Agricultural roots for the pilgrimage festivals
During the periods of the first and second temples, Judaism centered around three great pilgrimage festivals: Succoth, Passover, and Shavuot. Produce was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem and animals were sacrificed. For a late bronze agriculture-based society, prosperity and even survival are at the mercy of a poorly understood natural environment.
The two spring pilgrimage festivals, Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot are connected through the counting of the Omer (ספירת העומר). Pesach (פסח) commemorated the beginning of the barley harvest, and Shavuot (שבועות) the beginning of the wheat harvest and the ripening of the first fruits (primarily dates and olives), Wheat is cut fifty days after the barley is ripe, hence we count seven weeks or forty-nine days (“counting of the Omar”) following Pesach. (Omar is a measure of weight for a sheaf of barley). Shavuot is Hebrew for weeks, so the holiday is sometimes referred to as the Festival of Weeks. The Torah refers to Shavuot by other names. It first appears in the book of Exodus (שמות) as Hag HaKatslr (Harvest Festivalחג הקציר – ) and in the book of Numbers (במדבר) as Yom HaBikurim (Day of First Fruitsיום הבכורים -). In Deuteronomy (דברים), the final book of the Torah, it is referred to as Hag Shevuot (Festival of Weeksחז שבועות – ), to be observed seven weeks following Pesach. It is sometimes referred to by its Greek name, Pentecost (fifty).
On Shavuot, two loaves of bread, baked from the finest of the fresh wheat were brought up to the Temple along with the first fruits,
Note that the two loaves of wheat bread that were brought before the Temple survive as the two loaves of Challah that we bless on Shabbat, representing the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Succot (סוכות), the third festival comes in the fall after the completion of the grain and fruit harvests and probably had its roots as a ceremony giving thanks to G-d for a good summer harvest or perhaps praying that next year’s harvest won’t be as bad.
Observance of Shavuot today
In the Talmudic period following the destruction of the Second Temple, the agricultural roots of the holiday became too removed to be of direct relevance to many of the urbanized and dispersed Jews. Hence, the Rabbis imbued the holiday with religious significance. Shavuot now observes the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, seven weeks after the exodus from Egypt. It must be noted, as we have seen, that neither the Torah nor the Mishnah connect this holiday with the giving of Torah.
The rabbis of the Talmud explained that barley was primarily used as animal fodder. Wheat is human food. We count the days that we harvest food for the animals, until the start of the wheat harvest, this day representing the giving of Torah. Raw barley gives way to refined wheat flour, just as raw intelligence, with the study of Torah, is refined to wisdom and understanding,
With the destruction of the Second Temple, the period of the Omer changed from one of joy to a period of sadness as people could no longer make their pilgrimage to sacrifice at the temple. By determination that Shavuot also represented the giving of Torah, the holiday once again became a joyous occasion.
Over the centuries, new customs arose. For many families, Shavuot is observed by the eating of dairy products such as blintzes, cheesecake, or bourekas (yummy!). While the actual reason for this custom has been lost to us, one reasonable conjecture is that as the Israelites had just received the law, any meat that they had was not prepared in a Kosher manner and so they were confined to eating dairy,
In many orthodox communities, Shavuot marks the time when young children begin their lifelong study of Torah,
An important part of the prayer service is the reading of the Book of Ruth. Ruth the Moabite assumed Naomi her mother in law’s religion (“Your people shall be my people and your G-d shall be my G-d”, reflecting the acceptance by the Israelites of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Also, the story of Ruth takes place during the barley harvest.
According to a Midrash, in the morning when the Israelites were to receive the Torah, they overslept! For that reason. a “repair” (Tikun in Hebrew) is in order. Beginning with sixteenth century mystics in Safad and continuing in many traditional synagogues is the practice of Tikun Lil Shavuot (תקון ליל שבועות), an all-night study session, in commemoration of the Israelites remaining awake to receive the Torah at Sinai. The session, if done properly, continues until the morning Shacharit service for Shavuot, when the ten commandments are read to the congregation.
In the 19th century, the early Reform movement for a while canceled the Bar-Mitzva as an “outdated” practice and substituted in its place a confirmation ceremony, usually held on Shavuot. At first, this was reserved for boys. and usually held outside the synagogue. Later, girls were allowed to have confirmation, and eventually the Bar Mitzvah was reintroduced, and the Bat Mitzvah was introduced.
Relevance in modern-day Israel
With the beginning of the Zionist movement in the late nineteenth century, the holiday began to regain its connection with the land of Israel. Agricultural pioneers reintroduced the agricultural significance or the holidays, especially on the kibbutzim, Children dressed in white parade with baskets of locally grown produce.
In Israel, in recent years, Shavuot became a holiday of water. In the center of many cities, young people engage in water fights, tossing water balloons at each other or spraying each other with water guns. Another custom is to take hikes along rivers and streams. The origins of this tradition aren’t clear. This may possibly derive from North African Jewish communities that celebrated water on Shavuot because the Torah is compared to the life-giving properties of water.
Cary Hillebrand was born and raised in Brooklyn. After university (Stony Brook University School of Engineering) Cary went on aliya to Israel. Inducted into the IDF, he performed military service in the Israel Air Force followed by countless tours of reserve duty. In civilian life, he worked for many years on operations and control systems for regional and municipal water systems, both in Israel and in the US. Retired, Cary resides in Cherry Hill with his family, remaining active in the Jewish community. In the past, he chaired Adult Education at M’kor Shalom and then Lifelong Learning at Adath Emanuel. Cary’s interests and hobbies include hiking, reading, Jewish studies, and keeping up on current events. A secular humanist Jew, Cary has a passion for Torah study (go figure!).
Cary can be reached at carycnb@outlook.com
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