountains of cheese, shavuot finds incredible ways to celebrate receiving the torah. The book of genesis is, without a doubt, jewish, but so are tv shows like transparent and broad city. Shavuot, the festival of weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance the other two are passover and sukkot. The other festivals have colourful symbols to make them popular the. Another reason for the reading of ruth on shavuot is that its story takes place at harvest time, and shavuot also occurs at the time of the spring harvest. While the story of ruth may be too sophisticated for younger children to learn, the values embodied by the story friendship, feeding the hungry, taking care of others, compassionare something that children of.
Although its origins are to be found in an ancient grain. Why we read the book of ruth on shavuot my jewish learning. Shavuot, like many other jewish holidays, began as an ancient agricultural festival that marked the end of the. Since the counting of this period sefirat haomer begins on the second evening of passover, shavuot takes place exactly 50 days after the first seder. These agrarian roots are remembered and highlighted in reading the book of ruth. Traditionally, many of the books from the writings section of the hebrew bible are associated with various holidays from the jewish calendar year. Shavuot will occur on the following days on the american calendar. The book of ruth is read on the last day of the holiday see below for details.
Shavuot is an important jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the torah to the jews at mount sinai. Again, there are varying reasons given for this custom, and none seems to be definitive. Welcome to njops new shavuot prep web series featuring rabbi ephraim z. The book of ruth, megillat ruth is read on shavuot because. It is an ancient custom for jews to stay up the first night and. Shavuot could be considered the holiday of the book. The movement for reform judaism is the national umbrella organisation of 42 autonomous synagogue communities. Since the book of ruth ends with the genealogy of david, whose forbearer ruth was, it has been suggested that it is read on shavuot because there is a legend that david died on shavuot. Words on a page are clearly texts, but media, ranging from podcasts to videos to graphic. While the holidays biblical origins lie in an agricultural harvest celebration, in our time it has become primarily a commemoration and reenactment of the revelation of the torah at mount sinai to. Weeks is a jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the hebrew month of sivan late may or early june. Out of respect for the sanctity of the holiday shabbat evening, june 810, 2019, please print out this holiday guide before shabbat and the onset of the holiday, and keep it handy throughout the holiday for reference purposes. The spring jewish holiday of shavuot has many names and meanings, each of.
Although biblical references to shavuot and its early history revolved around the summer grain harvest, the feast of weeks is now more closely associated with commemorating the time the israelites received the torah while wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from egypt. Shavuot literally means weeks, so named because the festival is exactly seven weeks plus one day from the second night of passover. Introduction to shavuot adam overlanderkaye, reform judaisms fundraising director, offers the ujs and us. Among them are that the book takes place at the time of the barley harvest, that ruths assumption of naomis religion reflects the israelites acceptance of the.
It celebrates the completion of the sevenweek omer counting period between passover and shavuot the torah was given by g. The torah reading on the first day of shavuot, exodus 19. A jewish festival, judaism jewish holy day celebrated on the sixth of sivan to celebrate moses receiving the ten commandments. The book of ruth, one of the five scrolls of tanakh is read at morning services. Shavuot, as observed today, is not a biblical holiday. Hence, following the greek word for fifty, shavuot is also referred to sometimes as pentecost. Celebrates the revelation of the five books of the torah by god to moses and to the israelites at biblical mount sinai, 49 days 7 weeks after the exodus from.
After the 49day, 7week countdown since passover, we at last reach shavuot on the 50th day. Basic learn about the jewish calendar, its background and history, the numbering of jewish years, the months of the jewish year and the days of the jewish week. Shavuot, the festival of weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance, a jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the hebrew month of sivan late may or early june. Unlike rosh hashanah which has the shofar, chanukah which has the menorah and sukkot which has the four species and the sukkah, shavuot has no concrete symbol. Also, jewish tradition teaches that king david ruths greatgreatgrandson was born and died on shavuot. Shavuot marks the time that the jews received the torah on mount. During the temple period, the first fruits of the harvest were brought to the temple, and two loaves of bread made from the new wheat were offered. The biblical book of ruth, which tells the story of a moabite princess who went on to convert to judaism, is read on shavuot. The purpose of this article, from my book mysteries of judaism, is simply to reveal the historical development of shavuot.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. A fun shavuot quiz with the answers provided in word so you can edit them out and recreate the questions if you would like to. The rabbi of my childhood synagogue called shavuot the cinderella festival, because in many circles it is rather unloved. Shavuot will be observed when the sun sets this evening. It comes from the ancient practice of offering an omer about two dry quarts of. Everything you need to know about the history and customs of shavuot. Ruth converted to judaism, which may be reason enough for reading this text on this day. May 15, 20 5773 june 4, 2014 5774 may 24, 2015 5775 june 12, 2016 5776.
The story of shavuot is told in the bible in the book of ruth. Shavuot, the feast of weeks, is celebrated seven weeks after passover pesach. The book of ruth is read during shavuot because it takes place during the harvest season and because ruths conversion is thought to reflect our acceptance of the torah on shavuot. Every year on the holiday of shavuot we renew our acceptance of g. For a long time, shavuots focus has been on the study of the hebrew bible torah, prophets, and writings and later rabbinic texts. Intermediate a closer look at the mathematics behind the jewish calendar, explaining how hebrew dates are calculated. The festival of shavuot celebrates the giving of the torah at mount sinai and encourages us to embrace the torahs teachings and be inspired by the wisdom jewish tradition has to offer shavuot is the hebrew word for weeks, and the holiday occurs seven weeks after passover. Shavuot festival of weeks, commemorates the giving of. The holiday always falls 50 days after the second night of passover, and the 49 days in between the two holidays are known as the counting of the omer. It is the only jewish holiday that is not celebrated on the same jewish date every year. In judaism, the period of counting the days from passover until shavuot according to the lords command leviticus 23.
Its a true torahfilled sleepover where all kinds of wonderful learning can happen. In the synagogue we read the story of the revelation at sinai, in which god descended upon mount sinai and communicated directly with israel, giving the nation the ten commandments and its unique. Shavuot and the reading of the book of ruth san diego. Shavuot begins at sundown on saturday, june 8, 2019 and ends at sundown on monday, june 10, 2019.