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Shavuot

Alvin Stern

Beginning with the Second Night of Pesach, we count a seven week period leading up to the holiday of Shavuot – the Time of the Giving of the Torah. Linked to the Festival of Freedom is a holiday marking the giving of Laws, for without laws, a society would be one of anarchy and chaos, not freedom. This period is know as Sefirat HaOmer, the counting of the grain offering brought to the Temple each of the 49 days leading to Shavuot, reminding us of the importance of each and every day and the opportunities they give us.

Historically, during the period of Roman persecution, the Jews were prohibited from studying Torah. To circumvent these restrictions, the scholars and their students would go out into the woods and study secretly. They had sentries posted, armed with bows and arrows, which they would fire as warning signals if Roman soldiers would approach, giving the students time to hide their materials. Unfortunately, a plague afflicted the students and many died during the period between the holidays. A miracle occurred when the plague abrubtly ceased on the 33rd day; thus, a minor holiday was created to honor the students and teachers. Outdoor games of archery became popular, as did setting up bonfires to light the night sky. This holiday is known as Lag B’Omer, composed of the letters Lamid and Gimel: Lamid equaling 30 and Gimel equaling 3.

Shavuot is a one-day holiday in Israel, but a two-day one in the Diaspora. It is marked with decorating the synagogue and home with fresh greens and flowers, since this is the time of the first harvest in Israel. It is customary to eat dairy, and there are several explanations for this:

1. According to the Torah, the Jews needed time to learn proper slaughtering of animals. Thus, it was much easier to simply eat dairy!
2. As much as babies need milk to survive, we all need Torah to survive.
3. We associate milk and honey with the Land of Israel. Sweet dairy foods may remind us of the link between the Torah, the people of Israel and the Land of Israel.

My grandparents taught me that as a “reward” for faithfully counting all the days of the Omer, one would be treated to rich cheesecake on Shavuot. Since neither Jodi nor I are cheesecake lovers, we substitute a frozen ice cream cake as the Shavuot treat. We also look forward to eating blintzes and sour cream and other dairy products. Since Shavuot is our early summer holiday, eating these lighter dairy foods makes a nice contrast to the heavy meat centered Seder meals, and the similarly heavy meals of Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot. Thus, our three Pilgrimage holidays all have different “flavors,” matzah-based on Pesach, sweet harvest foods for Sukkot and dairy for Shavuot.

Finally, on Shavuot, we celebrate another “harvest,” the milestone our children reach in their Jewish education when they confirm being part of the Jewish community at the Confirmation ceremony on the first day. On the day we commemorate receiving the Torah, we symbolically pass it on to yet another link in the chain of our Jewish heritage.