The BiG Story

owe
Power

Feast Your Eyes
And Ears And
Hearts On This

In honor of-the agricultural
aspect of Shavuot,
families in Israel
decorate their
homes with flow-
ers, and syna-
gogues are covered
with greenery. Chil-
dren make all kinds of floral
projects at school and even
wear wreaths around their
necks.
Flowers also are prominent on
this holiday because tra-
dition says that the
once dry and bar-
ren Mount Sinai
suddenly blos-
somed with flowers
gave the
whe y
Jewish people the Ten
Commandments.
This year; why not fill your
home with the one fresh
flower you can find

Making a memorable Shavuot.

gifts from the crops to the Temple. In
In Hebrew, shavuah means
this way, they expressed thanks to
"week." At the end of Shabbat, dur-
God for all He had given them.
ing Havdalah, we say, "shavuah
Shavuot is much more than just a
magine a moment when the
I toy," or "have a good week."
harvest
holiday, though. It also
heavens open, for only an
Shavuot, then, means "weeks."
I marks the time when God gave the
In English, the holiday often has
instant, and you can see the
I Ten Commandments to Moses at
been translated to "the Feast of
entire universe.
I Mount Sinai.
Legend has it that this is exactly
Weeks" because it commemorates
I Conservative and Orthodox fami-
the beginning of the wheat harvest
1 what happens at midnight on one
lies observe two days of the holi-
of the most wonderful and spiritual,
season in Israel, which starts seven
day,
while Reform Jews generally
but often neglected, of Jewish Wi-
I weeks after Pesach. If you've ever
celebrate one.
I heard about the "counting of the
t days. It's called Shavuot, and it
As you prepare for this important
I begins in the evening on the sixth o
Omer," this is a reference to marking
time, here are some ideas to make
Sivan, which this year falls right
1 the 49 days until Shavuot begins.
your
Shavuot memorable.
In ancient times, Jews would bring
I after Shabbat, May 30.

Elizabeth Applebaum
:AppleTree Editor

5/22
1998

74

g rows
y hd
the Carme l
CitileeregiOn; Its also the sub-
feti3Of. :0 charming
children's
song, 'White
coral bells,
upon a slen-
der stalk, lily
of .the valley at
my garden walk..."