The unusual preposition — be-tachtit (“at the foot of”) — is understood in the Midrash to mean that the Jewish people were literally standing under the mountain. That is, at the moment God speaks the Ten Commandments, God also uproots Mount Sinai from the ground and holds it over the people, as if to say, “If you accept the Torah, fine; if not, here shall be your grave.” Avodah Zarah 2b The implication is that the Jewish people accepted Torah only through coercion.

The description of the ensuing events only reinforces that interpretation. The thunder, lightning, and thick clouds that accompany God’s presence on Mount Sinai terrify the people Exodus 20:14 and they beg Moses to be their intercessor.

Many Jewish communities will commemorate this moment during the holiday of Shavuot. The event is often referred to as z’man matan torateinu (“the time of the giving of our Torah”) and some celebrate its anniversary by staying up all night in study. But given both the biblical and rabbinic understanding of that moment, we may well wonder about the celebration of a “gift” both forced and fear-inducing.

Another Shavuot custom may provide some insight: the recitation of the Book of Ruth, which many communities read on the second day of the holiday.

The short story revolves around the deep relationship between the heroine and her Bethlehemite mother-in-law, Naomi, forged after the death of the latter’s husband and two sons. As she journeys back home, Naomi urges her daughter-in-law to stay in her native Moab, but Ruth refuses, speaking these iconic words: “For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” Ruth 1:16.

These words can be read in dialogue with the story in Exodus. They certainly show no less commitment than the joint affirmation of the Israelites at Sinai: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and obey.” Exodus 24:7. Indeed, Ruth’s declaration is understood as evidence of her taking the covenant upon herself. In the rabbinic imagination, she becomes the prototypical convert. Just as the Jewish people all gathered together at the mountain in the desert in the presence of the God of Israel, so too does Ruth cling to Naomi on the road in Moab, invoking the God of Israel.

But the contexts are very different. The animating value in the book of Ruth is chesed (lovingkindness) and loyalty that surpass the simple duty implied in the Israelites’ dispassionate response of na’aseh v’nishma (“we will do and obey”). After all, Ruth’s pledge to Naomi ends with the ultimate vow: “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried” Ruth 1:17. Later in the book, Naomi returns her daughter-in-law’s care and concern, the wealthy landowner Boaz shows kindness and generosity to both women, and all three find joy in the birth of Obed.

Even God is different. In Exodus, God is a loud, physical force that moves mountains. In the book of Ruth, God is the quiet but inexorable activity that moves the characters from emptiness to fulfillment.

It is perhaps for this reason that there is a practice of saying Ruth’s words each morning when laying tefillin, her credo of devotion and faithfulness recited as the boxes are placed between the eyes and on the arm — literally taking the words of Torah upon oneself. The ritual conjures the image of Ruth speaking to Naomi as they journey, each having lost her husband, two women cleaving to each other in hope for a better future together. It is an act of making oneself a partner in God’s ongoing work in the world.

Ruth’s relationship to Naomi and to Torah can be a model for our own orientation to the celebration of Shavuot. In Exodus, the Israelites experience an overwhelming display of power and might that leaves them shaking in fear and desiring to distance themselves from what may emerge from those clouds around the mountain. In the book of Ruth, she — no less in the dark — bravely and wholeheartedly faces what may come down the road.

Shavuot 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 the giving took place on one day to one people, but the receiving takes place at all times and in all generations.

As we celebrate the giving of the Torah on Shavuot, may we may act each day with the love and intimacy modeled by Ruth in the receiving of Torah.

The post What Ruth Can Teach Us About Celebrating Shavuot appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Read the full text of the Book of Ruth in Hebrew and English on Sefaria.

The Book of Leviticus comes to life here, with its injunctions to leave part of the harvest for the needy, and with all of its concern and compassion for the underprivileged within the society. The text contains complexities; yet these fade away against the simple message of a Divine plan fulfilling itself among decent people: Ruth, Naomi and Boaz all occupy the stage in turn, and God‘s purpose is fulfilled through their actions.

We read the Scroll of Ruth on Shavuot, the time of the Giving of the Law. The authority for this is found in Soferim (xiv, 3-5) an eighth-century Palestinian text; and the rabbis find many reasons why Ruth and Shavuot are linked: harvest time, the Giving of the Torah and its acceptance as we see it in the life of Ruth and David, the offspring of Ruth, who died on Shavuot; and it is a happy book for a season of joy.

The Story Opens:  A Low Point

The opening paragraph (Ruth 1:1), with a marvelous economy of words, sets the stage: The characters are presented, the situation is clear. Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons become refugees in an alien land, losing all rights and status in fleeing from a famine — a major disaster in their homeland. Mahlon and Chilion have a role to play in the story. “Sick” and “Ailing,” (the literal meaning of their names) as their names describe them, they are still paired against one another. Mahlon’s name will survive through Ruth; Chilion disappears from view.

Even then, rabbinic imagination makes Orpah (Ruth’s sister-in-law) the ancestor of Goliath who will meet Ruth’s descendant, David, in a final confrontation of these branches of the family. Elimelech and the sons die. The rabbis see the death as caused by their leaving of Canaan. In this they touch on a clear theme within the book: the love for this land, a rich and sensuous feeling rising out of the story and out of the loving descriptions of the land at harvest time. Naomi returns to Bethlehem, the “sweet one” made “bitter” by adversity.

Ruth’s Declaration of Loyalty

Ruth remains with Naomi, while the realistic Orpah accepts Naomi’s reasoning that the daughters‑in‑law need not become refugees in turn. The text needs no embellishments:

Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die; and there will I be buried…

It is a statement of loyalty and faith which endures through all generations. And the loyalty is soon put to the test, as Ruth goes out to glean in strange fields. There, in the field of Boaz, several patterns converge. Naomi has a plan which will obligate the kinsman to support her. Ruth has her own ideas which will, if realized, change her own position as well. And Boaz moves from an initial position of utter correctness and minimum courtesy to a granting of extra privileges which reflect a change within himself of which he is not fully aware at this point.

Boaz’ Kindness

Boaz acknowledges Ruth’s right to glean behind his handmaidens and to remain unmolested in his fields, but he does not yet accede to her request to glean among the sheaves. By meal time, he is a changed person: She is to eat with him, she may glean among the sheaves, and his men are to drop part of their harvest for Ruth to acquire. Ruth returns home with “an efah of barley” (between 30 and 50 pounds according to modern authorities), and Naomi realizes that their future might be brighter than she had dared to hope.

The harvest comes to an end, and Naomi instructs Ruth in a new plan: She is to join Boaz at the threshing floor during his night of vigil. The vigil had cultic and ceremonial significance; and Ruth’s preparations for the night are preparations of marriage. Whether or not the marriage was consummated on that night is debated, although the story is clear enough here: The consummation took place after the marriage (4:13) and was blessed by God with a son, Obed.

The Redeemer

The whole thrust of the narrative, of Boaz as  “the redeemer,” of Obed declared to be the son of Naomi, would lose its point had the relationship between Ruth and Boaz been other than a proper marriage between equals. The court scene, between Boaz and the other unnamed claimant, establishes this as it resolves the underlying patterns with a happy ending. And time and history place another dimension into this pattern: the covenant of love between Boaz and Ruth reminded the people Israel, in times of exile and need, that a similar covenant exists and continues between Israel and God.

All of the story is brought to a successful conclusion. First, there is the matter of redeeming Elimelech’s property, Naomi’s only possibility of reestablishing herself in the land. The anonymous kinsman is anxious to purchase the land. Since Naomi has no male descendants, the property would then become part of his permanent family holding. Then Boaz reminds him that marriage to Ruth would be part of the obligation. The son of that marriage would be assigned to Naomi, and the final outcome of the contract would see the land revert to Naomi and her family. The kinsman demurs, and Boaz happily accepts the privilege and obligation of marrying Ruth and raising a family for Naomi.

Professor Herbert Brichto points out that the welfare of the dead depended upon descendants retaining ancestral property, and that the unknown kinsman had no desire to raise a son who would continue Mahlon’s name. The irony is clear: It is the kinsman whose name is forgotten!

The Unfolding of a Divine Pattern

The Scroll of Ruth is not a legal document giving instruction on levirate marriage and land redemption. As Jack Sassoon has pointed out, it is a folk tale, with the structure and logic of the storyteller’s art. It takes the legalities of the time for granted, as incidental to the unfolding of a Divine pattern within human lives, in the creation of a family tree for King David, with possible intimations of a messianic kingdom. It began with the suffering of Naomi, and ends with her joy. The declaration of Ruth is fulfilled: The destinies of Naomi and Ruth are interlocked, they are now one family and one faith. Boaz has fulfilled both of their hopes; he has been the redeemer to Naomi, the true husband to Ruth. And the community rejoices.

Chesed (Steadfast Kindness) Trumps Status

Some scholars have argued that the book was written to defend intermarriage. It was, they contend, a kind of tract put out against the demand made by Ezra on the return from exile that Jews who had remained in the land must divorce their non-Jewish wives. Certainly, it gives full rights to a Moabite woman who then becomes the ancestress of the royal house of the Jewish people, of King David who comes to represent the messianic ideal, the unity and peace which will embrace all humanity

Loyalty to the faith of Israel is fused with the love of humanity for whom the Torah was revealed. As this text becomes part of Shavuot, the festival of that revelation, the convert who joins Ruth freely, with all her love and loyalty given freely, stands before Sinai and receives the Torah…

Rabbi Zeira said:

This scroll is not concerned with either purity or defilement, either prohibition or permission. Why,then, was it written?  To teach you of a magnificent reward to those who practice and dispense chesed (steadfast kindness). (Ruth Rabba, 2:15)

Placed into our liturgy, at the season of the giving of the Torah, we thus rediscover the heart of the matter: the steadfast love, the chesed, which assures the eternity of the covenant made at Sinai between God and Israel to the commemoration of which we devote the festival of Shavuot.

Excerpted with the permission of CCAR Press from The Five Scrolls: Hebrew Texts, English Translations, Introductions and New Liturgies, Herbert N. Bronstein and Albert H. Friedlander, eds.

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Given the content of the haftarah [prophetic reading], it may be wondered why Ezekiel’s vision was chosen for recitation on Shavuot–the festival celebrating the Giving of Torah. What is the link between his experience and the public revelation at Sinai?

One ancient teaching provides a clue, suggesting that rabbinic tradition found a parallel between the events. Beginning with the verse stating that “God’s chariots [rekhev]are myriads upon myriads, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness” (Psalms 68:18), it was taught that “there descended with God (on Mount Sinai) 22,000 chariots, each one like the chariot [merkavah]that Ezekiel saw” (Midrash Tanhuma Yitro [Buber] 14).

A similar tradition is found in an anthology of teaching for the festival of Shavuot (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, Ba-hodesh, piska 12:22), and elsewhere (Midrash Shoher Tov, on Psalm 68:18). The upshot of this is that Ezekiel’s theophany was long preceded by a national precedent (preserved in Psalm 68:18), when God descended upon Sinai to make a covenant with all Israel. Indeed, according to rabbinic midrash, a mystical theophany occurs in the course of the Sinaitic revelation. Ezekiel’s experience was thus anything but unique. To the contrary, his throne vision is a personal expression of an ancient pattern.

A further connection between Sinai and Ezekiel’s vision can be noted. It is based on a spectacular account of Moses’ ascension on high to receive the Torah. According to a tradition preserved in Pesikta Rabbati 20 (Piska Matan Torah), we learn how Moses rose through the throne world of God like any mystical voyager depicted in the Merkavah tracts. Passing the guarding angels of destruction, Moses is told that even the angels that serve the throne do not know God’s place–for they say “Blessed is the Presence of the Lord, from His place” (Ezekiel 3:12); and he is also graced with a vision of the crowning of God, while the angels that serve the throne repeat the word “Holy” three times (Isaiah 6:3). At the apex of his ascent, all the cosmic vaults are opened to Moses, and he sees the majesty of God. But not only Moses!

With the opening of the heavens, all Israel sees the Glory face to face. As the words “I am the Lord” (Exodus 20:1) blast forth, the entire people (all 600,000) die in ecstasy. Revived by divine mercy, God sends forth 1,200,000 angels to enable the nation to receive the revelation and live. Each person is therewith supported by two divine beings, one to hold the head (so that he may withstand the vision), the other, the heart (so that it would not escape in awe). According to Rabbi Abba bar Kahana, however, these angels served a different purpose. One of them turned each Israelite about by the belt, to face God Himself, while the other crowned his ward with a heavenly crown. Thus aided, the nation of Israel received the Torah in ecstasy and vision.

Ezekiel [chapter] 1 thus reveals what even the most common Israelite saw at Sinai on that awesome occasion. Its recitation on the first day of Shavuot calls that wondrous event to mind with numinous detail. Luminous beyond understanding, the vision in Ezekiel 1:4-28 is a sight for the inner eye.

This article is excerpted from The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot. It is reprinted with permission from the Jewish Publication Society.

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The Commandments (in Jewish Tradition)

First Commandment (Exodus 20:2)

I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Second Commandment (Exodus 20:3-6)

You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7)

You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)

Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord Your God, in it you shall not do any manner of work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your man-servant, nor your maid-servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

Fifth Commandment (Exodus 20:12)

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord God gives you.

Sixth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)

You shall not murder.

Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:13)

You shall not commit adultery.

Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)

You shall not steal.

Ninth Commandment (Exodus 20:13)

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:14)

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, nor his wife, his man-servant, his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Non-Jewish Ordering of the Commandments

The above are the Jewish division of the Ten Commandments. However, such writers as [the ancient philosopher] Philo, as well as the Jewish Publication Society’s translation of the Bible, the Greek Church Fathers, and most Protestant churches (except the Lutherans), consider the first of the Ten Commandments to be, “I am the Lord Your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (verses 2 and 3). That is to say, God’s very existence and God’s relation to Israel in addition to the prohibition of worshiping other gods are seen as belonging together, while the prohibition of idolatry forms the second commandment.

Yet another division is used in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches. This follows the written text of Torah scrolls and combines verses 2 through 6 into one commandment; that is, it includes the prohibitions of idolatry in the first commandment. And further, it divides the last phrase (verse 14 in Jewish, verse 17 in Christian versions) into two parts:

Ninth Commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house…”

Tenth Commandment: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife…”

The Structure of the Ten Commandments

A dual structure can be seen in the Ten Commandments. Commandments one through four deal with human relationships to God. Commandments six through 10 deal with humanity’s relation to humanity. The fifth commandment, that of honoring one’s parents, forms a sort of bridge between the two.

While the Bible itself provides no indication of how the “words” of the commandments were distributed on the actual stone tablets, it is generally assumed that they stood five on one tablet and five on the other. Some commentators (Mekhilta, Yitro 8) have seen a correlation between the five commandments opposite each other on each of the two tablets. So, for example, murder is an injury to God whose image man is, apostasy is equivalent to marital infidelity, stealing will lead to a false oath, the Sabbath violator attests falsely that God did not create the world in six days and rest on the seventh, and the person who covets his fellow person’s wife will end by fathering a child who rejects his true parent and honors another.

READ: Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments?

Some commentators speculate that the commandments range in a descending order from Divine matters to human matters, and within each group from higher to lower values. In this scenario, duties to God come first, the obligation to worship God alone precedes that of treating His name with reverence, and both precede the symbolic piety of Sabbath rest. Respect for parental authority naturally follows respect for God. The purely ethical commandments are arranged in a hierarchal form: life, the family, right of possession, reliability of public statements. The last commandment, the ban in desires arising from jealousy, deals with what is most ethically sensitive, and protects against the infringing of the other ethical commandments.

READ: Weaving Together Ritual and Ethics

The philosopher Abraham ben Chiyya, after placing the first commandment apart as comprising all the others, divided the other nine according to the commandments of thought, speech, and action, and according to relations between human and God, human and his family, and human and human, reaching the following classification:

Excerpted with permission from Every Person’s Guide to Shavuot (Jason Aronson, Inc).

The post The Ten Commandments appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Within a few years, it was moved to Shavuot, the holiday appropriate for expressing commitment to Jewish ideals and Jewish life, when the voluntary acceptance of God’s law is commemorated. Adopted by the Conservative movement and even some Orthodox congregations after being introduced in America in 1846, confirmation grew in popularity, becoming a widespread feature on the first night or first morning of Shavuot. [Today, Orthodox and the vast majority of Conservative congregations do not hold confirmation ceremonies.]

In Israel the pioneers of the early 20th century who reclaimed the Land refocused on the agricultural aspects of the holiday. In modern bikkurim festivals, children dressed in white, wearing floral wreaths, and carrying baskets of produce from their local villages and kibbutzim (communal farms) joined parades and processions to ceremoniously present their first fruits amid great pageantry. Reading poems, singing, dancing, displaying artwork, and presenting dramatic performances accompanied the donations, which were sold to benefit the Jewish National Fund. [Known in Hebrew as Keren Kayemet le-Yisrael, this was the fund created to purchase land from Arab landowners with the aim of settling Jewish pioneers on it.]

Shavuot continues to be observed this way in Israel and, throughout the Jewish world, with synagogue services.

Excerpted from Celebrate! The Complete Jewish Holiday Handbook. Reprinted with permission of the publisher (Jason Aronson Inc).

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Read the full text of the Book of Ruth in Hebrew and English on Sefaria.

The custom of doing this is already mentioned in the Talmudic tractate of Soferim (14:16), and the fact that the first chapter of the Midrash of Ruth deals with the giving of the Torah is evidence that this custom was already well established by the time this Midrash was compiled. [Tractate Soferim is one of the latest books of the Talmud, probably dating no earlier than the eighth century.]

There are many explanations given for the reading of Ruth on Shavuot. The most quoted reason is that Ruth’s coming to Israel took place around the time of Shavuot, and her acceptance into the Jewish faith was analogous of the acceptance of the Jewish people of God’s Torah.

A second explanation relates to genealogy. Since the Book of Ruth ends with the genealogy of David, whose forbearer Ruth was, it has been suggested that it is read on Shavuot because there is a legend that David died on Shavuot.

Another reason for the reading of Ruth on Shavuot is that its story takes place at harvest time, and Shavuot also occurs at the time of the spring harvest.

Excerpted with permission from Every Person’s Guide to Shavuot (Jason Aronson, Inc).

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We remain awake to show that, unlike the situation of our heavy-lidded ancestors at Sinai, there is no need to bring us to our senses; we are ready to receive Torah. The tikkun (which refers both to the study session and to the text used for it) was the only observance developed specifically for Shavuot. (Although tikkuns were later introduced for Passover and Hoshanah Rabbah — which is part of Sukkot, the Festival of Booths — this is the one most widely observed.)

In addition to wanting to compensate for the Israelites, the mystics had the idea that at midnight the heavens open and favorably receive the thoughts, study, and prayers of those who remain awake on the anniversary of the Revelation. (Some promoted the legend that, as on Hoshanah Rabbah, wishes are fulfilled at that moment. The Moroccan Jews believed staying up all night guaranteed you life for the next year.) It was likened to the hours of preparation prior to a wedding. The chapter headings in the anthology used for study were said to represent the jewels used to adorn a bride prior to her marriage, and the tikkun process was the bedeken ceremony (when the groom verifies the identity of his bride and places the veil over her face), which precedes the wedding.

Through the ages, scholars have observed the tikkun, but among the learned who knew how to study traditional text, it was also common to devote the time to Talmud. Today, the tikkun might consist of a series of seminars on a variety of topics based on ancient or modern texts, Jewish history, or current events. In Israel, the Western Wall is a popular site for the study session. In the United States, in addition to communal settings, a tikkun especially for children may take place at home, in which age-appropriate books and Bible stories can be the basis for activities and discussion. (There is no reason a group of adults cannot get together to study in someone’s home, and while you may not want to do it late at night, there is also no reason it cannot become an ongoing activity.) Refreshments such as cheesecake and coffee are usually served. Breakfast might follow a sunrise Shaharit [morning] service for those who participated in a communal study group.

Excerpted from Celebrate! The Complete Jewish Holiday Handbook. Reprinted with permission from Jason Aronson Inc.

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The characters we meet in the book often draw further attention to this motif. Naomi, the wife introduced in the opening verses and the mother-in-law of the book’s namesake, later rejects her name and its meaning (pleasant), assuming an opposite name and identity: Mara (bitterness). Boaz, the wealthy landowner who later restores Ruth’s sense of personhood, is introduced as a man with a name (“and his name was Boaz”), but the overseer of his fields is not. Neither does the recalcitrant relative who refuses to marry Ruth, who is instead called Peloni Almoni, which essentially means “no-name.”

The book concludes with a list of ten generations of names, and its stated goal is to “establish the name of the deceased upon his inheritance” (Ruth 4:5, 10). The sevenfold appearance of the word shem in Chapters 1 and 2 is paralleled by its sevenfold appearance in Chapter 4. This testifies to the significance of the name as a leitmotif of the book.

In a narrow sense, the Book of Ruth aims to restore the name of Naomi’s son, Machlon, who has died childless. Its broader goal, however, is to reestablish the importance of names in society.

Ruth takes place at the same time as the Book of Judges, which concludes with a profusion of unnamed characters. The prevailing anonymity in Judges correlates with a society that dehumanizes the other. The book features several stories in which unnamed characters are treated as objects. The nameless daughter of Jephtah is sacrificed on account of her father’s vow. In Judges 19, an anonymous concubine is brutally abused and objectified both by her husband and the townspeople of Gibeah.

In a society in which people have no names, they lose their value as human beings and are not treated with elementary compassion. Alienation prevails, and individuals are reduced to objects, unworthy of basic human rights. It is no wonder that the Book of Judges ends with a civil war, palpable testimony to the catastrophic breakdown of societal relationships at the time.

The quest to repair societal dysfunction begins on a small scale, with relationships between individuals who express concern for one another. When Naomi returns to Bethlehem, the townswomen ask, “Is this Naomi?” This question does not, however, engender compassion or offers of help. Moreover, their interest does not extend to Naomi’s companion, Ruth, whom they ignore completely.

Boaz fills the void created by their callous disregard. When he first sees Ruth in his fields, Boaz immediately inquires after her identity: “To whom is this young woman?” The overseer answers, “She is a Moabite young woman,” denying Ruth her name and identity. In his estimation, she is a foreigner, nothing more. Both the overseer and the townswomen mirror the society of the period of the Judges, which discounts the identity of the other.

Boaz’s query transforms Ruth from an unrecognized stranger to a person with an identity. He draws the overseer’s (and the reader’s) attention to Ruth as a subject. Indeed, Ruth’s gratitude to Boaz focuses not on his generous offer of food and protection, but rather on the mere act of his recognition: “Why have I found favor in your eyes to recognize me, and I am but a stranger?”

Boaz will ask again after Ruth’s identity in Chapter 3, when he awakens to find a woman lying at his feet in the middle of the night. Seeking marriage and children, Ruth approaches Boaz in the field. The moment of encounter contains no personal names, recording the matter of a “man” who awakens to find a “woman” lying at his feet. The absence of names strips the individuals of their identity, producing a highly charged moment in which two people meet at midnight in an isolated field.

But instead of taking advantage of a desperate young woman, Boaz unexpectedly inquires after her identity. His query gives Ruth the opportunity to identify herself by name, transforming her from object to subject. Her response opens with the word anochi, “I,” illustrating that Ruth reacquires her sense of self.

Boaz’s regard for Ruth’s personhood allows her to proclaim her name and regain her identity, and thereby reverses the trajectory of namelessness in the book. This encounter prepares the reader for Boaz’s ultimate act, in which he restores the “the name of the dead man upon his inheritance” (Ruth 4:10).

This moment also points toward the solution for the period of the Judges. Boaz’s concern for names turns the tide of a society in which a sense of alienation prevails and people have forgotten the importance of recognizing the other. From the union of Boaz and Ruth will issue David, whose kingship will repair the societal alienation of the period of the Judges. Thus, in a seemingly banal act of recognition, one individual acting in accordance with his own conscience ultimately changes the course of society and restores decency and humanity to the nation of Israel.

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Here are 9 things you might not know about this springtime holiday.

Shavuot is the holiday of Jewish paper-cutting

Shavuot is a springtime festival, a period when the earth is coming into full bloom (in the northern hemisphere anyway). One Jewish legend recounts that Mount Sinai burst into flower with the giving of the Torah. In ancient times, Shavuot was also the time of bikkurim, when Jewish farmers would bring the first fruits of their crops as an offering to God in the temple. For these reasons, many synagogues have the custom of decorating their sanctuaries with flowers and greenery. But some rabbis were uncomfortable with this, fearing that it too closely resembled Christian traditions, which in turn led to the custom of using a papercut instead called a shavuosl. 

Shavuot is Judaism’s only all-nighter

The main ritual associated with Shavuot is known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot. The custom originated among the mystics of Safed as compensation for the fact that, according to the Midrash, the ancient Israelites slept in on the day of the giving of the Torah. To make up for that ancient mistake and to show our eagerness to receive the Torah, the custom emerged of staying up all night to study. In many synagogues the study session is capped by a sunrise worship service at daybreak.

Ladino speakers recite a marriage contract on Shavuot

The relationship between God and the Jewish people is often likened to marriage. The Talmud calls Shavuot the wedding day between God and the Jewish people. Some have also pointed to various wedding metaphors contained in the biblical story of revelation.  To mark this anniversary, many Sephardic communities developed liturgy describing the holiday as a symbolic betrothal of the Jewish people to God.  Ladino-speaking Jews went even further, reciting a liturgical poem called Le Ketubah de la Ley, the marriage contract of the law.

The figure most associated with the holiday wasn’t born Jewish

Traditionally the biblical Book of Ruth is read in synagogue on Shavuot. The book tells the story of Ruth, a Moabite woman who returns to Israel with her mother-in-law after the death of her husband. Though Ruth is encouraged to stay with her own people, Ruth refuses, speaking the lines for which she would become known: “For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth’s embrace of Judaism took place around the time of Shavuot and her acceptance of the Jewish faith is seen as analogous to the Jewish acceptance of God’s Torah.

Shavuot is the only holiday where dairy foods are encouraged

Eating meat and fish are signs of celebration in Jewish tradition, which is why many people eat beef or chicken on Shabbat and other Jewish holidays. Shavuot is the one Jewish observance where the opposite is true — dairy foods like cheesecake and blintzes are customary. Various reasons for this tradition have been offered, but many link it to the fact that the kosher laws were handed down on Shavuot, and the ancient Israelites, finding that their meat was no longer kosher, ate dairy foods instead. 

Shavuot is the only holiday with no fixed date

According to the Bible, Shavuot is observed seven weeks after “the sickle is first put to the standing grain.” In practice, the counting began on the second day of Passover. In ancient times, when the new month was established on the basis of witness reports, that meant that Shavuot could fall on either the fifth of sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. Today, it is observed on the 6th day of Sivan. And because Shavuot begins only after seven weeks have been counted, the holiday does not traditionally begin until nightfall, unlike other Jewish holidays that begin at dusk.

The Reform movement holds confirmation ceremonies on Shavuot

Confirmation is a late arrival to Jewish tradition, introduced by the Reform movement about 200 years ago as a way for a Jewish teenager to “confirm” their adult commitment to Judaism. The connection to Shavuot, which marks the acceptance of the Torah on Mount Sinai, is a natural one, though some Reform communities today observe the rite on Shabbat instead.

Shavuot is the least-observed major Jewish holiday

Coming seven weeks after what is frequently considered the most widely observed Jewish ritual, the Passover seder, Shavuot is often overlooked by less observant Jews. Various reasons have been suggested for this. Perhaps the most compelling is that, unlike Passover (with its seder and dietary restrictions), Sukkot (with its custom of eating in a sukkah for seven days), or Rosh Hashanah (with its shofar blowing and traditions of introspection and forgiveness), Shavuot is comparatively lacking in any specific dramatic rituals. The primary act associated with Shauvot, the all-night study session, developed comparatively recently, most likely in medieval Spain.

Israelis have water fights on Shavuot

In Israel (in a typical year) Shavuot is the holiday of water. In the center of many cities, massive crowds engage in water fights on the holiday, tossing water balloons at each other or spraying passersby with powerful water guns. Others embrace the water idea by taking hikes along rivers and streams. The origins of this tradition aren’t entirely clear, but some link it to North African Jewish communities that celebrated water on Shavuot because the Torah is sometimes compared to the life-giving properties of water. Also, it’s the start of the hot season, so frolicking outside with water only makes sense.

The post 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Shavuot appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Cheese and Herb RugelachSavory Manchego and Quince TurnoversMascarpone Stuffed Dates with Sea Salt

Challah

Pull-Apart Challah Stuffed with Cheese and Guava

(above)
Challah Baked Brie
Summer Pesto and Gruyere Stuffed Challah

Noodle Kugel

Savory Cheese Kugel Recipe
How to Make Sweet Noodle Kugel

Quiche & Tarts

Caramelized Onion and Feta Quiche
Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Quiche
Eggplant, Kashkaval, and Walnut Tart

(above)
Spinach Goat Cheese Tart with Herb Butter Crust
Goat Cheese, Silan and Olive Galette Recipe

Main Dishes

Arab-Style Tortellini
Cheese Kreplach
Veggie and Cheese Burekas
Red Quinoa Tabbouleh with Labneh

Blintzes

Savory Cheese and Zucchini Blintzes
Mozzarella and Tomato Caprese Blintzes

(above)
Strawberry Rhubarb Blintzes
Blintz Souffle

Cheesecake and Desserts

31 Drool-Worthy Cheesecake Recipes for Shavuot
S’mores Rugelach
Sticky Cinnamon Bun Rugelach

(above)
Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake on a Stick
How to Make Perfect Cheesecake 5 Ways
Sweet Ricotta and Strawberry Bourekas

The post 27 Shavuot Recipe Ideas appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Unfortunately, cheesecake is one of those deceptively simple recipes, the kind that requires some tips and techniques to get right. Also, not everyone agrees on what makes a cheesecake perfect. Some like it dense, others, fluffier. Purists say it should be simple, but lots of people prefer it fancy, with flavors, textures and toppings.

Long ago I created a basic batter that works for almost any type of cheesecake you can imagine. In our family we prefer a dense, rich, creamy version so I use all cream cheese. But sometimes I make a slight change to lighten it up (using one cup of ricotta cheese to replace 8 ounces of the cream cheese in my recipe). We like it slightly tangy too, so I usually include sour cream (or unflavored Greek yogurt). But if I don’t have either of those in my fridge I substitute with an additional 1/2 cup of cream and add a tablespoon of flour to bind the batter together better.

This basic batter is amazingly versatile. You can use it to concoct all sorts of fabulous variations – strawberry-topped or chocolate or pumpkin and even elaborate versions such as “turtle” cheesecake. Here are some of my favorite adaptations:

Chocolate Cheesecake: add 10 ounces melted, cooled semisweet chocolate to the batter.

Half-and-Half Cheesecake: add 5 ounces melted chocolate to half the batter, spoon the chocolate batter into the pan, then carefully spoon the vanilla batter on top.

Pumpkin Cheesecake: replace white sugar with brown sugar; omit the sour cream and replace with 3/4 cup mashed pumpkin (canned is fine); stir in 1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp grated nutmeg, one teaspoon ground ginger and one tsp grated orange peel to the batter.

Berry topped cheesecake: place whole berries on top of cooled cake, brush with melted apricot preserves or currant jam.

“Turtle” cheesecake: omit the graham cracker coating for the pan. Instead, make a bottom crust by combining 1 cup crushed graham crackers with 1/4 cup brown sugar, then work in 4 Tbsp butter until crumbly. Press into the pan and bake (no need for the second pan yet) for 10-12 minutes. Spoon in the basic batter and bake as in the basic recipe. Let the cake cool.

For the top: heat 1/4 cup cream until hot, add 3 ounces chopped chocolate and stir until melted. Let cool slightly and spread over cool cake. Scatter 2 Tbsp chopped nuts on top. Optional: pour caramel sauce on top of cut slices of cake.

Basic Cheesecake Recipe

The post How to Make Perfect Cheesecake 5 Ways appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Everything Bagel Bourekas: Classic New York bagel meets Israeli bourekas.

Cuban Tres Leches Cake: If milk is good, three milks is better.

Malabi: A traditional, Middle Eastern milk-based pudding flavored with rosewater.

Unicorn Cheesecake: How to turn cheesecake into a whimsical masterpiece.

Israeli Couscous Mac & Cheese: An American classic gets a Middle Eastern makeover.

Tres Leches Cake: A traditional Cuban dessert made with three kinds of milk.

Pull-Apart Challah With Cheese and Guava: A little tropical flair for this traditional Sabbath bread.

Cheesy Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Babka: A savory mash-up that’s totally addictive.

Sour Cherry Soup: This Hungarian favorite is probably a Shavuot staple because the holiday often coincides with Hungary’s prolific sour cherry harvest.

Blintzes: Blintzes come with lots of fillings, but this cheese-stuffed version is a Shavuot classic.

Strawberry Rhubarb Blintzes: Another seasonal variation, rhubarb is often available just as Shavuot arrives.

Cheesecake: Joan Nathan’s take on this desert classic.

Cheese Lokshen Kugel: This creamy noodle dish can be made savory or sweet.

Rhubarb Rugelach: A tangy take on a Jewish classic.

Macaron Cheesecake Bites: A mashup of two beloved desserts.

Savory Cheese and Zucchini Blintzes: These blintzes are a nice change from the more sugary options.

Chocolate-Dipped Cheesecake On A Stick: What doesn’t taste better on a stick?

Mozzarella and Tomato Caprese Blintzes: Italian, Jewish and delicious.

Cheese and Herb Rugelac: Because rugelach doesn’t always have to be sweet!

Black & White Cookie Cheesecake: This marriage of two desserts is quintessentially New York.

Gluten free blintzes: All the dairy, none of the gluten.

Challah baked brie: Cheese your challah.

The post Shavuot Foods appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Though it is less observed in modern times than other Jewish holidays, Shavuot marks one of the most important moments in Jewish history, the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. This was the moment when, in the Jewish understanding, God’s will was expressly communicated to human beings. It also marked the transition of the ancient Israelites into a religious community bound by covenant into a mutual relationship with God. For this reason, some Sephardic communities have a tradition of reciting of a ketubah l’Shavuot, a symbolic marriage contract between the Jewish people and God to symbolize the betrothal of God and the people. 

The Bible refers to Shavuot as chag hakatzir, the festival of the harvest, since Shavuot was also the time when the first fruits, known as bikkurim, were brought as a sacrificial offering in the Temple. The term Shavuot itself literally means “weeks,” a reference to it falling in the calendar precisely seven weeks after the start of Passover. (This makes Shavuot the only Jewish holiday with no fixed date and is also why it is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Pentecost, a springtime Christian holiday whose name means “50.”). Shavuot is the culmination of the 49-day period known as the Omer, a period of semi-mouring as well as spiritual progression from slavery to revelation. Shavuot is also referred to in the prayer liturgy as z’man matan torateinu, the time of the giving of our Torah. 

Unlike the Passover seder and the building of a sukkah on Sukkot, Shavuot lacks the ritual pageantry of the other pilgrimage festivals, a fact that has inspired much consideration by Jewish theologians. Apart from the liturgical adjustments and special biblical readings common to all Jewish holidays, the main communal ritual associated with the holiday is Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the practice of staying up all night studying Torah. The custom seems to have emerged in Jewish mystical circles of the 16th century, where the practice was seen as a rectification for the ancient Israelites having overslept on the morning of the giving of the Torah. (The word tikkun literally means “repair.”). 

Another significant Shavuot custom is the public reading of the Book of Ruth, the story of a Moabite woman who joins the Jewish people after the death of her husband. There are a number of reasons for this custom, but the most frequently cited is that Ruth’s arrival in Israel occurred around the time of the barley harvest, and her acceptance of Judaism was similar to the Jewish acceptance of the Torah. 

It’s also customary to eat dairy foods, and often cheesecake, on Shavuot. Blintzes and dairy kugel are also commonly eaten Shavuot foods. There are a number of reasons offered for this custom, but perhaps the best-known is that the Israelites became obligated on Shavuot in the laws of keeping kosher, including the prohibition on eating meat and dairy together. After they returned to the camp following the revelation of the Torah, they discovered that the previously prepared meat could no longer be eaten, since it was not prepared in accordance with the newly given dietary laws. Instead, they ate the dairy food that was immediately available. 

The post Shavuot 101 appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

But that defining content is not enough to imbue Shavuot with power or popularity. And the reason tells us something about the workings of Judaism. Shavuot is ritually bereft. Unlike Passover or Sukkot, it lacks a set of distinctive practices that would convey experientially its meaning and message. There is nothing comparable to the seder or sukkah for Shavuot, no absorbing home ritual that might unite family and friends in preparation and observance.

The commemoration of revelation is largely confined to the synagogue. The few paragraphs devoted to Shavuot in the Shulchan Aruch [Jewish Code of Law] deal solely with the adjustment of the liturgy (Orah Hayyim, 494). Nothing ever came to replace the bringing of first fruits to the Temple on Shavuot, which expressed the festival’s older agricultural meaning. To shift the impact of Shavuot from nature to history did preserve its character as a day of thanksgiving, but without the ritual choreography that could engage the solitary Jew. Disembodied theology has never been the fare of popular religion.

Amazon

Studying the Torah: A Guide

In short, Shavuot begged for ritual enhancement and this is the need increasingly met by the custom of Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the practice of spending the first night of Shavuot awake in the study of Torah in heightened anticipation of the anniversary of its revelation. Usually done together with at least a minyan [quorum] of participants, the rite, like the seder, is one of re-enactment. With the first crack of dawn, group study turns to communal prayer, culminating in the reading of the Ten Commandments given at Sinai in the unnamed third month of Sivan after the exodus (Exodus 19:1). The combination of extraordinary acts — an all-nighter followed by a sunrise service — created exactly the kind of experiential ritual able to express the particularity of Shavuot. In the last decade both in Israel and America, the ritual in one form or another has caught on among non-Orthodox Jews in ever widening circles. Many synagogues are now lit throughout the night and have multiple services in the morning for early birds and regulars.

The ritual itself is post-talmudic, originating most likely in Kabbalistic [mystical] circles in medieval Spain. The Zohar, which seems to know of the practice, attributes it to early pietists who perhaps sought to distinguish themselves from their ancient ancestors. According to one midrash [commentary], the latter slept nonchalantly through the night preceding the event and had to be roused by lightning and thunder. Forcing ourselves to go sleepless the night before the commemoration of that momentous event thus constitutes an act of rectification (hence Tikkun). Another Zoharic explanation suggests the image of marriage. At Sinai, the Torah as bride and Israel as groom were joined in eternal union. To recall the feverish preparation of the night before the wedding, pietists reenacted the vigil and labor by studying through the night (Magen Avraham, O.H. 494; J.D. Eisenstein, Otzar Dinim u-Minhagim, p. 393).

In time, the ritual gave rise to an extensive collection of texts, which stressed completeness rather than appropriateness. During the course of the night, the group was to recite (rather than study) a few verses from every portion in the Torah and every book of the Bible, including all of Ruth, a few passages from every tractate of the Mishnah, and the passage from the Zohar describing revelation as union. The final text of the Tikkun lists the 613 commandments of the Torah as compiled by Maimonides. What is unfurled in this sprawling canvas teeming with texts is the implicit affirmation that each and every aspect of Judaism is but a branch of the original tree of life planted by God at Sinai. The freedom to interpret the infinite meaning of God’s words is the sap that has sustained and yielded this luxuriant growth.

Indeed, the Torah became the bedrock of Judaism not so much by assertion as by ritual. Liturgy reinforced the claim to canonical status. The progressive chanting (not reading) of Torah from beginning to end every Shabbat in the synagogue, whether annually as in Babylonia or triennially as in Palestine, transformed the Jews into a people imprinted by a book. Its narrative functioned as the unifying metahistory of the nation and the building blocks of public discourse, even as its legislation garnered widespread acceptance and adherence. The synagogue developed into the national theater in which Scripture and liturgy converged to reenact weekly the awesome transmission of Torah at Sinai. Every aspect of the ritual was meant to convey the numinous quality of the original drama.

In the Ashkenazic rite [which is practiced by Jews with Eastern European roots], after the Torah has been set down to read, but before the first aliyah, the gabbai recites four verses from Scripture (Psalm 19:8-9, 29:1, 2 Samuel 22:31) that enunciate the conviction that our Torah is just, pure, and perfect, and its divine author without blemish. As the gabbai finishes, the congregation affirms in unison with another verse that “Those of you who hold fast to the Lord your God are still alive this day” (Deuteronomy 4:4). This prologue amounts to a creedal declaration explaining the ritual. Nothing less than the embodiment of God’s will, the Torah is the Jewish key to salvation.

The constant reading of Torah in the synagogue made of every Shabbat Shavuot. It is inconceivable to me that the Torah would ever have become the dominant and pervasive text of Jewish life without it. The diffusion of theology requires ritual. Modern Jews are at risk not because they have lost their faith, but because they have lost their appreciation for ritual.

The post Why Shavuot Has Few Rituals appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Some derive the practice directly from scripture, saying we eat dairy to symbolize the “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8) promised to the Israelites, or that “milk and honey are under your tongue” (Song of Songs 4:11). These passages, along with “The precepts of the Lord are… sweeter than honey” (Psalm 19:9-11) also indicate we should eat honey, which is customary in some communities.

A sage discovered that the initials of the four Hebrew words in Numbers 28:26, which describe the sacrificial meal offering on Shavuot, spell mei halav (from milk), suggesting that dairy food is the acceptable dinner for the festival. At Sinai, the Israelites were considered to be as innocent as newborns, whose food is milk.

Those of kabbalistic [mystical] bent equate the numerical value of the word halav, 40 (‘het’=8, ‘lamed’=30, ‘vet’=2), with the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments and other teachings (Exodus 24:18). Others look to the mountain itself, which is termed in Psalms mount of gavnunim (68:15), meaning many peaks. They connect that description with the Hebrew word gevinah, meaning cheese.

Scholars who trace all Jewish customs and rituals to practices common among various ethnic groups claim that spring harvest festivals characteristically featured dairy dishes, perhaps because cheese was produced during that season.

There is also support for the custom based on the spiritual development among the Israelites in the wake of Sinai. After the Torah was given, they were obligated to follow its laws, including those governing dietary practice. As they returned to the camp from Revelation, they could not eat the previously prepared meat, which had not been done according to the laws of kashrut [dietary restrictions]. Since butchering and cooking fresh meat would take too long for the tired, hungry Israelites, they took the dairy food that was readily available. Symbolizing modesty, the dairy was also seen as appropriate for the occasion of receiving the Torah, which should always be approached with humility.

In some Jewish communities, it is customary to follow the traditional dairy meal with a meat dish (after waiting the requisite 30 minutes per the laws of kashrut, except in places where the rabbis waived the normal separation). The two foods represent the two loaves brought on the festival. We are also supposed to eat meat as a contribution to our joy on a festival day. This can cause practical problems, however, not only in terms of the time lapse, but because you cannot mix milk and meat dishes and utensils. Therefore, it is more common to have a dairy meal on the first evening of Shavuot and then serve meat the next day.

Along with blintzes and bourekas, cheesecake is a widely popular Shavuot item. Some eat kreplach, three-cornered dumplings that are often filled with meat but can be cheese filled or even vegetable filled. They are supposed to remind us of the Bible, which is comprised of three sections (Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim / Torah, Prophets and Writings), which was given to Israel through Moses, who was the third child of Amran (after Aaron and Miriam), following three days of preparation (Exodus 19:11) in the third month of the year (Exodus 19:1).

Excerpted from Celebrate! The Complete Jewish Holiday Handbook. Reprinted with permission from Jason Aronson Inc.

The post Why Dairy on Shavuot? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

These phrases, merged from Deuteronomy 4:44 and Numbers 9:23, are recited by traditional Jews each time the Torah is raised to be returned to the Aron Kodesh (Holy Ark). To emphasize the significance of the statement, one frequently sees Jews point at the Torah. “This is it,” traditionalist Jews proclaim, “admittedly a copy written by a scribe, but word for word and letter for letter identical with the one transcribed by Moses as God dictated it.”

But how and when did this happen? The Talmud asks a very basic question about Moses’ role, starting with a quote from Deuteronomy:

‘So Moses, God’s servant, died there’ (Deuteronomy 34:5). But is it possible that Moses wrote ‘So Moses died’ while he was still alive?!’ Rather, Moses wrote up to this point, and from here on, Joshua the son of Nun wrote—these are the words of R. Judah…[R. Shimon raises an alternative:] Up to this point, God spoke and Moses repeated and wrote; after this point, God spoke and Moses wrote in tears. (Menachot 30a)

Based on this text, Moses wrote all of the Torah, with the exception, perhaps, of the final eight verses.

Did God give all of the Torah at one time, on Mount Sinai, and did Moses write it down on Mount Sinai? Traditional understandings vary. A famous dispute in the Talmud states that R. Yochanan held that the Torah was given scroll by scroll, while his study partner, Resh Lakish, held that the Torah was given in its entirety. And according to R. Levi, a variety of passages from Leviticus and Numbers were written up prior to the rest of the Torah, on the day when the Tabernacle was erected, because the various laws were needed for its proper functioning (Gittin 60a-b). Interestingly, according to Rashi, Resh Lakish is not implying that the entire Torah was given all at once on Mount Sinai, but rather, as each passage was told to Moses, Moses wrote it down, and in line with the passage from Menachot quoted above, at the end of the 40 years of travel through the desert, Moses compiled them and sewed them all together (s.v. megillah megillah nitnah).

What, then, was given at Sinai? Traditionally, Jews have believed that God spoke the Ten Commandments clearly so that all of Israel could hear or that even just the first two commandments were recited before the people. According to the Galician Hasidic master Menahem Mendel of Rymanov (d. 1815), all God actually said was the first letter of the first word, Aleph, which actually makes no sound alone at all (as reported by his student Naphtali Zevi Ropshitzer, Zera Kodesh, on Shavuot). What the people heard, however, is not the same as what was revealed to Moses.

The Midrash assumes that during the forty days and nights which Moses spent on Mount Sinai, God revealed the entire Bible, as well as the Mishnah, the Talmud, and the Aggadah (Exodus Rabbah 47:1 on Exodus 34:27). Many of the Bible commentators, however, seem to describe a more nuanced process, both with respect to the revelation and to the ultimate writing of the text of the Torah. According to the 13th-century Spanish rabbi Ramban, (also known as Nachmanides):

When Moses came down from the mountain, he wrote from the beginning of the Torah until the end of the story of the Tabernacle, and the conclusion of the Torah he wrote at the end of the fortieth year…this is according to the one who says the Torah was given scroll by scroll. But according to the one who says it was given complete, the entire thing was written in the 40th year. (Ramban, preface to his Torah commentary).

This accords well with what what the 12^th century commentator Rashbam had written about the revelation of the book of Leviticus. According to Rashbam, Leviticus was not given on Mount Sinai but in the wilderness of Sinai, in the portable Tent of Meeting (commentary on Numbers 1:1).

Rabbi Meir Simchah haKohen of Dvinsk (1843-1926) minimizes the difference between Rabbi Yochanan and Resh Lakish:

For the one who says it was given scroll by scroll, … each statement was written on its own, and Moses wrote it on parchment with ink and gave it the children of Israel and taught them the Torah. But for the one who says that the Torah was given complete… as soon as it was said to Moses from God’s mouth, it was said to the children of Israel, … and after forty years, it was written, and even though it was written a long time after it was spoken by God, faithful are its words for there was no change or diminishment or addition based on Moses’ own intellect. (Meshekh Hokhmah, Exodus 20:2)

According to this early modern commentator, both of the Talmudic rabbis understand a gradual revelation, but according to Rabbi Yochanan, each statement was immediately transcribed and taught, whereas Resh Lakish would say that each statement was published immediately through oral teaching and then written all at once. According to some commentators, however, the transcribed materials were not “sources” from which the Torah was compiled. Exodus 24:7–“And Moses took the scroll of the covenant and read it aloud to the people”–implies that scrolls and written materials existed prior to a complete writing of the Torah. Rashba (R. Solomon Adret, 13^th century Spain) explains this in terms of an educational purpose:

Moses did not write each passage at the time it was said to him, but rather, he ordered them orally until the end of the Torah. But passages which were necessary at the time, he would write down so that the people could see them and learn them from a written text. (Hiddushei haRashba on Gittin 60a)

Nevertheless, Rashba seems clear that Moses did not use the written text of the scroll of the covenant in composing the Torah later on.

What should we make, however, of the book of Deuteronomy?

Moses wanted to clarify the Torah for them, and it is stated thus [‘Moses undertook’] to make it known that he saw it necessary to do so on his own, and that God did not command him in this… (Ramban, Deuteronomy 1:1)

Ramban divides Deuteronomy into two parts: The commandments that had not been mentioned previously were, at this point, proclaimed by God. The commandments that were repeated from earlier in the Torah and the curses in Deuteronomy 28 were Moses’ own words, spoken at his own initiative. Nachmanide’s approach is puzzling; the Talmud itself states, “One who says: This verse Moses himself said, as if speaking from himself, has no part in the world to come” (Sanhedrin 99a). Nevertheless, many commentators agree; R. Hayyim ibn Attar even goes farther: “These are the words” (Deuteronomy 1:1) means that all of Deuteronomy is from Moses, but that none of the previous four books are. They are entirely from God” (Or haHayyim, Deuteronomy 1:1).

What do these classical sources reveal? There are, apparently, a wide variety of opinions of how the Torah was written. Working through the Torah consecutively we have the following opinions:

Genesis

Perhaps it was entirely written at the end of the 40 years or perhaps Moses wrote it immediately upon descending from Sinai. Some laws, like the commandment about Jews not eating the sciatic nerve (Genesis 32:33), may have been given to the patriarchs prior to Sinai, or the law may have been given at Sinai but Moses inserted the law in its place in order to connect the law with its source (see Talmud Hullin 101b).

Exodus

Perhaps it was entirely written at the end of the 40 years, or perhaps the portion through the laws of the Tabernacle were written by Moses immediately upon descending from Sinai. Some of these materials, like the book of the covenant were written as texts before they were written into the Torah itself.

Leviticus and Numbers

Leviticus might have only been revealed in the Tent of Meeting after the revelation at Mt. Sinai. All of this material might have been written at the end of the 40 years.  Perhaps Moses wrote certain passages concerning the Tabernacle immediately upon descending from Sinai. Perhaps other passages were spoken by God and they were written down immediately, or they were remembered orally until the Torah’s composition.

Deuteronomy

Perhaps Moses wrote all of it as God dictated, writing the last eight verses in tears, or perhaps Joshua wrote those last eight verses. Perhaps the new material is from God, but the repeated material and the curses are from Moses, or perhaps the whole book is from Moses.

Traditional sources definitely help define the issues in understanding the question of how God’s Torah was written down and when, but the variety of approaches leaves answers somewhat less clear.

The post Did Moses Write the Torah? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Bear with us, we’re going to get a bit technical here. Shavuot, like other Jewish holidays, is lunar—calculated according to the moon. Each month begins on the day of a new moon, when the tiniest crescent of the moon becomes visible after the moon has disappeared altogether. Because the moon cycle is approximately 29.5 days long, in some months the next new lunar month begins 29 days after the previous one, and in other months it is 30 days. Today, astronomers can predict the exact day and time of the new moon. In Antiquity, the date of the new moon could not be calculated in advance—it had to be observed. Furthermore, according to Jewish law, it had to be “officially” observed. That is, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body in the Land of Israel, had to receive sworn testimony from two eye witnesses and then proclaim a new month.

But what does this have to do with observing Shavuot for one day in Israel and two days in Diaspora? We’re getting there! Once the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body, received testimony of the new moon and declared a new month in the Land of Israel, the message of the new moon was delivered to Jewish communities beyond the Land of Israel so that all Jews would be on synchronized calendars.

According to the Mishnah, the rabbis had a rather clever system of delivering the message about a new month: signal fires atop mountains. The idea was that once a new month was declared, a fired would be lit atop a mountain in Jerusalem, and then another one atop a neighboring mountain, and so forth—spreading the message of the new month quickly across the landscape. Not unlike this scene from movie Lord of the Rings:

But this system did not work for very long. The Mishnah tells us that Samaritans, a rival religious sect, sought to disrupt the fire signals by lighting their own fires to confuse the Jews. So, in the end, the month had to be declared by horse and rider. But that could take a long time, and by the time the message got to Diaspora Jewish communities (particular with regards to holidays that fall in the first day of the month, like Rosh Hashanah), it was too late—the holiday would have already passed! So, the Diaspora communities took to hedging their bets by celebrating major holidays for two days rather than one, to ensure that they would celebrate it on the same day as their fellow Jews in the Land of Israel. Today, in honor of that tradition, Jewish communities outside the Land of Israel continue to celebrate major holidays for two days—even though we have the technological capability to synchronize our calendars well in advance.

The post Is Shavuot One or Two Days Long? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals in Jewish tradition. These festivals—Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot—were originally agricultural celebrations that later imbued with historical significance. Passover celebrates the redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Shavuot celebrates the subsequent receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, and Sukkot recalls the 40 years that the Israelites wandered through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. Together, these three festivals are a way that Jews reenact their sacred myth—from slavery to redemption and revelation—every year.

The post Why is Shavuot Significant? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for the LORD your God, offering your freewill contribution according as the LORD your God has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 16:9-10)

Later, the holiday was also connected to the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, following the exodus from Egypt. So, the date was fixed as seven weeks from the second night of Passover, or the 6th of Sivan. Jews ritually count these 49 days, called the Omer (which literally means “sheaf”—referring to the barley harvest), from Passover to Shavuot.

The post What is the Meaning of the Word “Shavuot”? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

(1)  Tikkun Leil Shavuot – Many Jews stay up all night, from sundown when Shavuot begins until sunrise when the morning service of Shavuot takes places, studying Torah. This practice originated with the mystics of Safed. One reason given is that the Israelites slept in late on the day of Revelation and had to be awakened by Moses. To avoid making that mistake again, we stay awake all night, eager to receive the divine law. The mystics also thought that the heavens opened at midnight to receive prayers, and Moroccan Jews believe that staying up all night will grant one life in the next year. Some Jews ritually immerse in a mikvah at sunrise, purifying themselves for Shavuot just as the Israelites purified themselves to receive Torah. There is also a custom of staying up late on the second night of Shavuot to recite the entire book of Psalms (there are 150 of them). This is because King David, traditionally identified as the author of psalms, was born and died on Shavuot.

(2)  Holiday meals – Shavuot meals are much like other holiday meals, but with one difference. Many Jews refrain from meat and eat only dairy dishes on Shavuot. No one knows exactly why, but two explanations are popular:

• Consuming milk products is a reference to the divine promise of a land flowing with milk and honey.
• Upon receiving the Torah, with all the laws of kashrut, Israel realized that none of the meat in its possession was kosher. So, they ate dairy foods until they could properly prepare kosher meat.

(3)  Special Readings and Prayers – There are lots of special readings and prayers for Shavuot—the Book of Ruth, Exodus 19:1–20:23 recounting the dramatic moment of revelation, Hallel, Yizkor. Read more about the scriptural readings for Shavuot here. Learn more about the prayers recited on Shavuot here <link coming!>.

(4)  Passing the Torah from person to person – Instead of the usual Shabbat and holiday practice of one person parading the Torah scroll around the congregation, some congregations pass the Torah scroll from person to person so that each person literally receives the Torah on Shavuot.

(5)  Greenery – It is customary to decorate the home and synagogue with flowers, branches, and even trees. The rose, in Hebrew shoshana, is a popular choice based on a play of words in the Book of Esther. Esther 8:14 reads: And the law was proclaimed in Shushan. Reading “Shushan” (in context a city) instead as shoshana (rose), the line can playfully be heard as The Torah [which literally means “law”] was given with a rose.

The origin of this custom is obscure, but there are a few explanations:

• The area around Mount Sinai was green because animals were not permitted to pasture there.
• According to the Mishnah, the judgment for trees takes place on Shavuot.
• The greenery is a visual reminder of the baskets of first fruits that were offered at the Temple on Shavuot.
• The greenery reminds us of the basket of baby Moses who, according to tradition, was drawn from the Nile on Shavuot.

(6) Papercutting – There is a custom of making beautiful papercuts on Shavuot. Often containing floral motifs, these are used to decorate the synagogue.

(7)  Rituals in Israel – In Israel today, there are a number of rituals that harken back to the agricultural dimension of Shavuot. These include processions, singing and dancing, that center on the first fruits of the year’s harvest—and also water fights!

(8)   Confirmation – Some Jewish congregations hold confirmation ceremonies on Shavuot. These ceremonies for teens (usually 15-17) celebrate a continuation of a child’s Jewish studies, even after bar/bat mitzvah, and a young adult’s own confirmation of their commitment to Judaism, now that they’re more mature than they were at age 12 or 13. These ceremonies often draw an explicit parallel between Israel’s acceptance of the Torah and the teen’s acceptance of adult Jewish obligations.

The post What Happens on Shavuot? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.