Shavuot: Then and Now
The Shavuot holiday is virtually unknown outside of Judaism, yet it is among the most important of Jewish holidays. Shavuot commemorates the day that God bestowed the holy Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai.
Shavuot is known to Christians as Pentecost, which is Greek for “the fiftieth day.” For Christians, Pentecost marks the fiftieth day from Easter Sunday. Jews count 49 days from Passover to Shavuot, in anticipation of receiving the Torah. This is because every Jewish holiday is not only a commemoration, but also a deliberate reliving of the spiritual event. For that reason, Jews are required to feel that on Shavuot they are receiving the Torah anew. Orthodox Jews study Torah throughout the night, sometimes even until sunrise, as a way of expressing gratitude for the gift of the holy writings.
Shavuot is one of the three Pilgrimage Festivals, which means that Jews from all parts of Judea used to journey to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem to make sacrifices. Now, between the small hours of the morning and the dawn of a new day, Orthodox Jews go on foot to the Western Wall, arriving in time for the early morning prayers. Thus the Western Wall late on Shavuot night is inundated with hundreds if not thousands of people from all walks of life, all who have come to experience the unique holiness of the place.
On Shavuot the Book of Ruth is read in synagogues, and is said to have many connections to the holiday—most overtly, the harvest motif that accompanies a spring festival. But the Book of Ruth is also about the origins of King David, the Jewish king who it is said will produce the Messiah. King David’s reign was among the most famous of the Jewish kings, and among the most difficult—for it was he who first conquered Jerusalem and transformed it into the capital city of the Jews.
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