Shavuot / Pentecost

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waveoffering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 23:15-22, KJV)

Name and Meaning

The feast of Shavuot is known by several different names. In scripture it is known as the “Feast of Harvest” (Exodus 23:16); “Day of Pentecost” (Acts 2:1); “Feast of Weeks” (Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10); and “The Day of First Fruits” (Numbers 28:26) and was later known as the “Day of Pentecost” in Acts 2:1.

Shavuot’s Biblical History

Biblically the feast of Shavuot is tied to the agricultural harvesting of the wheat crop and was a feast that was to be celebrated once the Children of Israel entered into the Promised Land.

On this day the Israelites were to bring an offering of the first fruits of their wheat crop, in the form of two loaves of leavened bread made from choice flour. The celebration of the feast was problematic in that no date is given in keeping the holiday. Scripture simply states that the Israelites were to count seven complete weeks from the day the first sheaf of barley is waved and that it was to celebrate on the fiftieth day.

According to Leviticus 23:11 the first sheaf was to be offered “on the morrow after the Sabbath” in connection with the Passover. The term “after the Sabbath” became a point of contention between the Sadduccean and the Pharissean philosophical schools. Which Sabbath is it describing, the weekly Sabbath which occurred from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, or the day after Passover, which is also a Sabbath regardless of the day of the week it occurs.

The Pharisees contended that the counting was to begin the day after the paschal sacrifices were offered, which would make the festival of Shavuot occur on Sivan 6. It would occur at the end of the barley harvesting and coincide with the start of the wheat and fruit harvest. For this reason many believe that Shavuot is the conclusion of the Passover. By observing the combination of the two grain harvests and the harvest from the fruit trees and vines the farmer could determine his prosperity for the year. The Sadducceas on the other hand viewed the “Sabbath” as referring to the weekly Sabbath. The matter is further complicated by Deuteronomy 16:9 which states the counting is to begin when the sickle is placed to the corn. Since the harvesting of the crop is contingent on when the crop ripens the dates are going to vary.

Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: (Deuteronomy 16:9-10, KJV)

Ultimately it was the Pharisees that won the debate and Shavuot is today celebrated on Sivan 6, which corresponds to late May or early June on the Gregorian calendar.

Shavuot After 70 C.E.

After the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. Shavuot began to change. The destruction of the Temple brought animal sacrifice to an end and also brought to an end the agricultural rites associated with the festival of Shavuot.

This caused the rabbis to search for a historical relationship to Shavuot. As indicated earlier, the groundwork for the linking of Shavuot with the giving of the Law had originated during the last centuries of the Temple’s existence. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were locked into a philosophical and theological debate over the basic nature and direction of religion. Naturally since the Sadducees were connected with the Temple priests, they perceived that it rested in the sacrificial system and the strict literal interpretation of the Torah alone. The Pharisees, however, believed that there was more to the word of God than met the eye. They perceived that prayer and the study of scripture were no lesser means to God’s will than was the sacrifice of animals. They also perceived that the Torah was to be interpreted on different levels.

To the Pharisee, getting close to God was not a matter of bringing a sacrifice to be offered or bringing Him gifts, but trying to understand Him in much the same way that one would try to understand any partner. This involved understanding His feelings, His likes, and dislikes, understanding His character, all of which they believed could be found in the scriptures. The Pharisees believed that the relationship that God and Israel enjoyed, began with the courtship of the Exodus and led to the eventual marriage at Mount Sinai. It was here that the marriage contract was agreed upon. According to this view, when Moses came down from the Mount to find the Children of Israel worshipping the golden calf, Moses smashes the tablets because they served as God’s ketubah (marriage contract) to Israel. Moses choose to smash them rather than deliver them to Israel, which would have completed the marriage between Israel and God. Thus to the Pharisee believed the date of the wedding of God and Israel was an important factor.

While the scriptures do not attest to a particular day that the Torah was conveyed to Moses, it does indicate that it occurred three months after Israel departed Egypt, which would coincide with the month of Sivan. Over time Shavuot became intricately tied to the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The Pharisees and most of Judaism today, believed that at Mount Sinai, all of the Torah was given to Moses, both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, which was later written down in the Talmud.

The Sinai Experience

Associating the Giving of the Law with the Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) does create an interesting parallel with the Day of Pentecost described in the New Testament. The Jewish people view the Sinai experience as being the birth of Judaism. In the Exodus account Moses instructed the people to cleanse themselves, and prepare to receive the Torah on the third day.

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:10-11, KJV)

Fifty days after Passover, God visited the people. There was dense clouds and thundering and lightning were seen and heard. The sound of the shofar (ram’s horn) became louder and louder and the mountain was enveloped in fire and smoke (See Exodus 19:16-20 for the full context).

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. (Exodus 20:18, KJV)

According to rabbinic interpretations of Exodus 20:18, when God spoke to Moses, His voice reverberated and splintered into seventy languages so that all people could here the Word of God in their vernacular. During the Sinai experience, the Commandments of God were written on tablets of stone by the finger of God.

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exodus 31:18, KJV)

While Moses was on the mount with God the people below became impatient with Moses return and asked Aaron to make them gods, who would lead them like Moses did. When Moses returned with the tablets of stone, he smashed the tablets of stone. As a result of the transgression of the people, 3,000 people met their death.

Later Moses makes another trip up the Mount to receive the second set of tablets and places them in an ark which he makes himself. This ark is not to be mistaken for the Ark of the Covenant which was constructed by Bezaleel (Exodus 37:1). This was an ark which was fashioned by Moses to house the new set of tablets.

The New Testament Experience

In examining the New Testament account we find several parallels to the Exodus experience. We find that God’s message was not confined to one language. Instead we find that God’s Word was transmitted in numerous languages so that the people heard His message in their own vernacular.

Just as the Sinai experience was the birth of Judaism, the New Testament experience was the birth of what many call the Church. On this day, three thousand souls were added to the “church”. Instead of writing the Law on tablets of stone it was written upon the hearts of men.

Many view the time period between Passover and Shavuot as representing a spiritual journey. Each day was a step away from defilement and slavery and a step towards spiritual purity and freedom. It is a time for self inspection and to make a conscious effort to becoming more faithful to God and His ways.

Customs Associated with the Feast

Since the feast had its origins linked to a agricultural nature whose rituals ceased at the destruction of the Temple, it has no rituals equivalent to that of Passover. However, throughout the centuries there have been several customs which have arisen. Among the oldest of customs is the decorating of the synagogue and homes with greenery and the eating of dairy products. The origins for both these traditions are obscure; however, there are many theories for the greenery. Some believe that the homes and synagogues should be decorated by greenery because the area around the mountain of Sinai was green. This is based on the interpretation of Exodus 34:3 where it states ”neither let the flocks and herds graze”. Some believe that it serves to remind us of baby Moses in his basket on the Nile, which is theorized, was discovered on Shavuot. Still others believe that the greenery reminds us of the decorations on the baskets of first fruits which was brought to the Temple.

It is also customary to read the entire Book of Psalms during the feast. There are variations of this custom. Some stay up all night reading the Psalms and others read the Psalms during the afternoon of the second day of Shavuot. Included in the readings is Exodus 19-20. When the Ten Commandments are read, it is customary to stand, emphasizing their importance and to imitate the experience at Sinai when the people received the revelation.

Book of Ruth

During the feast of Shavuot the Book of Ruth is read in the synagogue. It is believed that since the story of Ruth took place against the backdrop of the barley and wheat harvest that the story is connected with Shavuot. According to Jewish tradition King David the great-grandson of Ruth, was born and died on this day. The book of Ruth is considered by Judaism as a story about the voluntary embrace of Torah and what it means to be Jewish. This involves accepting the destiny of the Jewish people, living among them and being a part of the Jewish community.

Traditional Foods

Most agree that the traditional food for this feast is cheese, especially cheese blintzes. The custom of eating dairy products on Shavuot is derived from a combination of three passages of scripture; Exodus 3:8 vocalizing the “land flowing with milk and honey ”and Song of Songs 4:11 speaking of the “milk and honey are under your tongue”; Psalm 19:9-11 which speak of how “The precepts of the Lord are... sweeter than honey”. This is further supported by the findings of a sage which discovered that the initials of the four Hebrew words in Numbers 28:6 describing the sacrificial meal of Shavuot spell the phrase mei khalav (from milk). Another favorite food at Shavuot is cheesecake.

Most of the feasts have a special type of bread associated with it. On the feast of Shavuot a special type of Challah bread (Sabbath egg bread) is baked in the shape of a ladder with seven rungs. The seven rungs represent the seven spheres that tradition says God traversed in descending Mount Sinai. The long sides of the bread represent the length and breadth of the Law (Job 11:9) “ The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. (KJV)”. The square loaves with its four square sides are said to represent the four layers of meaning intrinsic in Torah.

Of the seven major feasts of Israel, the first four feasts have been fulfilled in Messiah. The next three feasts that we will explore have not yet been fulfilled. The Day of Atonement has been fulfilled in part, but not in its entirety.