Reflections on ShavuotShalom and welcome to Tikkun Tips. A bi-weekly nugget of eco-Jewish thought from your friends at the Teva Learning Center.
So I’m walking back to my car this evening after listening to some Iraqi Jewish music, and I notice a sliver of the moon hanging gently in the sky. Huh, I thought, shouldn’t the moon be a little fuller with Shavuot happening in just a few days? The other two festivals, Pesach and Succoth both take place on the full moon. But then I remembered that Shavuot is different. Unlike the other holidays whose dates are explicitly laid out, Shavuot (literally meaning “Weeks”) is supposed to occur seven weeks after the beginning of Pesach. So we are not told when it occurs, but rather are instructed to count the days from Pesach - which celebrates both the exodus and the first barley harvest – to Shavuot – which commemorates receiving the Torah as well as the first wheat harvest.
Shavuot is full of agricultural-based rituals. The farmers of Israel would begin their spring harvests with the barley crop at Passover. The harvest continued for seven weeks as the other crops and fruits began to ripen. As each fruit ripened, the first of each type would not be eaten, but instead the farmer would tie a ribbon around the branch. This ribbon signified that these fruits were Bikkurim, or the first fruits.
At Shavuot, the farmers would gather the Bikkurim into baskets and bring them to the city of Jerusalem where they would be eaten. The farmers living close to Jerusalem would bring fresh fruits, while those who had to travel a long distance carried dried raisins and figs. (Source: Holidays.net)
But why is Shavuot different from the other holidays with respect to how it falls on the calendar? Why are we supposed to count each night until we arrive at the 49th? Perhaps some of these questions can be answered when looking through an ecological lens. The month of Nissan, and the celebration of Pesach, mark the beginning of the Spring harvest. It is a time of renewal in the natural world. Plants are emerging after the cold and harsh winter. The days are getting longer and the temperature is rising. There is more activity outdoors as animals and plants reawaken from their winter sleep.
This is also a time of renewal for us in the spiritual world. Pesach is a holiday of freedom. It is during Pesach that Israel left the bonds of slavery. The seven weeks between Pesach and Shavuot is known as the Omer, and we recognize this time by actively counting the days to the giving of the Torah and our forming as a unified people.
We can also look at the progression of the harvests, from barley to wheat. Barley was mainly used to feed animals. The rabbis thought of barley as a lesser crop than that of wheat which is used to make Challah (in addition to pizza, French toast and bagels!). They understood the time between Pesach and Shavuot as a period growth, manifested by the growth of the wheat plants. When the wheat is ready to harvest, we as a nation are ready to receive the Torah. It says in Pirkei Avot, “Without flour, there is no Torah, without Torah, there is no flour.”
So we are instructed to count each day because it is a period of observed growth. We are aware of every new fruit as it ripens, both physical and spiritual. We cannot grow without being invested in what is growing, and we demonstrate this investment through careful observation. Shavuot is the culmination of this process. The date is not given to us because it is not static. It reflects our own process of growth. So this Shavuot take some time to reflect on the previous seven weeks. What growth have you seen? In yourself, in others? What still needs healing? These processes never end, and the cycle continues…
Chag Sameach!!…Nati Passow
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