B"H

Thursday, Iyar 29, 5784 / June 6, 2024 (44th day of the Omer)

Tuesday night we will celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, the Holiday when G-d gave the Ten Commandments and the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.

Shavuot has many names.  In addition to the names "Shavuot" and “Atzeret, " it is also called "Chag Habikurim" - "Festival of the First Fruits."  It is also known as, "Chag HaKatzir" - "Festival of the Harvest" and "Z'Man Matan Torateinu" - "Season of the Giving of the Torah."

During the time of the Holy Temple there were special sacrifices which were unique to this holiday. The following customs are associated with Shavuot:  1) We eat dairy on Shavuot. 2) The first night of the holiday is spent studying Torah. 3) Many decorate the synagogue with branches and greenery.

Reasons for eating dairy on Shavuot:  At Mount Sinai, the Jewish people were given the Ten Commandments along with the rest of the Torah including the laws of Kashrut.  As a result, when they returned to their tents after receiving the Torah, they couldn't use their cooking utensils which they used before as they were now "Treif" (non Kosher).  Without cooking utensils, they had no choice but to eat dairy on that day.  To commemorate this we too, eat dairy on Shavuot.

Another reason:The Torah tells us, "And Moshe was on the mountain forty days and forty nights" (Exodus 24:18).  "Milk in Hebrew is "Chalav".  The numerical value of Chalav is 40 (Chet = 8, Lamed = 30, Vet = 2).  This alludes to the 40 days Moshe stayed on the mountain receiving the Torah.

Reason for staying up and studying Torah during the first night of Shavuot: When G-d came to give the Torah, it was early in the morning, but the people were asleep. G-d waited for them until they woke up.  We stay up the first night of Shavuot studying Torah to correct this error.

Reason for decorating the synagogue with trees:  The Torah was given at Mount Sinai which is in the desert.  However, in honor of the Giving of the Torah G-d performed a special miracle and the entire area surrounding the mountain sprouted trees and grass.  To commemorate this miracle, we decorate the synagogue with branches, flowers and plants.

This miracle was to teach us that Torah can transform one's life and surroundings from a spiritual wasteland and wilderness into a fruitful landscape filled with wisdom and purpose.

The Torah tells us that the Two Tablets and the Ten Commandments in them, “were the work of G-d, and the writing was the writing of G-d engraved upon the Tablets." 

Letters which are engraved are one with the stone in which they are carved.  Similarly, the connection between a Jew and the Torah should be so strong that they are one. The Ten Commandments were engraved to teach us that the Torah must be engraved in the soul of every Jew.

HAVE A GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND VERY SUCCESSFUL DAY

UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW.