Shavuot ( listen ) or Shovuos ( listen Ã, ), in Ashkenazi usage; Shavu? oth in Sephardi and Mizrahi Hebrew (Hebrew: ?????? ?, lit. "Weeks"), is known as Feast of Weeks in English and as Pentecost ( ??? ??????? ) in Ancient Greek. This is a Jewish feast that took place on the sixth day of the month of Hebrew Sivan (possibly falling between 14 May to 15 June).
Shavuot has a double significance. It marks a very important crop of wheat in Israel (Exodus 34:22 ), and commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Law to the Israelites who gathered on Mount Sinai - though the association is not explicit in the biblical texts between granting Torah ( Matan Torah ) and Shavuot.
Holiday is one of the Shalosh Regalim , three festivals of Bible pilgrimage. The word Shavuot means for weeks, and it marks the end of Omer's Count. The date is directly linked to Easter; The Torah mandated a seven-week count from Omer, beginning on the second day of Easter, to be followed by Shavuot. The counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. At Passover, the Israelites were freed from their slavery to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving the Lord. Yahrzeit King David is traditionally observed in Shavuot. Hasid Jews also observed yahrzeit from Baal Shem Tov.
Shavuot is one of the lesser known Jewish festivals of secular Jews in the Jewish diaspora, while the people in Israel and the Orthodox community are more aware of it. According to Jewish law, the Shavuot is celebrated in Israel for a day and in the Diaspora for two days. The Reformation of Judaism celebrates only one day, even in the Diaspora.
Video Shavuot
Significance
Agriculture (wheat crop)
Shavuot is not explicitly referred to as the day in which the Torah was revealed by God to Israel at Mount Sinai in the Bible, though it is often cited as its primary meaning.
What is textually connected in the Bible to the Feast of the Shavuot is the harvest of wheat, especially wheat, in the Land of Israel. In ancient times, wheat harvest lasted seven weeks and was a season of joy (Jer 5:24, Deuteronomy 16: 9-11, Isa 9: 2). It begins with a harvest of barley during Easter and ends with a grain harvest in Shavuot. So, Shavuot is a festival covering the harvest of wheat, as the eighth day of Sukkot (Tabernacle) is a festival covering the harvest of fruit. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, the offerings of two loaves of wheat harvest were made on Shavuot.
Bible
Name in Torah
In the Bible, Shavuot is called the Festival of Weeks (Hebrew: ?? ??????? ?, ? -Shavuot , Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10); Harvest Festival (Hebrew: ?? ????? , ? ag ha-Katsir , Exodus 23: 16 ), and Day of the First Fruits Yom ha-Bikkurim , Numbers 28:26).
Shavuot , the plural of the word meaning "week" or "seven", alludes to the fact that this festival takes exactly seven weeks (ie "week week") after Easter.
In the Talmud
The Talmud refers to Shavuot as Atzeret (Hebrew: ???? ?, Literally, "restraint" or "restraining "), referring to the ban on work on this holiday and at the end of Easter holidays and seasons. Since Shavuot occurred 50 days after Passover, Hellenistic Jews gave it the name "Pentecostal" ( ?????????? , "day fiftieth ").
Maps Shavuot
Biblical obedience
First Fruit Ceremony, Bikkurim
Shavuot is also the first day in which the individual can bring Bikkurim (first fruit) to the Temple in Jerusalem (Mishnah Bikkurim 1: 3). The Bikkurim was brought from the Seven Species of the Land of Israel praised: wheat, barley, wine, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (Deuteronomy 8: 8).
In ancient Israeli agrarian societies, Jewish farmers would tie the reeds around the first ripe fruits of each of these species in their fields. At harvest time, the fruit identified by the reeds will be cut and placed in a basket woven of gold and silver. The baskets will then be loaded on the horns whose horns are gilded and adorned with bouquets, and led in a great procession to Jerusalem. When farmers and their entourage pass through towns and cities, they will be accompanied by music and parades.
Temple in Jerusalem
At the Temple in Jerusalem, every peasant will present Bikkurim to a Kohen in a ceremony that follows the Deuteronomy text. 26: 1-10.
This text begins by stating: "An Aramean tries to destroy my father," referring to Laban's attempt to weaken Jacob and rob his offspring (Rashi on Deuteronomy 26: 5) - or with alternate translations, the text states "My father is a wandering Aram, "referring to the fact that Jacob was a traveler without money in the land of Aram for 20 years (Abraham ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 26: 5).
The text continues to recount the history of the Jews when they went into exile in Ancient Egypt and enslaved and oppressed; follow the Lord redeem them and bring them to the land of Israel.
The ceremony Bikkurim conveyed gratitude to God both for the first fruits of the field and for his guidance throughout the Jewish history (Scherman, p. 1068).
Modern requirements
Shavuot is unlike any other Jewish holidays because it does not have a mitzvot (Torah's commandments) prescribed in addition to traditional celebrations of food and joy; and traditional feast days of special prayer services and abstinence requested from work. However, it is also characterized by many minhagim (custom).
A mnemonic for this custom is the letters of the Hebrew word acharit ( ????? ?, "Last"). Because the Torah is called reishit (Shashuot habits highlight the importance of customs for the continuation and preservation of Jewish religious observance. These habits, largely observed in the Ashkenazic community, are:
- ? ????? ? - Akdamut, reading liturgical poetry during Shavuot morning synagogue service
- ? ?? ? - Chalav (milk), consumption of dairy products such as milk and cheese
- ? ?? ? - Ruth , the reading of the Book of Ruth at the morning service (outside Israel: on the second day)
- ? ?? ? - Yerek , home decor and synagogues with green plants
- ? ??? ? - Torah , engaging in the Torah study throughout the night.
Akdamut
The Akdamut (Aramaic: ?????? ?) Is a liturgical poem that praises the greatness of God, the Torah, which is read in general in the synagogue just before the reading of the Torah on Shavuot's first day. It was compiled by Rabbi Meir of the Worms, whose son was killed during the First Crusade in 1096. Rabbi Meir was forced to defend the Torah and Jewish beliefs in debate with local priests, and successfully conveyed the certainty of God's power, His love for the Jews, and the superiority of the Torah. After that he wrote Akdamut , a 90-line poem in Aramaic that emphasized these themes. Poetry is written in double acrostic patterns in the order of the Hebrew alphabet. In addition, each line ends with the syllable ta ( ?? ?), The last and first letter of the Hebrew alphabet alluding to the endless Torah. Traditional melodies accompanying this poem also convey a sense of majesty and victory.
Sephardi Jews did not read Akdamut , but before the evening service they sang a poem called Azharot , which set 613 orders. Positive commands are read out on the first day and negative commands on the second day.
The liturgical poem Yatziv Pitgam (Aramaic: ???? ???? ?) Posted by several synagogues in Diaspora on the second day Shavuot. The author and his father's name appear in an acrostic at the beginning of the 15 lines of the poem.
Food from milk
Dairy foods like cheesecake, cheese blintzes, and cheese creplach among Ashkenazi Jews; sambusak cheese, kelsonnes (cheese ravioli), and atayef (pancakes containing cheese) among the Syrian Jews; kahee (a butter and sugary dough) among Iraqi Jews; and a seven-layer cake called siete cielos (seven skies) among Tunisian and Moroccan Jews traditionally consumed on Shavuot holidays. Yemen's Jews do not eat milk from Shavuot.
In keeping with other Jewish holiday celebrations, there are dinners and lunches at Shavuot. Meat is usually served at night and milk is served either for lunch or for the morning kiddush.
Among the explanations given in the rabbinic literature for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday are:
- Before they received the Torah, the Israelites were not required to follow his law, which included shechita (ritually slaughtered animals) and kashrut. Since all their meat and plate pots must now be made halal before use, they choose to eat dairy foods.
- Torah is compared to milk by King Solomon, who wrote: "Like honey and milk, it is under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11).
- The gematria of the Hebrew chalav ( ??? ?, milk) is 40, corresponding to the 40 days and 40 nights that Moses spent on Mount Sinai before deposing the Torah.
- According to Zohar , each day of the year is correlated with one of the 365 negative orders of the Torah. Shavuot in accordance with the command "Bring the first result of your land to the house of the LORD your God, do not cook a little child in the breast milk of his mother" (Exodus 34:26). Since the first day to bring the Bikkurim (first fruit) is Shavuot, the second half of this verse refers to the habit of eating two separate meals - one milk, one meat - at Shavuot.
- Psalms call Mount Sinai Har Gavnunim ( ?? ?????? ?, the great summit mountain, Psalm 68: 16-17/15-16), which is etymologically similar to gevinah ( ????? ?, Cheese).
Book of Ruth
There are five books in Tanakh known as Megillot (Hebrew: ?????? ?, "Scrolls") and read openly in the synagogue -sinagoge of several Jewish communities on different Jewish feasts. The book of Ruth ( ??????? ?, Megillat Ruth ) is read in Shavuot because: (1) King David, Ruth descendants, was born and died in Shavuot (Jerusalem Talmud Hagigah 2: 3); (2) The shavuot is the time of harvest [Exodus 23:16], and the events of the book of Ruth occur at harvest; (3) The Gematria (the numerical value) of Ruth is 606, the number of commandments given in Sinai beside the 7 Noahide Laws has been given, totaling 613; (4) Since Shavuot is traditionally cited as the day of the Torah, the entry of all Jews into the Torah is the main theme of the day. The conversion of Ruth to Judaism, and its consequent inclusion into the covenant, is described in this book. This theme conforms to other themes today; (5) The other central theme of this book is hesed (love), the main theme of the Torah.
Greenery
According to Midrash, Mount Sinai suddenly flowered to anticipate the giving of the Torah at its peak. Forage also depicts the story of the infant Moses found among the bushes in a waterproof stand (Exodus 2: 3) when he was three months old (Moses was born on 7 Adar and placed on the River Nile at 6 Sivan, the same day he later bringing the Jews to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah).
For these reasons, many Jewish families traditionally decorate their homes and synagogues with plants, flowers, and tree branches in honor of the Shavuot. Some synagogues adorn the bimah with a canopy of flowers and plants to resemble chuppah, for Shavuot is mystically called a day of mate (Moses) bringing the bride (the Israelites) to chuppah (Mount Sinai) to marry the bridegroom (God); The cloak (marriage contract) is Torah. Some of the East Sephardi community actually read the diction between God and Israel, composed by Rabbi Israel Najara as part of the service. This custom was also adopted by some Hasid communities, especially from Hungary.
The Vilna Gaon cancels the tradition of decorating with trees because it is too much like a Christian decoration for their holiday.
Torah study all night
The practice of staying up all night Shavuot to study the Torah - known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot (Hebrew: ?????????? ?) - has its source in Midrash, which tells us that the night before the Taurat was given, the Israelites retired early to rest well for the important days ahead. They fell asleep and Moses had to wake them because God was waiting on the mountain top. To correct this perceived defect in national character, many religious Jews remained awake all night to learn the Torah.
The habits of the Torah study all night back to 1533 when Rabbi Joseph Caro, author of Shulchan Aruch , then living in Ottoman Salonika, invited Rabi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz and other Kabbalistic associates to hold Shavuot-their study night's vigil prepared for the previous three days, as Israel prepared for three days before the giving of the Torah. During one of these learning sessions, an angel appeared and taught them Jewish law.
The mass consumption of coffee in the Ottoman Empire was seen as one of the factors in the emergence of the Torah practice throughout the night at Shavuot.
Any subject can be learned on Shavuot's night, though the Talmud, Mishnah, and Torah are usually at the top. People can learn by themselves or by chavruta (study partners), or attending late night shiurim (college) and study circles.
In Jerusalem, tens of thousands of people finish the study sessions at night by walking to the Western Wall before dawn and joining the sunrise there. This practice began in 1967. A week before the Shavuot that year, the Israeli army retook the Old City in the Six-Day War, and on the day of Shavuot, the army opened the Western Wall to the visitors. More than 200,000 Jews have come to see and pray in places that have been forbidden to them since 1948. The habit of walking to the Western Wall at Shavuot has continued every year since.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
In keeping with the habit of engaging in the Torah study throughout the night, Arizal, a prominent Kabbalist in the 16th century, arranged a special service for the evening of Shavuot. The Tikkun Leil Shavuot ("Completion for Shavuot Night") consists of quotes from the beginning and ending of each of Tanakh's 24 books (including full reading of some important parts such as the days of creation, The Exodus, the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Shema) and the 63 books of Misnah, followed by the reading of Sefer Yetzirah, 613 commands as mentioned by Maimonides, and quotes from Zohar, with the opening and ending of prayer. The whole reading is divided into thirteen sections, after each of which a Kaddish in Rabbanan is recited when Tikkun is studied with minyan. This service is held in most communities, with the exception of Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
This service is printed in a special book, also called Tikkun Leil Shavuot . There are similar books just in case before the seventh day of Pesach and Hosha'ana Rabbah.
Confirmation ceremony
In the 19th century, some Orthodox synagogues in England and Australia held a confirmation ceremony for the 12-year-old girl at Shavuot, the predecessor of modern Bat Mitzvah. The early Reform Movement made Shavuot the day of religious school graduation. Today, the Synagogue Reformation in North America usually holds a confirmation ceremony at Shavuot for students aged 16 to 18 who complete their religious studies. The graduation class stands in front of an open ark, remembering the position of the Israelites on Mount Sinai for the giving of the Torah.
Date in dispute
Since the Torah does not specify the actual day in which the Shavuot falls, different interpretations of this date have appeared both among traditional and non-traditional Jews. These discussions centered around two ways of viewing Shavuot: the day actually happened (ie, the day the Torah was given on Mount Sinai), and that day happened in relation to Omer Counting (being the 50th day of the first day of Counting).
Provision of Torah
While most Talmudic sages agree that the Torah was given to the six Sivans in the Hebrew Calendar; R. Jose stated that it was given on the seven months. According to the classical timeline, the Israelites arrived in the Sinai wilderness on the new moon (Exodus 19: 1) and the Ten Commandments were given on the following Sabbath (ie, Saturday). The question of whether the new moon falls on Sunday or Monday has not yet been decided (Talmud, tractate of Shabbat 86b). In practice, Shavuot is observed on the sixth day of Sivan in Israel and the second day is added in the Jewish diaspora (according to separate rabbinical rules applicable to all biblical holidays, called Yom tov sheni shel galuyot, Second Day Yom Tov in Diaspora).
Omer Calculation
The Torah states that the Omer offering (ie, the first day of Omer's count) is the first day of the barley harvest (Deut 16: 9). It must begin "on the day after Shabbat", and continues to be counted for the seven Sabbath days. (Leviticus 23:11).
The Wise Talmuds ruled that "Shabbat" here means a rest day and refers to the first day of the Passover. Thus, Omer's calculations begin on the second day of Easter and continue for the next 49 days, or seven full weeks, ending the day before Shavuot. According to this calculation, Shavuot will fall on the Sunday after Easter's first day (for example, if Easter starts on Thursday, Shavuot will start on Friday).
Karaites differ in their understanding of "tomorrow after the Sabbath". Karaite interprets the Sabbath to become the first weekly Sabbath that falls during Easter. As a result, the Shavuot Karaite is always on Sundays, although the actual Hebrew dates vary (which complements the fact that a particular date was never given to Shavuot in the Torah, the only holiday for this to happen). Other non-Rabbinical religious leaders such as Anan ben David (founder of Ananites); Benjamin al-Nahawandi (founder of the tribe of Benjamin); Ismail al-Ukbari (founder of the 9th century messianic Jewish movement in Babylon); Musa of Tiflis (founder of the 9th century Jewish movement in Babylon); and Malik al Ramli (founder of the 9th century Jewish movement in the Land of Israel) also acknowledged that Shavuot should fall on Sunday.
Most secular scholarships, as well as Catholic and Sadducean and Historical Boethusian, denied Rabbinic interpretation. They conclude that the "Shabbat" referenced is the weekly Shabbat. Thus, Omer's calculations always start on Easter Sunday, and continue for 49 days, so Shavuot will always fall on Sunday as well.
The Book of Jubilees and Essenes
The literal interpretation of this 'Shabbat' as a weekly Shabbat, is shared by the 2nd century author of the Book of Jubilee motivated by the sabbatical sun calendar of priests in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, designed to hold festivals and Sabbaths falling on the day the same every week. On this calendar (best known of the Book of Figures in 1 Enoch), Shavuot falls on 15 Sivan, Sunday. That date is calculated fifty days from the first Sabbath after Easter (ie from the 25th of Nisan). So, Jub. 1: 1 claims that Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah "on the sixteenth day of the third month of the first year of the children of Israel from Egypt".
In Jub. 6: 15-22 and 44: 1-5, the holiday is traced to the appearance of the first rainbow on the 15th of Sivan, the day that God made his covenant with Noah.
The Qumran community, commonly associated with the Essene, held in its library some texts mentioning the Shavuot, the most famous of which is the Hebrew original book of the Jubilee, which sought to improve the feast of the Feast on 15 Sivan, following their interpretation of Exodus 19: 1.
Note
References
Source
- Brofsky, David. "Hilkhot Moadim: Understanding the Law of the Festival." Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2013.
- Kitov, Eliyahu (1978). Our book of inheritance: the Jewish year and the important days . Volume 3: Iyar-Elul. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. ISBN: 978-0-87306-151-3. Ã,
- Scherman, Nosson, ed. (1993). The Chumash: the Torah: Haftaros and five Megillos with anthologized comments from Rabbinik's writings . ArtScroll/Mesorah Publication. ISBN 978-0-89906-014-9.
External links
- Chabad.org: Shavuot
- Orthodox Union - Jewish Holidays: Shavuot
- My Jewish Study: Jewish Confirmation
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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