Shavuot

In Judaism, a festival celebrated on the 50th day after Pesach (Passover) in commemoration of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, and the end of the grain harvest. In the Christian church, Shavuot (Pentecost) was the day on which the apostles experienced inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Shavuot signifies the spiritual freedom granted to the Jews under the rule of God's law, or Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). Seven weeks are counted from the second day of Pesach, known as the counting of the Omer. Shavuot is the next day after the seven weeks; this is the 50th day, hence the name ‘Pentecost’.

The synagogue is decorated with flowers and it is traditional to eat dairy products, possibly because God brought the Israelites out of Egypt to ‘a land flowing with milk and honey’, as described in Deuteronomy. Some Jews celebrate the giving of the Torah by studying it through the night. In synagogue, prayers of thanksgiving are given and the Book of Ruth is read. This is one of the scrolls (megillot) in which Ruth, a non-Jew, marries a Jewish man who subsequently dies. Her commitment to his faith is so strong that she remains with his family as a practising Jew; the story demonstrates commitment to the Torah.