SHAVUOT INSPIRATION FOR YOUR TABLE
What is Shavuot? Seven weeks after Passover, we celebrate the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai — the moment the Jewish people became a people bound together by shared wisdom and values, not just shared survival. The holiday also marks the spring harvest, connecting the earth. While the Passover gets us out of Egypt, Shavuot asks: what do we do now that we're free?
How Do We Celebrate? Here are some ways Jewish tradition offers to celebrate the holiday. Try them out and let us know what you think!
All-Night Study (Tikkun Leil Shavuot) On the night before the Torah was given, the Midrash tells us that the Israelites… fell asleep. Even though they were about to receive the most important gift in their history, they missed the moment — God had to wake them up with thunder and lightning. As a way to “repair” (tikkun) this moment, many Jews today stay up all night on Shavuot to learn Torah, showing we want to be fully awake and ready to receive it.