Shavuot (Feast of Weeks) commemorates the revelation of the Torah on Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people, and occurs on the 50th day after the 49 days of counting the Omer. It is a Jewish festival which falls early in the Jewish month of Sivan.
The festival, which is observed for one day in Israel and two days by religious Jews in the diaspora, has two main purposes:
Shavuot has its origins in the ancient mid-summer harvest celebrations of the Canaanites, the ancient people from which Israelite society sprang during the Bronze Age. These early religions’ celebrations, in which revelers rejoiced in the harvesting of wheat, were local affairs probably celebrated in communal threshing grounds, where the wheat was separated from the chaff, and other cultic sites.
All that started to change in the 7th and 8th centuries BCE, when the Jerusalem monarchy and priesthood consolidated power, bringing formerly separate tribes under the helm of one ruler. As part of this program, they co-opted these local affairs and supplanted them by unified rites that could only be performed in the Temple in Jerusalem. This program would create a sense of peoplehood for the people of the land and enrich the coffers of both palace and Temple.
Rang Panchami 2020: Know all about the date and significance of the colourful festival
Recipes for Shavuot:
Arab-Style Tortellini
Cheese Kreplach
Strawberry Rhubarb Blintzes
Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake on a Stick