By Nicole Sivan
Sunset on June 3rd marks the beginning of the holiday of Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks. Shavuot is one of the three traditional pilgrimage holidays in the Jewish religion, along with Passover and Shukkot. These holidays hold both a historical and agricultural significance and during biblical and Roman times, when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, Jews from around the land of Israel journeyed to the city to bring offerings. Traditionally on Shavuot, Jews presented the first fruits of the season and, for this reason, Shavuot is also known as Hag ha-Bikkurim or the Festival of the First Fruits. In its more historical meaning, Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah by God to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai. Therefore, this holiday is also referred to as Hag Matan Torateinu or the Festival of the Giving of the Torah.
The time period between Passover (March or April) and Shavuot (May or June) is known as the counting of the Omer. This counting lasts for seven full weeks, hence the name Shavuot, which literally translates to “seven weeks.” The counting of the Omer is to acknowledge the connection between the two holidays. Passover celebrates the freeing of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt and Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah, representing the freedom from idol worship and the forging of a commitment to the one and only God. Jewish sages teach that Shavuot is not the celebration of the “receiving of the Torah” but rather of the “giving of the Torah” since the Jewish people continue to receive the gift of the Torah each and every day.
Religious Jews world-wide and secular and observant Israelis alike do not work on Shavuot. It is customary for religious Jews to stay up all night during the holiday to study Torah. Another custom on this holiday is to enjoy a dairy meal. It is unclear how this particular tradition came about but some believe it is related to the promise to the freed Israelite slaves of a land flowing with “milk and honey.” This custom may also symbolically represent when the Jewish people received the Torah and became obligated to follow its commandments, including the laws kashrut (keeping kosher). It may not have been easy to keep kosher meat pots and dishes while wandering in the desert, so perhaps the Israelites opted to eat dairy meals.
However this custom began, it makes Shavuot a fantastic time to visit Israel as every bakery, restaurant, and café is literally overflowing with an endless variety of cheesecakes, cheese blintzes, and any kind of dairy pastry you can image. Fresh cheese, especially locally produced goat cheeses, is also very popular during this holiday. Shavuot makes a wonderful time to venture through the countryside on a wine and cheese tour. Israel has a substantial yet still growing industry of boutique wineries and dairy farms. While the options do not compare with what is available on a wine and cheese tour in the Burgundy region of France, such trips are still a lot of fun and many of the wines produced by these local wineries are quickly becoming competitive players in the global wine arena.
An invitation to a kibbutz (a collective agricultural community) Shavuot celebration should also be a top priority on this holiday as these communities continue the tradition of commemorating the first fruits of the year. They also honor all new born animals and children from the past year. Community children organize mini parades complete with tractors and wagons filled with freshly picked fruit and baby sheep and goats, all decorated colorfully with garlands of flowers. During the community ceremony, parents are asked to bring all babies born since the previous Shavuot holiday onto the stage to be presented to the community. I was very lucky to have lived on a kibbutz the year my daughter was born. My mother-in-law made her a crown of hot pink Bougainvillea flowers and we paraded her onstage as one of the new babies of the year. To this day, the photos taken during this ceremony are some of the best from her baby years.
Shavuot is a very casual holiday in Israel as it celebrates the arrival of spring and the giving of the Torah. It also requires you to eat more cheese cake than a Golden Girl. If you are fortunate enough to visit Israel during this time, I highly recommend that you enjoy the many varieties of freshly baked cheese cakes and local dairy products, and if you are in Jerusalem, head down to the Western Wall plaza to witness one of the most amazing all-night Torah study sessions in the world.
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