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Shavuot, the Feast of the Weeks, is the Jewish holiday celebrating the harvest season in Israel. Shavuot, which means "weeks", refers to the timing of the festival which is held exactly 7 weeks after Passover. Shavuot is known also as Yom Habikkurim, or "the Day of the First Fruits", because it is the time the farmers of Israel would bring their first harvest to Jerusalem as a token of thanksgiving.
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Shavuot also commemorates the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
According to tradition the Israelites actually overslept
on the morning of G-d's visit. To compensate for this negligence, Jews hold a vigil on the eve of Shavuot.
(This year Thur, June 5th). They stay awake from dusk to dawn, keeping themselves busy with the readings of the Torah. |
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Do you know the names of the three pilgrim festivals, or as they are called in Hebrew, the "shalosh regalim," in the Jewish calendar? They are the three holidays during which our ancestors walked to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices and celebrate together. As God says in Exodus 23: 14-17: " Three times you are to hold pilgrimage for me, every year ... At three points in the year are all your males to be seen before the presence of God."
These holidays included Pesach (Passover) � the Festival of Freedom, Sukkot � the Harvest Festival, and ... I always forget ... oh yes, Shavuot � the Time of Receiving the Torah. |
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Calendar of Shavuot |
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Shavuot Dates
Begins on sunset on . . .
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 18, 1010 |
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