Shavuot

The Jewish festival of Shavuot (literally ‘weeks’) occurs seven weeks after Pesach/Passover.  Shavuot was one of the three pilgrim festivals in ancient Israel, where Jews made their way to the Temple in Jerusalem.

 Layers of meaning and of tradition add complexity to Shavuot.  From the religious viewpoint it is celebrated as the day on which the Torah was revealed by God to the Israelite nation camped at Mount Sinai.

 Shavuot also has an agricultural significance, associated with the wheat harvest and the first fruits.  Celebration of Chag haBikkurim (one of the names of Shavuot, meaning festival of the first fruits) is always a time of great festivity in the life of Israel’s kibbutzim and other agricultural endeavours, bringing Biblical times to vibrant life again.

 In New Zealand, Shavuot is celebrated with synagogue attendance, the reading of the very moving Biblical Book of Ruth, and meals which feature dairy foods, in particular, cheese-cake.

In his later years, Leonard Cohen often ended his concerts, with a beautiful rendition of the lines from the Book of Ruth, ‘Whither thou Goest’. This is read in the synagogue every Shavuot.

Some will engage in Torah study throughout the night, known as Tikkun Leil.

 This year (5783/2023) the children of Kadimah School are making baskets of food (non-perishable) which will be donated to the City Mission.