This holiday on G-d's calendar is Shavuot which means in Hebrew: "weeks." It takes place seven weeks and one day after the Feast of First Fruits. "Pentecost," the Greek name for this holiday, means "fiftieth" because this holiday takes place on the fiftieth day after First Fruits.

At Shavuot, Jewish men were required to make a second pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Once there, we would offer to G-d the first fruits of the wheat harvest. This time the High Priest waved two loaves of wheat bread that had been made with leaven. This is unusual, since it may be the only offering anywhere in the Scriptures that includes leaven. In general, the Biblical principle is that anything offered to G-d had to be without leaven, since leaven was usually symbolic of sin (see Leviticus 2:11-12). This offering up of the two loaves was another visual prayer.

Through this ceremony the High Priest was in essence praying: "Lord, thank You for extending the harvest to the wheat. We offer up to You the first fruits, the beginning, the best of this crop. Lord of the harvest, we ask you to bring in the rest of the harvest throughout the year." Shavuot was also a prophecy that Messiah's resurrection, which took place fifty days earlier, would be expanded to include more of humanity. The second chapter of Acts records the fulfillment of this holiday: fifty days after Yeshua rose from death His first followers were gathered together in Jerusalem for this holiday. The same Spirit that raised Yeshua from the dead was poured out on those first Jewish disciples. The new Messianic Community was given His Spirit, and His resurrection life and power. This happened on Shavuot, and in fulfillment of Shavuot.

Since the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the Jewish people can no longer wave two loaves of bread as a wave offering. As a result, the emphasis of this holiday has shifted. According to Jewish tradition, Shavuot is the day that Israel received the Law on Mount Sinai. We should remember, however, that the giving of the Law was not without problems. While Moses was on Sinai receiving the Law, the rest of Israel was at the bottom of Sinai worshiping the golden calf. Moses came down from the mountain, saw what was happening and called out, "whoever is for the Lord, come to me."

The tribe of the Levites came to Moses, went throughout the camp of Israel, and put to death three thousand men who were involved in that idolatrous worship. Three thousand Jewish men were killed on Shavuot when the Law was given. Consider that in contrast with the fact that, when the Holy Spirit was given on Shavuot, three thousand Jewish people were made alive! What a powerful illustration of the principle that the letter (of the Law) kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6).

Why were two loaves of bread waved, and not one? The two loaves of bread can be understood as symbols of the two groups of peoples that make up the Messianic Community. In Romans 11, Rabbi Paul gives us the analogy of an olive tree made up of the original branches, the Jewish people. Later, wild olive branches, the Gentiles, are grafted into the olive tree of salvation and blessing. It could be that the two loaves of bread waved by the High Priest at Shavuot represent the original branches, the Jewish people, and the wild branches, the Gentiles grafted into the Olive Tree. Each loaf is incomplete without the other. The Jewish loaf needs the Gentile loaf to be complete, and the Gentile loaf needs the Jewish loaf to be complete.

Why is this offering made with leaven, a symbol for sin? The bread represents the Messianic Community, which is made up of sinful men and women. We struggle with sin each day of our lives. We are not yet like Messiah Yeshua, the pure unleavened bread. One day when He appears, we will be like Him, and will have complete victory over the presence and power of sin. But until that day, each one of us still wrestles with sin.

Note: "And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the Omer of the wave offering; seven complete sabbaths shall there be, to the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days..." (Leviticus 23:15-16). In English, Shavuot is called Pentecost, meaning fiftieth (i.e., the fiftieth day after Passover). The interpretation of the words "on the morrow of the Sabbath" was a subject of controversy between the Pharisees and the Sadducees (sects during the second Temple period); the interpretation of the former has been accepted, i.e., the Sabbath refers to the first day of Passover.

In the Bible, the holiday is also called Hag ha-Kazir (Harvest Festival) as it coincides with the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. Another name is Hag ha-Bikkurim (Festival of the First Fruits) because on this day the first fruits of the wheat harvest were brought to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Note: The Mishnah (compiled 2nd cent.) gives a vivid description of how the first fruits were brought to the Temple on this festival, to the accompaniment of singing and dancing, the playing of instruments and beating of drums (Mishnah Bikkurim).

In addition to its agricultural significance, the holiday has a religious significance as the day of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. This holiday thus becomes a time for affirming the acceptance of religious obligations and of reaffirming our covenant with G-d.

Shavuot is celebrated for two days in the Diaspora and for one day among Reform Jews and in Israel.In addition to its agricultural significance, the holiday has a religious significance as the day of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. This holiday thus becomes a time for affirming the acceptance of religious obligations and of reaffirming our covenant with G-d.

Shavuot is celebrated for two days in the Diaspora and for one day among Reform Jews and in Israel.

The home and synagogue are customarily decorated with flowers, plants, and greenery, reflecting the agricultural aspect of the festival. Hallel (Psalms of Praise) is recited at the morning services. The experience of divine revelation at Sinai is relived by reading a special Torah reading, which describes the people's receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19 and 20). On the second day, the reading (Deut. 15:19-16:17) includes a description of the three pilgrimage festivals - Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot.

On the first day of Shavuot, a special liturgical poem (Akdamut) praising G-d's majesty, is recited at the morning service, before the Torah reading. The Book of Ruth is also read, because it mentions the barley and wheat harvests, and also because it relates how the heroine, Ruth the Moabite, embraces the religion of Israel.

Note: There is also a tradition that King David was born and died on Shavuot. Because David descended from Ruth, it was seen as appropriate to read the Book of Ruth on this festival.

Under the influence of the Kabbalah, it became customary to spend the entire night of the holiday studying the Bible (tikkun leyl Shavuot). This may take place in the synagogue or at private homes.

On the evening of the second night of Shavuot, a yahrzheit memorial candle is lit in memory of one's deceased loved ones. It is also customary to decorate the home with flowers, plants and other greenery, reflecting the agricultural aspect of the festival.

Blintzes, cheesecake and other dairy foods are eaten on Shavuot.

Note: a. Dairy foods stress the agricultural aspect of the festival. b. Another explantion stresses the Giving of the Torah: A passage in Song of Songs (4:11) reads: "Honey and milk shall be under your tongue" — the words of the Torah are compared to sweet honey and nourishing milk.

The association between Shavuot and the giving of the Torah is complex. The biblical name Shavuot, which literally means "weeks", bears no relation to revelation. It refers to a farmers' festival in ancient times that concluded the seven weeks of counting begun on the second night of Passover. Also called Hag ha-Kazir, the "Feast of Harvest", the festival marked the end of the barley and beginning of the wheat harvest in the land of Israel. Many would also bring thanksgiving offerings of the first fruits that had ripened on their trees, giving the festival yet another name, Yom ha-Bikkurim — "Day of the First Fruits".

The Mishnah [Bikkurim] describes a colorful procession in which farmers from small villages would gather in a large town to go together to Jerusalem. "Arise, let us go up to Zion, to the House of our G-d," the leader would announce as they set out on their pilgrimage. When they neared Jerusalem, flutists would greet them with music, and when they reached the Temple court, the priests would welcome them with hymns and psalms.How, then, did these festivities of fruits and grains turn into a celebration of the Torah? Part of the genius of the talmudic sages was their ability to overlay old agricultural holidays with historical meaning. In the case of Shavuot, the rabbis calculated that the festival fell during the same three-month period in which the Children of Israel had reached the wilderness of Sinai after leaving Egypt. They fixed the date for both events as the sixth of Sivan and made the Sinai experience the essence of the holiday (Jews outside Israel observe the holiday on the seventh as well).

Today, reminders of the agricultural basis for Shavuot appear in the plants and flowers that decorate many synagogues during the holiday. But even those acquired another meaning — to represent the green of the mountain from which the Torah was given. In Reform and Conservative synagogues, the decorations add splendor to confirmation services, which celebrate the completion of the Hebrew school year and the graduation of its high-school students.

The mystics instituted a tikkun leil Shavuot (all-night study session in which congregants read and discuss passages of the Bible, the Mishnah and Talmud, and mystical writings).

And I betroth you to me Forever

In many Sephardic congregations, prior to the Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot, a ketubbah le-Shavuot (marriage certificate for Shavuot) is read, as a symbolic betrothal of G-d and His people Israel. The terminology of this piyyut (medieval poem), in its various versions, strongly recalls that of the traditional prenuptial document (specifying the conditions agreed upon between the two parties; known as tena'im) or the marriage certificate given by the bridegroom to the bride at the wedding ceremony, known as ketubbah).

The hymns which compose this ketubbah le-Shavuot are based on the verses: "I will betroth you unto Me forever; I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in compassion. And I will betroth you unto Me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord" (Hosea 2:21-22); and "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel" (Jeremiah 31:31).

Some texts describe the marriage as being solemnized symbolically between the Torah (the bride) and the people of Israel (the bridegroom). G-d, as the bride's father, gives as dowry the 613 commandments, the Bible, Talmud, and other sacred writings. Moses presents as dowry to his son (the people of Israel) the prayer shawl and phylacteries, the Sabbath and festivals. The contracts are witnessed by G-d and His servant Moses.

In other versions the "Prince of princes and the Ruler of rulers" presents the Torah to the bride as dowry and in His love He gives her the Oral Law as an added portion. The bride responds affectionately,"We shall do and we shall hearken." The contract is dated the sixth day of the month of Sivan, in the year 2448 from the creation — according to tradition the day on which the torah was given. The Mishnah* comments that the wedding day of King Solomon (Song of Songs 3:11) refers to the day of the giving of the Torah. The heavens and the earth witness the marriage certificate.

The most widely used text of a ketubbah le-Shavuot is that of the prolific Safed mystic and poet Israel Majara (c.1550-c.1625). Many of his piyyutim are founded in the liturgy of oriental Jews. This hymn is included in the Sephardic prayerbook for Shavuot. Enjoy a partial translation.

According to Jewish theology G-d revealed to Moses all of the Torah, including details of events that had not occurred. All this he then faithfully transcribed in writing. At the same time, according to legend, G-d revealed to Moses the interpretations and hidden meanings of the Torah. According to tradition these insights, called the Oral Torah (Torah she-be-al peh) became the basis of the collected wisdom of the ages. They were transmitted faithfully from master to disciple as the authoritative companion to the Written Torah (Torah she-be-khtav). Jewish mystics claim that mystical insight is embedded in the Oral Law and can be extracted only by those initiated into the teachings of the mystical tradition.

Because Shavuot is a paradigm of unity, the Jewish mystics invented special rituals to be practiced on this day. In the ancient custom, the Zohar, for example, introduced the practice of "Creating Perfection on the Night of Shavuot" (tikkun leil Shavuot), studying selections from the Oral Torah. In mystical symbolism, the Written Torah is associated with Tiferet and the Oral Torah is linked with Malkhut. The tikkun ritual is designed to hasten the divine marriage by joining Tiferet and Malkhut. The Written Torah is read during the daytime service of Shavuot. The Oral Torah is studied intensely the night before as a means to prepare the bride, Malkhut, or the Oral Torah, for her wedding in the morning. The ritual of tikkun leil Shavuot is conducted from midnight to dawn, the time when Malkhut predominates. Thus, the marriage ceremony between Tiferet and Malkhut is considered complete when the written Torah is read during the morning service.

Rabbi Shimeon used to sit and learn Torah at night when the bride joined with her spouse. It is taught: The members of the bride's entourage are obligated to stay with her throughout the night before her wedding with her spouse to rejoice with her in those perfections (tikkunim) by which she is made perfect. [They should] learn Torah, Prophets and Writings, homilies on the verses and the secrets of wisdom, for these are her perfections and adornments. She enters with her bridesmaids and stands above those who study, for she is readied by them and rejoices in them all the night. On the morrow, she enters the canopy with them and they are her entourage. When she enters the canopy, the Holy One, blessed be He, asks about them, blesses them, crowns them with the bride's adornments. Blessed is their destiny.

In many Sephardic congregations, prior to the Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot, a ketubbah le-Shavuot (marriage certificate for Shavuot) is read, as a symbolic betrothal of God and His people Israel.

Footnotes and Excerpts:

From: Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture Around the World (1996).

Midrash Shemot Rabba 2:4

Zohar I:8a

Taanit 4:8

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