Shavuot
Shavuot ["Weeks"] occurs seven weeks after
Pesah. Shavuot is one of the major festivals of Judaism, a "Yom Tov."
In contrast to Pesah, the most widely celebrated Jewish Holiday among
American Jews, the celebration of Shavuot is comparatively muted. Perhaps
this is due to the fact that Shavuot lacks a unique home celebration, like the
Pesah seder. We at Beth El encourage you not to forget this Holiday.
Shavuot started out as an agricultural holiday. In the days of the
Temple, the one in Jerusalem destroyed in the year 70, pilgrims would
bring elaborately decorated baskets of their "first fruits" to
the Temple.
If this were all there was to Shavuot, then it would be easy to
see why Shavout loses the Festival popularity contest. Few of us are
involved in the production of agricultural products. (Other than
grass lawns.) And there is no Temple.
This is not a new problem. After Nebachanezzer and his happy
Babyloneans conquered Judea, destroyed the First Temple, and exiled
the Jewish community to Babylonia, Jews found themselves in a
situation that robbed Shavuot of its agricultural significance.
Judaism has stayed vital by reinterpreting its symbols when the old
meanings lost their punch. Many of the world's religions have fallen
by the wayside of history; to survive a religion must evolve to be relevant
and compelling to the people of the current day.
And so was the case with Shavuot: it was invested with additional
meaning to make up for its stale agricultural significance. It became
the anniversary of the day the Torah was revealed
to the Jewish people at Sinai.
In the 16th century, the Kabbalists [Jewish Mystics] introduced
a new innovative practice to put more kick in Shavuot: the Tikkun Leil
Shavuot. The Tikkun Leil Shavuot is an all-night group Torah study
session. According to legend, the Israelites at Sinai all fell
asleep, and Moses had to wake them up to receive the precious Torah in
the morning. To show how much we love the Torah, we stay up all night
in contrast. Many Reform congregations run a Tikkun; often they do
not last all night, however.
In 1847, the Reform movement added its own enhancement to Shavuot,
the Confirmation ceremony. This ceremony celebrates the completion of
a typically two or three year program in Jewish education by youth
typically 15 or 16 years old. The Confirmation ceremony is held
either during the Shavuot evening service, or after or before it, and
certainly before the Tikkun, if there is one. The idea of
"Confirmation" was borrowed from the Christians. Today Confirmation
serves as an important inducement to Jewish youth to stay involved in
Jewish education after their Bar or Bat Mitzvah at age 13. Rabbi
Kraus and Education Director Koritsky have created a wonderful
Confirmation program at Beth El. At age 13, children are just
developing the emotional and intellectual maturity that makes serious
study of Judaism possible, and it is a shame when students discontinue
their Jewish studies after their Bat/r Mitzvah. (Needless to say,
it's a shame when adults don't study Judaism, and only carry with them
a simplistic, rudimentary view of Judaism attained in Hebrew school as a
child.)
Why have Confirmation on Shavuot? Just as the Jews at Sinai
voluntarily took the Torah God offered saying "We will do and we will
hear," so too the confirmands show they are voluntarily taking the
Torah to their own hearts. Shavuot is therefore a very appropriate time
from a religious standpoint to hold the Confirmation ceremony.
The Confirmation ceremony also helps boost interest in Shavuot among
Reform Jews.
There are some home observances for Shavuot. First of all, there
is the festive evening meal with a candle lighting and a Kiddush
[sanctification prayer], as there is for all the Yomim Tovim [major
Holidays]. It is the custom that dairy, meatless meals be served on
Shavuot. There are various explanations for this custom; one is that
the golden calf (the idol the Israelites made to worship while Moses
was up on the mountain) is symbolized by meat. Some people also decorate
their homes with flowers and greenery, which harken back to the original
agricultural meaning of the Holiday.
Beth El encourages you not to forget Shavuot. Eat some blintzes and
cheesecake, and attend a Shavuot service and Tikkun near you.
This summary was written by Edward Walker,
.
For other Shavuot info, check out:
To UAHC home page.
