Special Features

Shavuot 5761

SHAVUOT THIS & THAT
Because Shavuot is only one day, people who came to Yerushalayim in the time of the Beit HaMikdash did not have the Chol HaMoed period to take care of their Korbanot obligations and pledges. The day after Shavuot, besides being ISRU CHAG (which has the connotation of keeping the Yom Tov atmosphere for another day) became known as YOM TAVO'ACH (butchering day) because of the many korbanot that were offered on that day. The following days until (and including) the 12th of Sivan were Y'MEI MILU'IM, filling out a period of seven days for Shavuot that paralleled the other two Holidays.

Shavuot by any other name...
As ZMAN MATAN TORATEINU, Shavuot is a perfect occasion to rededicate and commit ourselves to Torah learning and the fulfillment of mitzvot. If we do that, really do that, then we are not just commemorating, nor just celebrating the events of the Exodus and Revelation at Sinai - we are reliving them, internalizing. And that's the point.

As YOM HABIKURIM, we have a different challenge for a meaningful Shavuot. Without a Mikdash at the moment, part of our Kavanot and our resolve at this Holiday must be a renewed longing for the Mikdash and a serious and enthusiastic preparation for its rebuilding. If we can bring "virtual" Bikurim & learn its lessons, then we have "used" Shavuot properly. 
Imagine yourself at the foot of Har Sinai, awe-struck by the intermingling of nature and the supernatural. The excitement builds until that fateful moment when each of us proclaimed, NAASEH V'NISHMA. Then and now, we must make a life-long commitment to G-d, to Torah and mitzvot.

Now imagine yourself living in Eretz Yisrael and you have selected the best of your grapes as Bikurim. And you are standing with the basket on your shoulder and you are about to recite the Bikurim passage. Imagine the joy you feel in living in the Land of Israel, with the Beit HaMikdash as the focal point of your spiritual energy - and how anxious you are to declare that joy.
It boils down to, "Say yes to Torah and Eretz Yisrael" every Shavuot, and let it actually be so throughout the whole year.

Completeness... 
There's a widespread custom to daven Maariv on Shavuot eve at a time that is definitely after stars-out. This permits the Omer period of 49 days to have the completeness that the pasuk in Vayikra 23 "demands". Not everyone agrees that this is required from a halachic standpoint (because bringing in the Shabbat early does NOT chase away Yom Tov), but it is a minhag in Ashkenazi communities. 

From Z to A... 
On Shavuot morning, after the Kohen is called to the Torah, but before his bracha and before the reading begins, it is the Ashkenazic custom to responsively recite AKDAMUT, a 90 line poem praising G-d, His Torah and His People. Written by Rabbi Meir of Worms (one of the teachers of Rashi), the poem conveys the spirit of love of G-d and Judaism even in adverse conditions. Rabbi Meir's son was killed by Crusaders and he himself died soon after a "forced debate" with the Christian clergy of his town. The poem celebrates Torah - totally appropriate for Shavuot morning. 

Each line of Akdamut ends with the syllable TA, which is spelled TAV-ALEF, the last and first letters of the Alef-bet. Some see this as a reminder of the nature of the Torah itself - as soon as we complete reading or learning the Torah, we immediately begin it again. 

S'faradim do not read Akdamut, but they have the custom of reading a poem called the KETUBA, celebrating the marriage, so to speak, of G-d and Bnei Yisrael, or the Torah and Bnei Yisrael. They read the KETUBA when the Ark is opened, before the Torahs are taken out. The KETUBA was composed by Rabbi Yosef Najara.

Decorations... 
It is customary to decorate the shul (and the home) with leaves, verdant branches and/or flowers. Some say it is commemorative of Har Sinai that was uncharacteristically (and miraculously) rich in greenery during Matan Torah. Additionally, decorating with flowers and the like reminds us of the decoration of the Bikurim baskets which were brought to the Beit HaMikdash starting with Shavuot. Note that the topic of DECORATION touches upon the Torah aspect and the Eretz Yisrael of Shavuot.

Tikun Leil Shavuot 
The Midrash tells us that the People of Israel slept on the night before Matan Torah and G-d had to awaken them in order to give them the Torah. Our Sages do not fault them for sleeping - they were exhausted from their travels and needed sleep to be ready for Matan Torah. However, a custom developed to spend the night prior to Matan Torah immersed in Torah study, as a "better" (or different) preparation for the event of the morning. One whose davening would be compromised by staying up all night should rather learn for a few hours and get some sleep. 

Those who do stay up all night should carefully avoid wasting time, since it is the learning - and not being awake - that is significant. When one has stayed up all night, there are a few parts of the pre-Shacharit davening that cannot be said, as follows: MODEH; ELOKAI, NESHAMA; BIRCHOT HATORAH; and the last of Birchot HaShachar - HaMa'avir Sheina (through HaGomeil Chasadim...). One should try to hear these brachot from someone who slept and answer AMEN. Men and boys who have worn their tzitzit all night should hear and answer to someone's talit-bracha in lieu of the tzitzit-bracha (if they don't wear a Talit themselves).

DAIRY FOODS 
Shavuot is a Yom Tov. On Yom Tov we have the mitzva of Simcha. One of the traditional forms of Simchat Yom Tov is festive meals with meat and wine. 

(Note for veggies and others who prefer not eating meat: Meat as Simcha is subjective - if you don't like meat, then you need not have it on Yom Tov; if you enjoy eating meat dishes, THEN it is proper to honor and enjoy Yom Tov in that way. This is when we have no Beit HaMikdash. In the time of the Beit HaMikdash, Simcha is associated with the korban called Shalmei Simcha.) 

Additionally, we all know of the custom of eating dairy foods on Shavuot. Some people will have a dairy meal on Yom Tov night and a meat meal for lunch. This has a certain logic, since the nighttime is "more specifically Shavuot" and the day is "more generically Yom Tov". Other families will have meat at night and dairy during the day. 

Still others will make Kiddush and HaMotzi, have some dairy dish (blintzes, perhaps), then bench. Following a short break and a change in table covering, they will wash again, this time for a meat meal. 

Everyone according to their custom. 

Most of us probably know a reason or two that we have picked up over the years. It will be, however, helpful and enlightening to review some of the reasons for this custom. 

It will be useful to keep in mind that some of the reasons might have produced the custom, while others might be merely additional symbolisms after the fact. Furthermore, some reasons explain why we eat dairy, while others make sense only in the context of having BOTH dairy and meat dishes. 

This custom has become so entrenched in our collective practice of Judaism, that it is tantamount to law, and should not be treated lightly. 
Check RITE & REASON on page 22 for some of the "reasons" for dairy on Shavuot.

Having both dairy and meat dishes as mentioned above requires strict attention to the laws of separation of milk and meat. These laws, of course, are based on the Torah's prohibition of "meat in milk" as presented by the phrase "Do not cook a goat in its mother's milk". This phrase (twice) follows, in the same pasuk, the command to bring Bikurim to the Beit HaMikdash. Shavuot is Yom HaBikurim. Therefore, we eat both dairy and meat dishes, with proper attention to the strictures of halacha, specifically on Shavuot. 

Halachically (especially when handling the food with our hands), it is improper to use the same loaf of bread for both meat and dairy meals because of the food residue that might adhere to the bread. Therefore, a dairy meal and a meat meal will require two loaves of bread, reminiscent of the Two Loaves offering of Shavuot. 

Some suggest that having a dairy dish and a meat dish is like the "two cooked foods" of the Pesach Seder. Shavuot is not only its own Holiday; it is also the culmination of Pesach - hence, "two foods" on Shavuot as well as Pesach. 

According to tradition, Moshe Rabeinu was born on the seventh of Adar and was successfully hidden by his parents for three months. It was on the sixth (or seventh) of Sivan (future Shavuot) that baby Moshe was placed in the basket on the river and found by the daughter of Par'o. We are taught that Moshe refused to nurse from an Egyptian woman which led to Miriam's suggestion that Yocheved, Moshe's mother, be his "wet nurse". He, who was to teach all of Israel the Torah, could not drink "mother's milk" from a non-Jew. We commemorate his with dairy dishes on the day of Matan Torah. It might also be suggested that the day of the receiving of the Torah is like the birth of the Nation of Israel, and we have milk to symbolize the spiritual infancy of the People of Israel. 

The Torah commands us to bring in the Beit HaMikdash a Mincha Chadasha LaShem B'Shavuoteichem. The initial letters of this phrase spell the word MICHALAV - "from milk". This, too, is considered one of the origins of the custom. 

Whether it is cheese blintzes, yogurt with honey, cheesecake or lasagna, dairy dishes on Shavuot provide us with much food for thought. 

Megilat Ruth 
Many communities read Megilat Ruth on Shavuot morning before Torah reading (outside of Israel the custom is to read it on the second day). Some communities read it in the afternoon. When read from a kosher megila (minhag Yerushalayim), the reading is preceded by the brachot ...AL MIKRA MEGILA and SHE'HE'CHEYANU. When it is read from a printed page, no brachot are recited. 

Several varied reasons combine to make Ruth the perfect reading for Shavuot. The text itself tells us that its story takes place at the time of the "cutting of the wheat". Shavuot is CHAG HAKATZIR. 

One of the major purposes of the Book of Ruth is to tell us of the lineage of David HaMelech and the Davidic line leading to Moshiach. Tradition tells us that David HaMelech died on Shavuot.

Perhaps most significantly, the story of Ruth is the inspiring story of Kabbalat HaTorah of an individual, just as Shavuot is the commemoration of Kabbalat HaTorah of the Nation. All of Israel were like converts at Sinai. 

SHIR SHEL HAYOM 
According to Minhag Yerushalayim, based on the opinions of the Vilna Gaon, when it was Yom Tov, a different Psalm replaced the "regular" Shir shel HaYom. For Shavuot, it is Psalm 19. Some will say only Monday's chapter. Some will say only Psalm 19, as per Minhag Yerushalayim. Some will say both. Remember that Shavuot is the Yahrzeit of the T'hilimist.