The feast from the perspectives of the Torah and Brit Hadasha (The New Testament). Shavuot, also known as the Festival of Weeks, and in the Christian tradition known as Pentecost, is one of the feasts the Torah enjoins to celebrate (Lev. 23:15-22; Deut. 16:9-12). In biblical Israel on this festival, as in Pesach and Sukkot, the entire male population had to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship the Lord in the Temple: «Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles...» (Deut. 16:16, NIV) That's why Shavuot is one of the Pilgrimage Festivals. When there was already a large Jewish diaspora, especially during the Roman Empire, many Jews from all corners of the Empire and other countries sought to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on Shavuot.

The Jews were also joined by representatives of other nations who believed in the God of Israel, so-called «devout persons.» Some of them became proselytes, i.e. converted to Judaism and observing the commandments of the Torah. In the Book of Acts 2:9-11 we read about the gathering in Jerusalem on Shavuot of a huge number of pilgrims: «Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, Jews and proselytes Cretans and Arabs...»

The name of the holiday Shavuot comes from the commandments of the Torah. The word «shavuot» means «weeks», «shavua» in Hebrew «week, seven days.» The Torah commands to celebrate Shavuot seven days after the first day of Pesach: «From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord (Lev.23:15-16, NIV).

Counting of the Omer

Counting of days from Passover to Shavuot is called «sefirat haomer» - «the countdown of the measure.» Omer («homer» in English) is a measure of volume of unthreshed stalks of grain, barley in this case. In the days of Pesach, the harvest of barley began, and in Shavuot, the harvest of wheat. Although these days Shavuot is observed on the same day, the 6th of the month of Sivan, the days of the Omer period are still being counted, since these are the days of anticipation of Shavuot.

The first 32 days of «sefirat haomer» are considered to be semi-mourning in the Jewish Orthodox tradition, it is like mourning the dead. For example, at this time they do not cut their hair and do not arrange weddings. The origin of the mourning is not completely known. One explanation is that many students of Rabbi Akiva died of plague during counting of the Omer period in 2nd century A.D. On the 33rd day of «sefirat haomer» the epidemic ended. It is also believed that on this day the first stage of the Bar Kochba rebellion (132 A. D.) ended in victory, when the rebels forced the Roman troops out of Judea. In connection with the end of the plague and the victory of the rebels, the date «Lag BaOmer» («the thirty-third day of omer») isn't considered a full holiday. Festivities begin, and often among the Jews, especially the orthodox, one can observe a real boom in hair cutting and marriages. For the Kabbalists, this date is significant in that it is considered the day of the death of the eminent mystic Shimon Bar-Yokhai, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva and the alleged author of the Zohar, the medieval mystical book. Unorthodox Jews, as a rule, do not consider it necessary to follow the restrictions of the mourning period of «sefirat haomer.» Jews, who believed in Yeshua the Messiah, can use the Jewish tradition of «sefirat haomer» for a fervent seek of God and drawing closer to Him. Foundation of this spiritual ascent is God's desire for his people to pant after their Creator and loving Father: «Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.» (Isa. 55: 6, NIV).

Shavuot Aspects

Shavuot has several important aspects that complement each other and at the same time, each of them has special significance. One of the aspects is natural and associated with the annual farming cycle of biblical Israel. Farming was the main occupation of the ancient Israelites, and its success was an indication that they settled in Canaan, that becomes Eretz Israel, the Land of Israel, which God commanded them to possess. The fact is that the Jews, having received the commandment at the foot of mount Sinai to observe Shavuot, could not fulfil it to the utmost following the commandment, until they took Canaan and began to till the ground. The success of farming was also an indication of God's favour to Israelites.

Shavuot was a feast of wheat harvest. The peasants had to work hard to grow crops. If the people were in the right position before God, by His grace the heavens would rain on time, and the earth would bear abundant fruit: «So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul -- then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.» (Deut. 11:13-17, NIV)

When the wheat rose, the ears were filled, the Jews thanked God for saving their crops from drought and offered sacrifices to Him. Two loaves of yeast dough, baked from the flour of the new harvest, were brought to the Temple in Jerusalem, and the fruits were brought as «bikkurim», i.e. a special kind of offering. The Torah describes in detail the ritual of sacrifice: «...present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings – a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest.» (Lev. 23:16-20, NIV) Abundant sacrifices were also brought with a willing heart of the people: «Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you.» (Deut. 16:10, NIV). By abundant sacrifices, the Israelites gave thanks God not only for the harvest, but also for the fact that God granted them freedom from Egyptian bondage and the land of inheritance, flowing with milk and honey. The whole celebration was accompanied by joy – a pronounced, externally manifested joy. The passage of the Torah from Deuteronomy 16: 11-15 several times commands to rejoice before the Lord on this feast, all free and slaves, Israelis and aliens, priests with Levites and the common people. Everyone had to fulfill this commandment: «You shall rejoice...». They had much to rejoice and to be grateful to God for. And this gratitude should also be expressed literally: «... No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.» (Deut.16: 16-17, NIV).

Another important aspect of Shavuot is that during these days, the Jews received the Torah at the foot of mount Sinai. On Pesach the Jews found physical freedom having made their exodus from Egypt and spiritual freedom on Shavuot. It was with the receiving the Torah and the making the covenant with the almighty God that the Jewish people evolved from a crowd of former slaves into the people of God, the people of the Scripture. Therefore, Shavuot is often perceived as the «conclusive feast of Pesach». The Torah says regarding Shavuot, as well as Pesach: «Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and follow carefully these decrees.» (Deut. 16:12, NIV). Thus, it is emphasized that the liberation from bondage, which Pesach observes, should rise in freedom to serve God. Shavuot just emphasizes the connection between freedom from slavery and freedom to serve The Most High. The Bible does not reveal exactly when Moses, and through him, all the people of Israel, received the Torah on Mount Sinai. However, based on the book of Exodus, chapter 19, it is believed that this happened in the third month, i.e. the month of Sivan. Therefore, two events - the celebration of the beginning of the wheat harvest and the revelation at the Mount Sinai, became one triumph. The Torah also explains this connection, indicating that Israel is the firstborn of God, the first «wheat crop» dedicated to God, which was to be followed by the conversion, salvation, and God's service to people from other nations (Exodus 4:22).

According to Jewish tradition, the Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot in the synagogues, or Megillat Ruth (The Scroll of Ruth) in Hebrew. Ruth was a woman from the people of Moab. She married a Jew. Her husband died quite early, but Ruth did not return to her people, but stayed with Naomi, her mother-in-law. When Naomi encouraged her to return to her father's house, Ruth answered: «Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.» (Ruth 1: 16-17, NIV). Upon the return of Naomi and Ruth to the land of Israel, they lived very poorly. Ruth took great care of her mother-in-law, thereby proving in fact that she sincerely joined the Jewish people and believed their God. God rewarded Ruth for that. Working in the field and picking up the ears of barley after the harvest (and as we already know, the time of harvesting barley is the time between Pesach and Shavuot), she met Boaz, a rich and noble man who married her. The Bible tells us that because of that, Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David, and the Gospel of Matthew makes special mention of her in the genealogy of the Messiah Yeshua (Mat. 1: 5).

The New Testament unfolds another key aspect of Shavuot. The Book of Acts says: «When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.» (Acts 2:1-4, NIV) Before that, there were events on Pesach that changed the fate of humanity. According to the Gospels, during the celebration of Pesach, Yeshua the Messiah was crucified, who died on the cross, was buried, and then resurrected, as the Jewish scriptures prophesied. The death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah granted freedom from the slavery of sin and death to all who believe in Him. Lord Yeshua promised His disciples that they would be immersed in the Holy Spirit. Christian tradition calls this immersion the baptism of the Holy Spirit. With immersion into the Holy Spirit, Yeshua's disciples will receive the power to serve God and testify of Him: «On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: «Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.» (Acts 1: 4-5, 8, NIV). It was on Pentecost. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Yeshua gave them supernatural power to serve God in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and testify about the salvation that God granted in Yeshua the Messiah. Thus, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Yeshua the Messiah, the apostle Peter preaches, and according to the Book of Acts 4. 13 being «unlearned and ignorant», that is under-educated, supernaturally quotes a large passage from the book of prophet Joel (Acts 2:17-21), explaining to the gathered people what has happened and proving that Yeshua is the promised Messiah to Israel. About three thousand people converted to faith in Yeshua the Messiah at the preaching of Peter and the ministry of other apostles and disciples that day (Acts 2: 41).

Therefore, Shavuot became, so to speak, the birthday of God's congregation or the Church: «They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.» (Acts 2:42-43, NIV). The events described in the 2nd chapter of the Book of Acts were the beginning of the fulfillment of all allusions, images and symbols that were given to Israel in the form of the celebration of Shavuot during the Old Testament.

Shavuot traditions

The Jews have interesting and useful traditions associated with Shavuot. For example, on the eve of a feast, adults and children prepare cut-outs on biblical themes and decorate the windows of houses with them. Also, on the eve of a feast, it is customary to decorate synagogues and apartments with flowers, green plants and aromatic herbs. The herbs remind us that Mount Sinai, when God gave the Jewish people the Torah, according to legend, was covered with grass, although it was in the desert. There is an ancient legend about tree branches and roses, according to which a certain king wanted to cut down his garden, because he was overgrown with thorns. However, seeing the rose in the garden, the king changed his mind. So, the Torah is compared to a rose among thorns.

Also, according to Jewish tradition, it is customary to eat dairy dishes and flour foods on Shavuot: cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, pancakes with cottage cheese, pies, honey cakes. The explanation is: The Torah for the Jews is sweet and pleasant, like milk and honey. May God's word and its fulfillment be as pleasant for everyone as milk and honey.

By the way, Shavuot 2020 is celebrated from the sunset May 29 to the nightfall May 30.