Tweet #Torah to the Top!!!

Are you a Jewish blogger or a frequent Tweeter?

Join with JPS, CCAR, and Davka.org in this wonderful way to bring Torah to the masses in honor of Shavuot!

Shavuot celebrates the day on which the children of Israel received Torah at Mount Sinai. 21st century Jews can now receive Torah in a new way, on Twitter!!

Share your favorite quotes, Divrei Torah, teachings, or musings about Torah, and just add the hashtag #torah at the end of your tweet. We'd all love to see #torah trend in the Top Ten!

You can follow me at @moosh2 or follow my synagogue @templebnaitorah.

In the meantime, I wish you all a Chag Shavuot Sameach!!

Shavuot is almost here!

Well, friends, Shavuot finally arrives tomorrow night, May 18, at sundown.

I hope that, since you have discovered at least 10 reasons to commemorate this festival, you will have a Chag Sameach, a Happy Holiday!

How will YOU be observing Shavuot this year?

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot: Reason #10!!!

As if you needed yet another reason to celebrate this important festival, here is the ultimate reason: It allows us to celebrate the Torah and the Ten Commandments!

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot: Reason #9

The Forgotten Holiday – Why?

Shavuot is, as I have said before, tragically ignored by many of our congregants. I have at least three reasons why that might be:

1. Usually falls after the Religious School year, so we barely get to teach it to our students
   
2. It doesn't hold the same emotional impact as Pesach, and it isn't celebrated in the home
   
3. It doesn't include the same meaningful visual object as Sukkot
   

Do you have any other ideas of why we might not focus enough on Shavuot?

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot – Reason #7

Ready for the 7^th Reason to Celebrate Shavuot?

We have the privilege of remembering our loved ones who have passed away in the ritual of Yizkor. This memorial service takes place 4 times throughout the year (not just Yom Kippur!).

Thus, the four times are:

1. Yom Kippur
   
2. Sukkot
   
3. Pesach
   
4. Shavuot

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot – Reason #6

This one is going to blow your mind – There are NO actual Mitzvot associated with the holiday!

Other than abstention from work, tradition includes no laws for this festival. Rather, there are many customs associated with it:

• Eating dairy products (perhaps due to Song of Songs referring to Torah as similar to "milk and honey under your tongue" – Shir HaShirim 4:11). So, be sure to have some cheesecake, blintzes, and a milkshake to celebrate!
  
• The Book of Ruth is traditionally read. Since Ruth is considered a convert to Judaism, she is heralded as someone who readily chooses to "accept Torah."
  
• Decorating with Greenery, because of the connection to the harvest, as well as a midrash that teaches that Mt. Sinai suddenly blossomed with flowers in anticipation of the giving of Torah.
  
• Confirmation – Reform and many Conservative congregations will often hold Confirmation ceremonies on or close to Shavuot for 10^th graders. The celebration of Receiving Torah is a natural time to honor our students' continued learning of Jewish tradition.
  
• Tikkun Layl Shavuot, an all-night study of Torah and other Jewish texts. Traditionally, The Tikkun Leil Shavuot ("Rectification for Shavuot Night") consists of
  
  • excerpts from the beginning and end of each of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (including the reading in full of several key sections such as the account of the days of creation, The Exodus, the giving of the Ten Commandments and the Shema)
    
  • The 63 chapters of the Mishnah.
    
  • Sefer Yetzirah (a Kabbalistic text),
    
  • the 613 commandments as enumerated by Maimonides
    
    
  • excerpts from the Zohar, the central text of Kabbalah.
    

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot – Reason #5

The fifth reason to celebrate the wonderful festival of Shavuot!

Shavuot is Connected to the Harvest!

Shavuot was the first day to bring Bikkurim, First Fruits, as an offering to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Bikkurim were selected from the Seven Species known to grow in the Land of Israel:

Wheat

Barley

Grapes

Figs

Pomegranates

Olives

Dates

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot! Reason #4

Need another reason to celebrate Shavuot? Check this one out!

Reason #4:

Concludes the Counting of the Omer

We count a Week of Weeks – (7 X 7 Days = 49 Days) starting on the 2^nd day of Pesach. On the 50^th Day, we celebrate Shavuot.

The Counting of the Omer symbolizes the time between our Exodus from Egypt and the receiving of Torah. Anticipation for this exciting moment is great!

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot: Reason #3

Let's learn something new about Shavuot –

Reason #3:

A "Founding Member" of the Shalosh Regalim – the Three Pilgrimage Festivals

What are the other two holidays? Pesach and Sukkot

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot: Reason #2

As we continue our list, here is Reason #2 for why we should celebrate the festival of Shavuot:

Reason #2: Shavuot by any other name…

How many festivals have THIS MANY names?!?!

Chag HaShavuot ~ The "Festival of Weeks" (Exodus 34:22)

Chag Matan Torateinu ~ The Festival of the Giving of our Torah

Chag HaKatzir ~ The Festival of the Harvest (Exodus 23:16)

Yom HaBikkurim ~ The Day of First Fruits (Numbers 28:26)

Atzeret ~ Solemn Conclusion, the name given to the holiday by the Mishnah and the Talmud, due to its being the conclusion of the weeks after Pesach.

Pentecost – Because the holiday falls 50 days after Pesach, Hellenistic Greeks gave it this name, meaning Fiftieth Day.

Top Ten Reasons to Celebrate Shavuot – Reason #1

Shalom!

We are coming closer and closer to the tragically underestimated holiday of Shavuot, the festival on which we celebrate the Giving of Torah. Over the next ten days, I will be sharing my personal top ten list of reasons to celebrate this terrific, important holiday. Here we go!

Reason #1:

Z'man Matan Torateinu: The Time When We were Given our Torah

Shavuot celebrates the day on which we were given Torah, including the Ten Commandments, at Mt. Sinai.

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.