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About the Feast
The Hebrew name for this Feast is Shavuot, which means Weeks. Its name comes from the word Sheva (seven); it is also related to the word Shevua (oath).  God told His people to "count seven Sabbaths."

Shavuot is the second of the three major festivals when the males in Israel were to go to Jerusalem (first is Passover, third is Tabernacles).  Shavuot is exactly fifty days (7x7+1=50) after the Feast of First Fruits. Considered the end of the Passover season, it occurs in May or June.

Feast of Weeks Shavuot is May 19, 2010

Christians know it by its Greek name Pentecost, which means "Fifty."  This day occurs on the Seventh Sunday after the resurrection.  After the resurrection and ascension of Yeshua [Jesus], the Spirit of God descended on His followers on this day.

Agriculturally, it corresponds to the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest.  The story of Ruth and Boaz take place on this Feast Day (Ruth 2:23).  Jewish history holds that King David was born and died on this day.

Historically it celebrates the giving of the Torah [Hebrew for Instructions (on how to live)] at Mt. Sinai.

After the Israelites left Egypt on Passover, they met with God at Mt. Sinai.  On the sixth day in the third month (Biblical calendar Sivan 6), the LORD descended and gave His Torah.  Before the destruction of the second Temple (70 AD), it was an agricultural celebration, people bringing a portion of the harvest to the LORD and to the Levites.  After the Jews were exiled, Shavuot became a celebration of the giving of the Torah.

Two significant events in the Twentieth Century occurred on or near this day: On Shavuot, May 14, 1948, Israel became an independent nation after nearly 2,000 years.  Nineteen years later, only a few days before Shavuot, in June, 1967, the Jewish nation took possession of Jerusalem for the first time since the first century Roman exile.

Biblical Background of the Feast

At Mt Sinai, the LORD told Moses to give the people these instructions:
"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.  Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for seven days eat matzoh...Celebrate the Feast of the Harvest with the firstfruits of crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your crops.  Three times a year all the men shall appear before the LORD" (Exodus 2314-17).  This feast, the Feast of the Harvest, (also called Feast of Weeks), was the second of the three Pilgrim Feasts that all the men of Israel were to go to the Temple to present their offerings.

After God's people invented their own festival to worship the LORD (the Golden Calf incident in Exodus  32), God specified how He wanted to be worshipped.  In Exodus 34, God reiterates the three major feasts of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Ingathering (34:18-22).

Shavuot is detailed in Leviticus 23:15-22.  God said that after the Feast of First Fruits (the "Sunday" after the resurrection), they were to count fifty days.  They were to come to the Temple to present a voluntary offering of grain and animals.  Surprisingly, God instructed "Bring two loaves of ...flour made with yeast" (23:17).  Because leaven represents sin in the Bible (I Corinthians 5:7), God had given specific instructions that no flour with leaven was to be offered on the altar (Lev 2:11). Yet, here He specifically says two loaves of bread "made with yeast."  Why two?  That has puzzled the sages for centuries. In addition, this day was so important to God, He instructed that this was "a sacred assembly, and do no regular work."  This is a Holy Rest Day.

The last instruction of this feast is: "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field....leave them for the poor and the alien" (Lev 23:22).  Because the story of Ruth and Boaz took place on this Feast, traditionally the story of Ruth is read during this feast.

Instructions for this Feast are repeated in Numbers 28:26-32 and Deuteronomy 16:9-12.

In the Newer Testament, the events of Mt. Sinai - the wind and fire - were replicated.  After the resurrection and ascension of Yeshua [Jesus], "When the day of Pentecost [Hebrew=Shavuot] came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of wind....They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2:1-5).

Jewish history, recounted in The Midrash Says by Rabbi Moshe Weissman, says that when the Torah was given, the children of Israel "not only heard HaShem's [the LORD's] Voice but actually saw the sound waves...They visualized them as a fiery substance. Each commandment ...traveled around the entire camp and then to each Jew individually..."

At Mt. Sinai 3,000 were slain for idol worship (Exod 32:28); at Jerusalem 3,000 were saved (Acts 2:41).

What is the connection between the historical event of Giving the Torah at Mt. Sinai and the Giving the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem?  Ezekiel prophesied the connection:  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances" (Ezekiel 36:26-27).  God said He would give His Spirit so that His people WOULD OBEY HIS STATUTES AND ORDINANCES.

Celebrating the Feast

"During Second Temple times everyone gathered in Israel for the celebration.  Those in Jerusalem would gather for a procession carrying fresh dates, pomegranates, and grapes.  Those at the back would carry dried fruit, figs, and raisins.  Each family brought two loaves of the finest bread" (Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays, p.231).

After the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans, it was impossible to bring the offerings as God commanded.  Traditions for this holy day developed through the centuries.  The following are customs that developed through the ages:

Two Loaves of Leavened Bread - God commanded the people to bring two loaves of bread with yeast. Why two? Perhaps it represents the Two Tablets of stone. Yeshua summarized the Ten Commandments in Two Commandments: Love the LORD your God and Love your neighbor.

Flowers and Fruits - Decorate with flowers, fruits, and greens because God's people brought the first fruits of their harvests to the Temple.  Tradition says that when God came down to Mt. Sinai, the mountain bloomed and sprouted flowers.  A favorite decoration at Shavuot is roses.

Rest Day - Because Shavuot is a Sabbath day of rest, no work is to be done on this day of celebration (Lev 23:22; Num 28:26).  A God-Ordained Vacation Day!!

Bible Study - In Israel, Shavuot is celebrated as a one-day holy-day.  Outside of Israel, it lasts two days.  On the first day, the Ten Commandments are recited, along with the story of God giving His Torah at Mt. Sinai.  The Torah is studied all-night. On the second day, the book of Ruth is read aloud. Also, Psalm 67 is recited because it consists of 7 verses and 49 words in Hebrew.

Gather with Friends and Relatives - "You shall rejoice before the LORD, your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite who is within your cities, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are among you" (Deut. 16:11).

Sweet Dairy Food - (cheesecake, cheese blintzes). Song of Songs 4:11 says the Torah "drips from your lips, like honey  and milk under your tongue."

Read the "Akdamut"- During the Crusades, a rabbi wrote this poem asking to grow in knowledge and obedience to God's Word.  In 1917 in America, F.M. Lehman put the poem to music and entitled it "The Love of God." We love singing this song at Shavuot!

Personal Word
I encourage you to take baby steps in remembering this holy day.  Take the day off and study the story of Mt. Sinai (beginning in Exodus 19). Read Ruth.  Read Acts 1-2.  Study about this feast, as well as the other Feasts of God. Be a Berean!  Paul said: "Now these [in Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, because they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11). If you want to learn more, here are some great resources:

Feasts of the LORD by Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal

Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays
by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce.

Artscroll Children's Book of Ruth by Shmuel Blitz.