Shavuot

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Shavuot

Shavuot

The Torah

The Torah is the primary document of Judaism. Torah, which means "teaching", is God's revealed instructions to the Jewish People. It teaches Jews how to act, think and even feel about life and death.

The Torah contains 613 commandments (mitzvot). The Ten Commandments are considered the most important commandments of the Torah. The Torah also contains stories that teach us about God's relationship with the Jewish People.

Schottenstein Talmud

he Oral Torah, explanations of the Written Torah, was originally passed down verbally from generation to generation.

After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E., it was decided the Oral Torah should be written down so it would not be forgotten. In the 2nd century C.E., the Mishnah, a written outline of the Oral Torah, was compiled.

Over the next few centuries, Jewish scholars studied the Mishnah. Their discussions, questions and decisions became known as the Gemara. The Gemara is commentaries elaborating on the Mishnah.

The Talmud is the combination of the Mishnah and Gemara together. In the 4th century, the Jerusalem Talmud was compiled in Israel. In the 5th century, the Babylonian Talmud was compiled in Babylon. The Babylonian Talmud is studied and used more than the Jerusalem Talmud because it is more comprehensive.

Ten Commandments

Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah. We are commanded to count seven weeks (49 days) from the second day of Passover until the Shavuot festival. The word "shavuot" means "weeks" and is also known as the Pentecost (fiftieth day). Thus, Shavuot occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. According to rabbinic interpretation, the Ten Commandments were given to the Jewish People on Mount Sinai on the sixth day of Sivan. Thus, in addition to being a thanksgiving for the wheat harvest, Shavuot has also became a celebration of the Torah.