by Alysa Dudley

Created on: June 10, 2009   Last Updated: June 11, 2009

How was Shavuot celebrated in ancient times? Let's go back in time and Imagine we are farmers in Ancient Israel.

Seven weeks ago we celebrated the harvest festival of Passover. We harvested our barley crop and then journeyed to Jerusalem. There we made an offering of the barley and gave it to the High Priest.

Since then, we have been tending our crops while we count the days. Seven weeks have passed and we are now harvesting the first products of our wheat fields and other crops. We take the very first ripened fruit of each harvest the "bikkurim" tie each sheaf with a reed, and set them aside. We put the bikkurim into a basked and set off on a trip to Jerusalem.

Why are we doing this? Because the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) tells us to count seven weeks from Passover and "You shall then celebrate the festival of Shavuot." (Deuteronomy 16:9-10)

Because we count for seven weeks, this celebration is often called "Shavuot", meaning The Feast of Weeks. It is also called "hag-hakatzir," the Harvest Festival. The second book of the Torah refers to the holy day this way: "[keep] the reaping festival, through the first fruits of your produce that you planted in the field." (Exodus 23:16)

There is also a third name for this day, "Yom ha-bikkurim," The Day of First Fruits, because the Bible also says "You shall then count seven complete weeks after the day following the [Passover] holiday. ... [On the 50th day] you may present new grain as a meal offering to G-d." (Leviticus 23:9-22)

We now journey to Jerusalem. On our trip through cities and towns, we are greeted with joyous music played on fifes, timbre (tambourines), and drums. As we approach the city the citizens of Jerusalem come out to greet us.

In Jerusalem, we present the bikkurim to a high priest, as an offering of thanksgiving. The priest offers up two loaves of bread baked from the wheat which had just been harvested.

Now, we move ahead in time and watch our great-grandchildren as they celebrate Shavuot. In the 70th year of the common era, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews began to spread out from Israel. The Temple is gone, there are no high priests, and there is no place to bring offerings.

It is known that when the Jews left Egypt, they spent seven weeks in the desert before they arrived at Mount Sinai, and Moses brought the Torah to the people. The descendants of the people who brought agricultural offerings to Jerusalem celebrate Shavuot as the anniversary of the date when the Torah was received.

Now we return to the present day. Although traditions may have changed, Jews around the world still celebrate Shavuot. It is joyously honored as a harvest festival and as a time to remember when the Torah was received.

SOURCES:
www.myjewishlearning.com
www.bible.ort.org
www.netglimse.com
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Shavuot

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