ABOUT THE HOLIDAY

Shavuot, a major Jewish festival commemorating the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, is one of three pilgrimage festivals mentioned in the Torah. The holiday is observed on the 6th and 7th of Sivan, although in Israel and in liberal Jewish observance, Shavuot is celebrated for one day. The word Shavuot means “weeks”, and the holiday falls on the 15th day following the seven-week Sefirah count begun on the second night of Pesach (Sefirat Ha-Omer).
Shavuot is linked to Pesach by the counting of the Omer, and without Shavuot and the receiving of the Torah, Pesach loses its essential conclusion. Without Shavuot, the dramatic liberation of Pesach would merely have let us out into the desert.
Shavuot is known by several names, each revealing a facet of the holiday’s character. Chag Ha-Katzir (Festival of the Harvest) and Chag HaBikkurim (Festival of the First Fruits) highlight the ancient agricultural side of the holiday. Z’man Matan Torateinu (Season of the Giving of Our Torah) emphasizes the holiday’s spiritual and communal aspects.
The moment that God gave -- and the Jews accepted -- the Torah at Sinai, a covenantal community was created. When B’nai Yisrael pledged “Na’aseh v’Nishma” (We will do, and we will hear), the entire community became part of a committed relationship with God. Our rabbis teach that all of the Jewish people were standing at Sinai -- those alive at that time, those yet unborn, and those who would choose to become Jews.