Shavu’ot is here
We here at the moving to Israel blog always like to acknowledge the Jewish holidays as they come and this week is one of the most special as the holiday of Shavu’ot arrives. Shavu’ot (over here is a fantastic summary and explanation of the holiday) marks the end of the time of The Counting of the Omer (another great link over here), the period from Passover to Shavu’ot and a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu’ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. As is expained in http://www.jewfaq.org/:
“The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu’ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu’ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. Shavu’ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day; however, Shavu’ot has no particular similarity to the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after their Spring holiday.
“It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant.”
While Shavu’ot is perhaps not as “well known” as some of the other Jewish holidays throughout the year, it is imperative that we understand its complete significance and how being given the Torah truly turned us into Hashem’s chosen people.
Let’s try and take this year to especially reflect and appreciate our lot as Jewish people who have been given the privilege to serve Hashem and to be worthy of the magnificent gift he has blessed us with, the gift of the Torah.
Ari
Tags: 49 days, 7 full weeks, blessed, blog, chosen people, Jewish, magnificent gift, Moving to Israel, Passover, Shavu'ot, The Counting of the Omer, Torah, www.jewfaq.org