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Shavuot Customs Focus on Torah And Agriculture
sit Each month in this space,
shpeter the wheat was harvested.
L'Chayim will present a Yiddish
lesson entitled, "Du Redst Yiddish?
(Do You Speak Yiddish?)," whose
aim is to encourage further study of
Yiddish.
The lessons were prepared by
Mary Koretz of Oak Park. She has
taught both children's and adult
classes in Yiddish at the Workmen's
Circle.
Following is this month's
lesson:
Coming from a secular haym I
never knew the meaning of
Shavuot. I had gehert the name of
the holiday. Once, when we had
blintzes for mitog, my mother said
that it was appropriate for the yom
tov. That was the extent of my
visin. I knew all vegn Chanukah,
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
(As a child, I ale mol wondered
farvos it was the Jews who atoned
and fasted. It seemed to mir that
we were sinned kegn and justice
demanded that the goyim atone for
their zind.)
But since this issue of L'Chayim
is ibergegebn to Shavuot, I was
called upon to tawn some research.
The reasons and customs of this
yom tov were varied and
interesant.
The word Shavuot means
vochn and marks the festival that is
the sof of the weeks of the grain
harvest. At the onhayb of the grain
harvest perlgroypn was brought to
the temple as an offering. Fifty days
.
V
do
sDecalogue Has
Import Today
In Jewish tradition the holiday
of Shavuot is attached to the time of
giving of the Ten Commandments.
What is the significance of the
commandments and their validity for
our day?
Another name for Shavuot is
the Festival of the First Fruits. How
can modern man find a meaning for
a festival that gives first fruit as an
offering? Can we find an association
between God, the first fruits and the
Jewish people, not only in the past,
but for today as well?
According to the Torah portion,
Bamidbar, who would be
responsible for the tabernacle, and
what were those responsibilities?
—Submitted by
Robert Lask,
educational director,
Temple Beth El
Two loaves of broyt were made of
the finest vayts and likewise
brought to the temple.
Basically, es remained, for a
lange time as an agricultral holiday.
Chotsh, in the apochryphal Book of
Jubilees, the festival is celebrated
as a pact God hot gemacht with
Noah not to have a general flood
again. Whether this idea was widely
accepted or nit is not klor. However,
it was the ershte indication that a
new meaning for Shavuot, on a
historical basis, was to be gemacht.
The holiday took on a greserer
role, outside the temple, ven it
celebrated the giving of the Torah
by God, to the Jews. There are
those who gloybn that God gave us
the Ten Commandments rather than
the Torah at this tseit.
Since it is geglaybt that Ruth
accepted Judaism during this
period, the Book of Ruth is gelaynt
in the synagogues during Shavuot.
Reform Jews hold confirmations at
this time.
One of the most shayne
customs of Shavuot is the
decorating of homes mit green
plants. This celebrates the lovely
time of yor.
One of the most batempt
customs are in the food we eat.
Blintzes are prominent among the
milchik dishes. One explanation
offered for dos is that, when the
Jews hobn bakomen the Torah,
they returned to their tents so
hungerik, they couldn't wait for
meat to be prepared.
A custom that intrigued me was
the practice of staying awake a
gants nacht Shavuot eve. There are
tsvay possible reasons given for this
act. One is that God made himself
bavost on Mt. Sinai at noon. The
Jews had overslept that day and
thus oysgemidn Him. In order to
avoid oversleeping, should the event
occur noch a mol, it is thought best
to stay awake all night. The second
theory proposed is that King David
iz geshtorbn on Shavuot. The all-
night vigil, accompanied by the
burning of a large, memorial licht
commemorates this event.
There was much to lernen
about this relatively minor holiday.
Whether we accept all of its meises
or not, it's all interesting.
yom tov
visin
vegn
ale mol
farvos
mir
kegn
goyim
zind
ibergegebn
tawn
interesant
vochn
sof
onhayb
perlgroypn
shpeter
broyt
vayts
es
lange
chotsh
hot gemacht
nit
klor
holiday
knowledge
about
always, all the time
why
me
against
gentiles
sins
devoted
do
interesting
weeks
end
beginning
barley
later
bread
wheat
it
long
although
made
not
clear
ershte
greserer
ven
gloybn
tseit
geglaybt
gelaynt
shayne
mit
yor
batempt
milchik
dos
hobn bakomen
hungerik
a gants nacht
tsvay
bavost
oysgemidn
noch a mol
iz
geshtorbn
licht
lernen
meises
first
greater
when
believe
time
believed
read
beautiful
with
year
delicious
dairy
this
received
hungry
all night
two
known
missed
again
is
died
candle
learn
stories
BOOKS
Take Care of Me, Chana Rivka Jacobs; All About Us, Dina
Rosenfeld; What Happened to Crazy Yosel? Mayer Bendet;
The Chazon lsh, Rabbi Simon Finkelman; A Fire in His
Sou/,Amos Bunim; Hello Heddy Levi! Yaffa Ganz; The Glass
Blower of Venice,Gershon Kranzler; The Precious Little
Spicebox,Gershon Kranzler, all at both Spitzer's and
Borenstei n's.
AUDIO CASSETTES
"Kiddush Club" and "It's Chazal Time Vol. I," both at
Borenstein's.
VIDEO CASSETTES
"Jerusalem Throughout The Ages" and "Now I Know My
Aleph Bet," both at Borenstein's.
TOYS AND GAMES
Aliyah game, age 8-adult; Match It, age 3-8; Beit
Hamikdash model to assemble, all at Spitzer's. Mishkan
Monopoly, at Borenstein's.
Vocabulary
haym
gehert
mitog
home
heard
lunch
Spitzer's is located at 21770 W. 11 Mile, Southfield.
Borenstein's is located at 25242 Greenfield, Oak Park.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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