Shavuot
Sunday, June 1 - Tuesday, June 3
Shavuot was originally an agricultural festival to mark the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Israelites went on a pilgrimage bringing crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Although it began as this harvest festival bringing the first fruits to the Temple as a gift to God, Shavuot is the time we celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites went to Mount Sinai where Moses ascended the mountain to meet God and received the Ten Commandments. Shavuot means ‘weeks’, which refers to the 49 days (seven weeks) it took for them to travel from Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai. “And you shall proclaim that day (the 50th day) to be a holy convocation!” (Leviticus 23:21).
Shavuot was originally an agricultural festival to mark the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Israelites went on a pilgrimage bringing crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Although it began as this harvest festival bringing the first fruits to the Temple as a gift to God, Shavuot is the time we celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
After the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites went to Mount Sinai where Moses ascended the mountain to meet God and received the Ten Commandments. Shavuot means ‘weeks’, which refers to the 49 days (seven weeks) it took for them to travel from Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai. “And you shall proclaim that day (the 50th day) to be a holy convocation!” (Leviticus 23:21).
