Shavu’ot Service

Shavu’ot, also called the Feast of Weeks, is a harvest festival. Traditionally, the Jewish people commemorate this as the time when Moses received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The word Shavuot means weeks, and the festival of Shavuot marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot. It is one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals where the Jewish people were commanded to go up to Jerusalem and marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer, which began on the 2nd day of Passover. In the New Covenant, this is the time in the book of Acts where there was a great spiritual harvest when the Holy Spirit was given to those believers who were gathered with Peter in Jerusalem, also known Pentecost.

It is traditional to eat dairy foods such as cheesecake, cheese blintzes, and cheese kreplach among Ashkenazi Jews during this feast. The Torah is likened to milk, as the verse says, “Like honey and milk [the Torah] lies under your tongue” (Song of Songs 4:11). Also, the Promised Land (Israel) was referred to as the “land that flows with milk and honey.” Another tradition is to read the Book of Ruth as the setting for Ruth is the barley harvest time.

Shavu’ot is one of the times at Adat Shalom where we take Communion together as a congregation. If you are unable to meet with us IN PERSON at this time, we encourage you to gather your own elements; bread and wine (or grape juice) in order to partake together in our “virtual communion”.