Shavuot

Lore & Background

Shavuot is directly linked to Passover through the Counting of the Omer, a seven-week period beginning on the second day of Passover. The Torah mandates this counting, which is understood to express anticipation for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the Israelites were freed from enslavement; on Shavuot, they received the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God. The word Shavuot means 'weeks' in Hebrew, marking the conclusion of this counting.

Reader's Guide

Shavuot holds dual significance: agricultural and historical. Agriculturally, it was the concluding festival of the grain harvest, when two loaves of bread from the wheat harvest were offered in the Temple in Jerusalem. Historically, rabbinic tradition holds that the Ten Commandments were revealed on this date, though the Bible does not explicitly name Shavuot as the day of the giving of the Torah. The holiday is observed with abstention from creative work, additional prayers, kiddush, and festive meals. In the diaspora, it is celebrated for two days; in Israel, for one day as a public holiday. Shavuot is sometimes called Pentecost due to its timing fifty days after Passover, but it is distinct from the Christian Pentecost.

Did You Know?

• Shavuot is the only biblically ordained holiday that has no specific biblical laws attached to it other than usual festival requirements.
• The Talmud refers to Shavuot as 'Aṣeret, meaning 'refraining' or 'holding back', due to the prohibition against work.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that the Qumran sect observed additional festivals of New Wine and New Oil as extensions of Shavuot.