Festival of Weeks

The Festival of Weeks (Harvest Festival), also known as Shavuot, is one of the three big Jewish festivals, besides Passover and the Festival of Shelters. For Jews, it is the conclusion of Passover: the exodus from slavery in Egypt is sealed by receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai. Christianity has given the Festival of Weeks a different interpretation by replacing it with Pentecost. 

The festival is celebrated on the sixth day of the month of Siwan (May/June). In the Bible there are rules stipulating that no one must work on that day and that the Israelites must come to the Temple to appear before God (Deuteronomy 16:9-12).

Originally, the Festival of Weeks was a harvest festival. The festival is named after the Jewish custom of counting seven weeks from Passover to the Festival of Weeks (Harvest Festival). At the Festival of Weeks, the Israelites made a grain offering from the new wheat harvest (Leviticus 23:16-17). Because the Hebrew word for sheaf is omer, the time between Passover and the Festival of Weeks is also known as the “omer time”.

In the Jewish tradition, the Festival of Weeks (Harvest Festival) underwent a remarkable change from the second century AD. The harvest festival aspect faded into the background, and in its place the Festival of Weeks became linked to the remembrance of receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. This moment formed the conclusion to the liberation that started in Egypt.
 
This change is in keeping with a more general trend within the Bible, whereby the original agricultural festivals are linked to important events in the history of Israel.

At the Festival of Weeks (Harvest Festival), the book of Ruth is read in the synagogue, most likely because the story of Ruth takes place against the background of the harvest. In addition to this, the story of Ruth, which is about caring for foreigners and those who are oppressed, is linked to the commandment in Leviticus 23:22, “When you harvest your fields, do not cut the corn at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the ears of corn that were left; leave them for poor people and foreigners”. This commandment directly follows the instructions for the Festival of Weeks.

During the Festival of Weeks, the synagogue is decorated with flowers and plants. One of the customs is to stay awake all night, studying the Torah.