The Feast of Weeks: Shavuot שָׁבוּעוֹת‎

The day you stood before Adonai your God at Horev, when Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children. Deuteronomy 4:10

Shavuot is the time when we celebrate and renew our acceptance of God's gift of the Torah and our eternal bond with Him.  We also reaffirm our commitment to read and learn about the Ten Commandments.

Summary 

  • During the holiday of Shavuot we celebrate the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, more than 3000 years ago.

  • Shavuot marks the completion of the seven-week Omer counting period between Passover and Shavuot. It is celebrated the 1st day of the week (sunday) following the completion of the omer

    Shavuot:  The word Shavuot means weeks.  Shavuot also means oaths.

  •  Shavuot celebrates the wheat harvest and the ripening of the first fruits.

    In Depth Analysis

    Scroll down for more scripture verses and key facts

  • Shavuot is the time when we celebrate and renew our acceptance of God's gift of the Torah and our eternal bond with Him.  We also reaffirm our commitment to read and learn about the Ten Commandments.

  • On Shavuot, God reveals the importance of children:

    Deuteronomy 4:10 “the day you stood before Adonai your God at Horev, when Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.”

    There is special significance to bringing children, even young infants, to the synagogue on the first day of Shavuot to hear the Ten Commandments.

  • prohibition of work…

  • Scripture:

  • Deuteronomy 5:1-4 “Then Moshe called to all Isra’el and said to them, “Listen, Isra’el, to the laws and rulings which I am announcing in your hearing today, so that you will learn them and take care to obey them. Adonai our God made a covenant with us at Horev. Adonai did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us — with us, who are all of us here alive today. Adonai spoke with you face to face from the fire on the mountain.”

  • Deuteronomy 4:10 “the day you stood before Adonai your God at Horev, when Adonai said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, and I will make them hear my very words, so that they will learn to hold me in awe as long as they live on earth, and so that they will teach their children.”

  • Exodus 34:3 “No one is to come up with you, and no one is to be seen anywhere on the mountain (Sinai); don’t even let the flocks or herds feed in front of this mountain.”

Chag HaShavuot חג השבועות

Key Facts:

  • Every year on Shavuot we renew our acceptance of the Torah.

  • During Shavuot, candles are lit.

  • Many stay up late on the first night of Shavuot to show God that our enthusiasm isn’t lacking,

  • On Shavuot we all came together at Mount Sinai to hear God’s Ten Commandments.

  • Shavuot celebrates the wheat harvest and the ripening of the first fruits.

  • The Torah is likened to nourishing milk.

    The Hebrew word for milk is chalav, and when the numerical values of each of the letters in the word chalav are added together… 8 + 30 + 2 =  40.  Forty is the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai when receiving the Torah.

  • King David, the second Jewish king, died on Shavuot.

    King David was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite.  It is therefore customary, in some communities, to read the book of Ruth in the synagogue on Shavuot.

  •     During Shavuot, many (but not all) follow the custom of decorating the synagogue and home with greenery and flowers in honour of the holiday of Shavuot. When the Jews were encamped at Mount Sinai receiving the Torah, God warned them:

    Exodus 34:3  “No one is to come up with you, and no one is to be seen anywhere on the mountain (Sinai); don’t even let the flocks or herds feed in front of this mountain.”

    God performed a miracle by temporarily turning the dry desert into fertile green land (for sheep and cattle). In commemoration of this miracle, it became the custom to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot with greenery. When God spoke the Ten Commandments, King Solomon shares with us the fragrance of His Holy words:

    Song of Songs 5:13. His cheeks are like beds of spices, like banks of fragrant herbs. His lips are like lilies dripping with sweet myrr

  • Shavuot is an occasion for Jews to recite Psalm 67.

    Psalm 67 

    “For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song:

    God, be gracious to us, and bless us.
    May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)

    so that your way may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.

    Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
    let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.

    Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
    for you will judge the peoples fairly
    and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)

    Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
    let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.

    The earth has yielded its harvest;
    may God, our God, bless us.

    May God continue to bless us,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.”

  • Other Names for Shavuot:

    Chag HaKatzir:  The Harvest Festival.

Atzeret:  Shavuot is also called Atzeret, which means ‘the stoppage’. The Stoppage is a reference

to the prohibition against work on this holiday.

Zeman Matan Torahteinu:  The Time of the Giving of Our Torah.

 

Contributors:

Alan Brewster (main)

Beit Yeshua Messianic Fellowship