Holiday candles are lighted by women and girls to recognize Shavuot both nights of the festival. A survey of the many explanations given for the tradition of eating milk products. The festival is open to all men, women, and children, as the first day of Shavuot has everyone attending the synagogue to hear the Ten Commandments read. What Shavuot Commemorates. In Acts Chapter two, just 50 days after Yeshua’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit that He had promised came upon the early Believers in Jerusalem. Every Jewish holiday falls on a specific day of the month, with one exception: Shavuot, the day on which we accepted the Torah. Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jews. The word Shavuot, Shavuos, means “weeks,” while Pentecost comes from the Greek word pentekoste, which means 50th and marks it being the fiftieth day, seven weeks (Omer), since the sheaf offering of the harvest for Passover. In Judaism, festivals are ways to commemorate the time of spring and one festival in particular on the Jewish calendar is that of Shavuot, or what you may know it as Pentecost. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. Blair Parke is a freelance writer for BibleStudyTools.com and editor for Xulon Press. It is clear while reading the Bible that festivals to celebrate new harvest was imperative to the arrival of spring, but what is Shavuot and how is it celebrated today? Together, these three festivals are a way that Jews reenact their sacred myth—from slavery to redemption and revelation—every year. These calendar changes hide a significant element of the first Pentecost: it was Shavuot. Why is Shavuot, the holy day that commemorates the revelation of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, the only Jewish holy day that the Torah does not give an exact date. 5) King David was born and died on Shavuot. The Torah was given by G‑d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai on Shavuot more than 3,300 years ago. Sinai to the Jewish people, and occurs on the 50th day after the 49 days of counting the Omer. For centuries,Shavuot has been recognized as the giving of divine knowledge from the LORD. Why is there no mitzvah on Shavuot that represents its theme as there is on other holidays (e.g. Shavuot is the holiday of Jewish paper-cutting Shavuot is a springtime festival, a period when the earth is coming into full bloom (in the northern hemisphere anyway). It is also one of the three important biblical pilgrimage festivals (in Hebrew, shalosh regalim … the other two being Sukkot and Pesach). The current observance of Shavuot has no relationship to its biblical ancestor and doesn’t even occur at the same time. Here are a few reasons why the appointed time of Shavuot is significant for followers of Yeshua (additional reasons are provided on the Shavuot pages): Shavuot is regarded as the culminationof the experience of redemption, sometimes called Atzaret Pesach,the "Conclusion of Passover." Why do you pray all night on Shavuot? Although no exact explanation has been given for this custom, several beliefs have circulated on what the greenery represents: Baby Moses' basket, flowers in the desert, harvest and first fruits, and even fragrant speech from God. While there is m… Shavuot is also sometimes known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day. It is evident why Shavuot is important to Jewish people, as the Torah is how they live their lives every day in honor of God and in thanks for His trusting them with such worthy Scripture. “And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God,” (Exod. Shavuot is considered to be the anniversary of the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Although Shavuot receives relatively little attention in the US compared to its sister holidays (Passover and Sukkot), it is a major Jewish holiday of the same status. 7 Truths You Need to Cling to in a Divided Nation. In this article, we’ll dive into what Pentecost is, and why Christians should know about this important event in church history. SuperStock/Getty Images. Shavuot, like many other Jewish holidays, began as an ancient agricultural festival that marked the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Because Shavuot was a pilgrimage feast, Jerusalem was filled with Jewish people from “every nation” (Acts 2:5). What Are "Signs and Wonders" of the End Times? These festivals—Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot—were originally agricultural celebrations that later imbued with historical significance. Decorating homes and synagogues with greenery and flowers is another tradition during Shavuot. The first fruits of the harvest were to be brought before the Lord as an offering and all the men of Israel were to come to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a Shavuot tradition in some synagogues to drape the sanctuary with flowers and greenery during Shavuot as a reminder of the celebration of fruit and grain harvests that the Israelites brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is ironic that Shavuot is such a little-known holiday, given that it commemorates the single most important event in Jewish history – the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. We eat dairy foods on Shavuot, to find out the reason read the Jewish Blog of Why . Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) commemorates the revelation of the Torah on Mt. As we set aside these special times with God, we grow to know Him more personally and experience Him on a deeper level than we ever had before. The Torah was given by G‑d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai on Shavuot more than 3,300 years ago. Jew spend all night studying Torah make up for the fact that they screwed up and overslept at Sinai. The very name "Shavuot" means "weeks," in recognition of the weeks of preparation and anticipation … During the Temple period, the first fruits of the harvest were brought to the Temple, and two loaves of bread made from the new wheat were offered. Shavuot has been celebrated on the fiftieth day, or on the seventh week since Passover was celebrated. Women and girls light candles to usher in the holiday on both of its evenings. 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