SHAVUOT
May 23, 2026 10 am
Thank you for joining us!
Why do we decorate with plants and flowers?
Mt. Sinai Legend: Tradition says Mt. Sinai bloomed with flowers, despite being in the desert, when the Torah was given. Harvest Festival: Shavuot is a harvest festival, so green decorations honor the agricultural season. Smell of Torah: Greenery creates a beautiful, fresh scent in the home and synagogue.
Why dairy?
The Torah is compared to "milk and honey" (Song of Songs 4:11), symbolizing sweetness and purity.
Numerical Significance (Gematria): The Hebrew word for milk, chalav (), has a numerical value of 40, corresponding to the 40 days Moses spent on Mount Sinai.
The "Mountain of Cheese": Mount Sinai is referred to in Psalm 68 as Har Gavnunim, which is linguistically linked to the Hebrew word for cheese, G'vina.
Thank you for joining us for 2025 Shavuot! It was a beautiful season.
Shavuot is unique because, unlike the other High Holy Days of God, this day is really the only holiday celebrated in both Jewish and Christian traditions. The church may call it “Pentecost” and their celebration may have a different focus, but without Shavuot, there would be no Pentecost. Shavuot takes place fifty days after Passover, and in those fifty days the Israelites who had been freed from slavery in Egypt made their way through the wilderness and traveled to Mt Sinai.