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What Happens on Shavuot?
Unlike Passover and Sukkot, which both have a number of important home rituals, most Shavuot rituals take place in synagogue. Here are a few things to look forward to: (1) Tikkun Leil Shavuot – Many...
View ArticleWhat is the Meaning of the Word “Shavuot”?
“Shavuot” literally means “weeks.” That is because Shavuot is celebrated seven weeks—a week of weeks!—after the first barley harvest. Here’s the injunction in the Torah: You shall count off seven...
View ArticleWhy is Shavuot Significant?
Although Shavuot receives relatively little attention in the US compared to its sister holidays (Passover and Sukkot), it is a major Jewish holiday of the same status. Shavuot is a celebration of the...
View ArticleIs Shavuot One or Two Days Long?
If you live in the land of Israel, Shavuot is a one day holiday. Everywhere else, it’s celebrated for two days (except by the Reform movement, which keeps only one). That’s not just Shavuot, either....
View ArticleDid Moses Write the Torah?
VeZot haTorah—This is the Torah that Moses set before the people Israel–by the mouth of God, through the hand of Moses. These phrases, merged from Deuteronomy 4:44 and Numbers 9:23, are recited by...
View ArticleWhy Dairy on Shavuot?
Although everyone agrees that the food of choice for Shavuot is cheese, most typically blintzes, or a Sephardic equivalent such as bourekas, there are differences of opinion (some quite charming) as to...
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Why Shavuot Has Few Rituals
If observance were a function of theology, Shavuot would be the most widely observed of Jewish holidays. But precisely the opposite is the case among modern Jews. No major festival suffers from greater...
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How to Make Perfect Cheesecake 5 Ways
You know Shavuot is coming when you begin to see cheesecakes everywhere. Countless variations in the bakeries and supermarkets. Endless numbers of recipes in the media. Cheesecake is the iconic Shavuot...
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27 Shavuot Recipe Ideas
Shavuot, the holiday known for blintzes and cheesecake and all things creamy and cheesy, begins at sunset on Saturday, June 8, 2019. If you’re feeling adventurous, you’ll love our recipes for cheese...
View Article9 Things You Didn’t Know About Shavuot
Along with Passover and Sukkot, Shavuot is one of the three major Jewish pilgrimage festivals. It falls out precisely 49 days after the second day of Passover, a period of time known as the Omer, and...
View ArticleThe Book of Ruth and the Power of Names
In the first verse of the Book of Ruth, we meet a family without names — they are simply a man, his wife, and two sons. Only in the second verse are these individuals named, in a dense cluster of words...
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Tikkun Leil Shavuot
Following the Shavuot holiday meal, many people proceed to synagogue for Ma’ariv [the evening service], followed by an all-night (or into-the-night, as many last only until midnight) Torah study...
View ArticleWhy We Read The Book of Ruth on Shavuot
In traditional settings, the Book of Ruth is read on the second day of Shavuot. The book is about a Moabite woman who, after her husband dies, follows her Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi, into the...
View ArticleShavuot in Modern Times
Early in the 19th century, the German Reform movement, which had eliminated bar mitzvah as the “coming of age” ceremony for its 13-year-old boys, instituted a new initiation into Jewish responsibility...
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The Ten Commandments
The division of the commandments themselves is not at all certain. There are 13 sentences in the accepted Jewish version of the Ten Commandments (17 in the Christian), but it is difficult to ascertain...
View ArticleWhy Read Ezekiel on Shavuot?
In relating Ezekiel’s vision to the Sinaitic revelation, an implicit connection is made between prophecy and revelation. Ezekiel’s vision is taken to be a collective vision at Mount Sinai, where every...
View ArticleThe Story of the Book of Ruth
Ruth is a book for all times, whether written in post‑exilic days or based upon very old oral traditions. It is set in the time of the judges — not the best ones, if we assign it to the period of...
View ArticleWhat Ruth Can Teach Us About Celebrating Shavuot
In preparation for God’s appearance on Mount Sinai, Moses and the Israelite people “stood at the foot of the mountain” Exodus 19:17 waiting to see and to hear what transpires. The unusual preposition —...
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Shavuot 101
Shavuot, the “Feast of Weeks,” is celebrated seven weeks after Passover (Pesach). Since the counting of this period (sefirat ha-omer) begins on the second evening of Passover, Shavuot takes place...
View ArticleShavuot Foods
On Shavuot it is customary to eat dairy foods. Though no one knows for certain where this tradition came from, many believe it is derived from the biblical assurance that the land of Israel is a land...
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