Shavuot 5783/2023 - Chag Sameach, Gut Yom Tov!

– Shavuot 5783/2023 –

This thursday – May 25th, 2023 (6th of Sivan, 5783) – at sundown marks the beginning of the biblical holiday of Shavuot (or Shavuos, according to Ashkenazic pronunciation).

Shavuot commemorates God’s giving of the Torah - the first five books of the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible – to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai in the Jewish year 2448, roughly 3300 years ago. On that day, God appeared for the first and only time in history en masse to the entirety of the Jewish people fifty days after the exodus from Egypt, and communicated to them directly the Ten Commandments (Aseret HaDibrot).

The Torah describes Shavuot using several names, notably the Festival of Reaping (Exodus 23:16 - this is because it notes the beginning of the wheat harvest), the Festival of Weeks (Deuteronomy 16:10 - this is also the name we call it today, Shavuot meaning “weeks” in Hebrew), and the Festival of First Fruits (Numbers 28:26 - this is because one may bring the first fruits (bikkurim) of harvested crops to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem as an offering beginning on Shavuot).

According to tradition, the Jewish people overslept the morning of the giving of the Torah (since they assumed that one must be asleep in order to receive prophecy from God). As a contrasting expression of excitement and eagerness to “receive” the Torah again each year with renewed vigor, Jews have adopted the near-universal custom of staying awake the entire night of Shavuot studying Torah and praying at the earliest opportunity in the morning. Other widespread customs exist as well, most notably the consumption of dairy foods (cheesecake is a common and very popular choice!). Many possible reasons surround the origin of that custom, including that the Jewish people’s cooking utensils became unfit for use according to the newly received Torah law (so dairy, which doesn’t require much preparation, was eaten until the utensils could be cleansed); because the Torah is likened to milk, since its study nourishes the soul just as milk nourishes a baby; and because the numerical value of the Hebrew word chalav (milk) is forty, which is the number of days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai writing down the Torah in a scroll following Shavuot.

Shavuot is also one of the three regalim (a difficult word to translate – I prefer to say “festival” or “occasion”) during which all adult Jewish males are required to visit the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and offer several animal sacrifices in honor of the holiday. Nowadays, when the Temple lies in ruin, we hope and pray to God for its restoration and the ultimate Messianic redemption in the Mussaf prayer specially added to the day’s prayer services to commemorate the day’s additional sacrifices.

I wish every Jewish member and listener of 7Cups a happy, healthy, peaceful, and meaningful holiday and Shabbat (since the second day of Shavuot falls on Shabbat (the Sabbath) this year), and for those reciting yizkor (the memorial prayers) on the second day to be comforted and their lost relatives’ memories to be blessed and cherished.

Chag Sameach, Moadim l’Simcha, and Gut Yom Tov!