SHAVOUT!!

What is Shavuot?
Re-accept the Torah


The Torah was given by G d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai more than 3,300 years ago. Every year on the holiday of Shavuot we renew our acceptance of G d's gift and G d "re-gives" the Torah.
The word Shavuot means "weeks." It marks the completion of the seven week counting period between Passover and Shavuot.
The giving of the Torah was a far-reaching spiritual event—one that touched the essence of the Jewish soul for all times. Our Sages have compared it to a wedding between G d and the Jewish people. Shavuot also means "oaths," and on this day G d swore eternal devotion to us, and we in turn pledged everlasting loyalty to Him.
On this day G d swore eternal devotion to us, and we pledged everlasting loyalty to HimThe holiday of Shavuot is a two-day holiday, beginning at sundown of the 5th of Sivan and lasting until nightfall of the 7th of Sivan.
• Women and girls light holiday candles to usher in the holiday, both on the first and second nights of the holidays.
• It is customary to stay up all night learning Torah on the first night of Shavuot.
• All men, women and children should go to the synagogue on the first day of Shavuot to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments.
• As on other holidays, special meals are eaten, and no "work" may be performed.
• It is customary to eat dairy foods on Shavuot. Among other reasons, this commemorates the fact that upon receiving the Torah, including the Kosher laws, the Jewish people could not cook meat in their pots which had yet to be rendered Kosher.
• On the second day of Shavuot, the Yizkor memorial service is recited.
• Some communities read the Book of Ruth, as King David – whose passing occurred on this day – was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite.
The Torah is composed of two parts: the Written Law and the Oral Law. The written Torah contains the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings. Together with the Written Torah, Moses was also given the Oral Law, which explains and clarifies the Written Law. It was transmitted orally from generation to generation, and eventually transcribed in the Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, and the entire corpus of Torah literature that was developed over the millennia.
The word Torah means “instruction” or “guide.” The Torah guides our every step and move through its 613 mitzvahs. The word mitzvah means both “commandment” and “connection.” Through the study of Torah and fulfillment of mitzvahs, we connect ourselves and our environment to G d. G d’s purpose in creating the world is that we sanctify all of creation, imbuing it with holiness and spirituality.
On the holiday of Shavuot, the entire Jewish nation heard from G d the Ten Commandments. The next day Moses went up to Mount Sinai, where he was taught by G d the rest of the Torah—both the Written and Oral Laws—which he then transmitted to the entire nation.

THE REVELATION AT SINAI
The dawn of the third day broke amid thunder and lightning that filled the air. Heavy clouds hung over the mountain, and the steadily growing sounds of the Shofar made the people shake and tremble with fear. Moses led the children of Israel out of the camp and placed them at the foot of Mount Sinai, which was all covered by smoke and was quaking, for G-d had descended upon it in fire.
The sound of the Shofar grew louder, but suddenly all sounds ceased, and an absolute silence ensued; and then G-d proclaimed the Ten Commandments as follows:
1. "I am the Lord your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
2. "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord your G-d am a jealous G-d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your G-d in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
4. "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord your G-d. On it you shall not do any manner of work -- you, your son, your daughter, your man-servant, your maid-servant, your cattle, and your stranger that is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it.
5. "Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your G-d gives you.
6. "You shall not murder.
7. "You shall not commit adultery.
8. "You shall not steal.
9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, his manservant, his maid-servant, his ox, his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's."