What an amazing time we had at Beth Emanuel dancing and celebrating Shavuot! Everyone looked beautiful in white with different colored scarves, Michael you looked handsome as always! The presenting of gifts was truly inspiring and uplifting, there were so many wonderful songs, dances and testimonies that the night passed too quickly.
The meaning of Shavuot:
History
Shavuot is a Jewish holiday which celebrates God's giving of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. It is also known as the "Feast of Weeks." It has connections to an ancient grain harvest festival and is one of three pilgrimage holidays celebrated in ancient Israel.
Dates
Shavuot is celebrated seven weeks after Passover, exactly fifty days after the first seder. For this reason, some Jews refer to the holiday as Pentecost. It is a two-day holiday, though in Israel it is only celebrated for one day. In the Jewish calendar, it begins at sundown on the 5th of the month of Sivan and lasts until night falls on the 7th of Sivan.
In 2014, Shavuot begins on June 3 and ends on June 5.
Traditions
As Jewish kosher laws were part of the message included in the Torah, on Shavuot is is customary to eat dairy products. No work is done on this day. Holiday candles are lit, and some people stay up all night on the first evening reading the Torah.
Before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, Jews would bake two special loaves of bread from their first grain harvest and present them to the Temple in Jerusalem.
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