Shavuot or else Pentecost is one of the three main Jewish temple festivals. The essence of the holiday is the celebration of the day Moses received on Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments, at the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, as well as the beginning of the new season of the year.
The legend says that the first New Testament Shavuot fulfilled the Word of the Lord – the Spirit of God poured out, and the salvation of the people began. The word Shavuot in Hebrew means “weeks,” since seven weeks separate it from Pesach.
In the modern world there are several major religions. The most common are Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Judaism has been spread among people for many millennia.
The chosen people in Judaism are the Jews. The Jewish people celebrate various religious holidays. But one of the main religious holidays is Shavuot. It is a celebration of giving the entire Jewish people the Torah, the moral law of all mankind. Shavuot is celebrated every year on the 6th of the month of Sivan, according to the Hebrew calendar, seven weeks after the second day of Pesach.
On this day, according to legend, on Mount Sinai, Moses received the tablets of the Covenant – the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the foundations of the morality of all people, regardless of religion. In addition, Moses recorded the Written Torah, the so-called Pentateuch, which contains the oral commandments. Since then, all Jews on earth have celebrated this day as the day of the giving of the Torah. The complete Oral Torah was recorded only 1500 years later, and printed in 1482. The oral Torah is a work in several volumes, called the Talmud. The entire collection of Jewish church books is called Midrash.
The Jews have several basic traditions of holding the holiday of Shavuot. On this holiday, you can not work. Therefore, in Israel, Shavuot is declared a day off. According to the established order, the holiday begins in the evening. At sunset, everyone goes to the synagogue.
There the rabbi holds a festive worship service. After that, people go home and have a gala dinner. Cover the rich table. On the table must be the presence of dairy products: cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream. A lot of baked, pies, cheesecakes, pancakes, gingerbread, cake. So is the first part of the dinner. An hour later, the table is covered with a new tablecloth and meat dishes are served.
After dinner, again go to the synagogue where the reading of the Oral and Written Torah takes place. The night before Shavuot is generally not allowed to sleep. This night should be devoted to the study of Torah. So, after returning home, Jews do not go to bed, but continue to read the Torah.
In the morning, everyone again goes to the synagogue, where, at the confluence of the whole parish, morning prayer takes place.
Then read passages from the Book of Ruth. This book describes the life course of a Mawitian woman named Ruth or Ruth who lived more than three thousand years ago and who married a Jew, in a difficult time for Jews, became a preacher of Judaism. Her great-grandson is considered King David. By the way, King David was born and died on the day of the celebration of the giving of the Torah. That is why to take to the holiday of Shavuot to come to the grave of King David.
Then solemnly make a roll of the Written Torah. It is usually made by renowned craftsmen and is richly decorated. The rabbi tells how the Torah was granted. Reads the text of the Ten Commandments, psalms and prayers of thanks.
After the end of worship and the reading of the Torah begins a real fun and joyful holiday. People have fun, sing and dance. In the major cities of Israel, parades are held, various musical groups perform.
The second gala dinner will be held in the evening. This is a real meal, including all the dishes common to Jews. But first, again, the dairy foods. The holiday continues until dark. Both adults and children, and even the elderly, are having fun and dancing.
The Israelis have several traditions of this holiday. On the eve of Shavuot, Jews decorate their homes with plants and flowers. This is often done in the synagogue. It is a tradition to say that in those ancient times the Jews at Mount Sinai lived in huts. and On the day of the giving of the Torah, they, for the first time, decorated their dwellings for the first time with what was at hand, greenery, flowers. Since that time it has become a tradition. But besides plants and natural flowers, flowers and patterns cut from paper are used to decorate houses. Therefore, on the eve of the holiday, the whole family is usually engaged in cutting out these unique decorations.
