Shavuot ( belated! )

Shavuot, or Festival of the Weeks, was celebrated last Tues/Wed, but Sav was away and I can't eat a whole cheesecake by myself. Well, I can but ...

Anyway, Shavuot is connected to the season of the grain harvest in Israel. In ancient times, the grain harvest lasted seven weeks. It began with the harvesting of the barley during Passover and ended with the harvesting of the wheat at Shavuot. During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, an offering of two loaves of bread from the wheat harvest was made on Shavuot.

Although its origins are to be found in an ancient grain harvest festival, Shavuot has been identified since biblical times with the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai and is celebrated as re-affirming the covenant between God and Israel, exemplified by Israel’s assumption of Divine law.

Shavuot is unlike other Jewish holidays in that it has no prescribed mitzvot (Torah commandments) other than traditional festival observances of meals and merriment; and the traditional holiday observances of special prayer services and abstention from work. However, it is also characterized by many customs, one of which is eating dairy foods.

Among the explanations given in rabbinic literature for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday are:

i)Before they received the Torah, the Israelites were not obligated to follow its laws, which include shechita (ritual slaughter of animals) and kashrut. Since all their meat pots and dishes now had to be made kosher before use, they opted to eat dairy foods.

ii) The Torah is compared to milk by King Solomon, who wrote: "Like honey and milk, it lies under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11).

iii) The gematria of the Hebrew word chalav (חלב, milk) is 40, corresponding to the 40 days and 40 nights that Moses spent on Mount Sinai before bringing down the Torah.

iv) The Psalmist calls Mount Sinai Har Gavnunim (הר גבננים, mountain of majestic peaks), which is etymologically similar to gevinah (גבינה, cheese).

Whatever the reason, it's my favourite festival!