SHAVUOS CUSTOMS
Shavuos celebrates
the harvest season in Israel
& the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments
to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai
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EREV SHAVUOS
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Many people decorate their home & shul
with leaves, flowers & branches
for the following reasons
- To remember Mount Sinai where the Torah was given because even though it was a mountain it had plants & trees
- On the 6th day of the month of Sivan, Moses was placed among the river weeds
- On Shavuos we are judged concerning the trees & so we should remember to pray that the trees grow well & healthy
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1ST NIGHT OF SHAVUOS
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Shavuos Candle Lighting Brachas For 1st Night
After eating your Yom Tov meal, you study the Torah until dawn
- Learning by yourself
- Learning with friends or members of your synagogue
- Attending lectures by Rabbis & scholars given in your synagogue
- Some study Tikun Lail Shavuos
which consists of quotes from every section
of the written
& oral Torah
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Why is it a custom to study the Torah until dawn?
The Midrash says that the Jewish People
slept on the night before Matan Torah
& it was necessary for G-d
to wake them up in the morning.
Why did they all sleep on the eve of this most important day?
They knew that at the giving of the Torah, G-d was going to speak to them.
Previously, prophets received prophesy while asleep
- Avraham slept during the covenant with G-d (bris bain habisarim)
- Yaacov slept as he envisioned the ladder
- Yosef's prophecies occurred to him in a dream while he slept
By going to sleep, they thought they were preparing
for the giving of the Torah, Matan Torah
However, this was a mistake
To remedy this mistake,
we now stay awake all night in anticipation
of
our own receiving of the Torah (Kabbalas HaTorah)
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1st DAY OF SHAVUOS
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Everyone, including children,
should hear the Torah reading
of the Ten Commandments in a synagogue
Shavuos Candle Lighting Brachas For 2nd Night
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2ND DAY OF SHAVUOS
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Book of Ruth (Megilas Rus) is read in the synagogue because
- The story of Ruth ocured around Shavuos time
- Ruth converted & accepted all the commandments just as we did at Mount Sinai
- King David was born & died on Shavuos & the Book of Ruth tells the story of his ancestry
The memorial prayer (Yizkor)
is recited for departed family members
& charity is contributed in their name before or after the holiday
For more information about Yizkor
Yizkor & Memorial Candles
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EATING DAIRY FOODS
People eat dairy foods on Shavuos for the following reasons
- When the Jews received the Torah on Shavuos, they were not ready with utensils for kosher meat preparation, so they ate dairy instead.
- When Moses was pulled out of the water on this day, he would nurse only from a Hebrew
woman & he refused the milk of any other woman. - The Torah was given to the Jews directly after their Exodus from slavery in Egypt.
This journey is described as one "from the misery of Egypt to a country flowing with milk and honey..." Shemos, Exodus, 3:8-17). So eating dairy on Shavuos commemorates the sweetness of freedom & the new life that lay before the Jewish people. - The Song of Songs (Shir HaShirim) 4:11 says "milk & honey are under your tongue."
Some have said that the Torah is like the milk in this verse.
Like milk, the Torah sustains us. So a dairy meal on Shavuos celebrates the nourishing quality of the Torah.
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