Shavuot

Festival facts: Shavuot

What is Shavuot

Shavuot (also Shauvot) was originally a harvest festival. It was marked with an offering to God of the first fruits gathered as a thanksgiving for the gifts of the harvest. Also known as the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Greek for fifty), it took place fifty days after the barley offering at Passover. However, it later became connected with celebrating the giving of the Laws to Moses at Mount Sinai, as this, according to Jews, is the greatest gift of all. These laws, recorded in the Torah, became the basis of the Jewish tradition, essential to the newly formed nation. Celebrations today include offering and sharing harvested produce and a special reading of the Torah.