B"H

Thursday, Sivan 2, 5785 (46th day of the Omer) / May 29, 2025

Each holiday commemorates a special event in our history. The holiday of Shavuot celebrates G-d’s giving the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, in the Hebrew year 2448.

We celebrate Shavuot on the sixth day in the month of Sivan. This year Shavuot begins Sunday night, June 1. 

One of the ways Jews prepared for receiving the Torah was unity. In the words of our sages, “They were as one person with one heart." They exhibited extraordinary unity and love for each other, which brought about G-d’s Giving of the Torah. 

Q. On which day of the week was the Torah given?

A. The Torah was given to the Jewish people on the holy day of Shabbat.

The following customs are associated with Shavuot:

1) The first night of the holiday is spent studying Torah.

2) The first day of Shavuot we eat dairy.

3) The synagogue is decorated with branches and greenery.

We explained yesterday why we are up the first night of Shavuot. Here is the explanations for the other two customs:

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.  We too, eat dairy on this day.

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 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, trees and plants. This miracle teaches 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.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

OUR HEARTS ARE WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY - MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW