The Significance of Shavuot by Hacham Mordecai Alfandari

The faith of Israel is not a religion in the accepted sense of the word. A religion is a certain ritual centered around a house of worship in which believers pray at regular intervals. Not so the People of Israel, for we are Israelites when we lie down and when we get up. Our Torah is a tree of life, which infuses itself into every part of our lives. We are not just Jews on one or two days of the week. Our whole lives and the length of our days, our history as well as our future, are all tied to our faith with eternal bonds.

Shavuoth is the Feast of Firstfruits¹ on which our ancestors used to make the pilgrimage to appear before YHWH, to thank and to praise His great name for having blessed the first fruits of our land. And on this same day we observe a remembrance of the giving of our perfect and holy Torah,² which is the source of both spiritual and material prosperity. This holiday comes to teach us that blessing and abundance are dependent on our keeping the Torah of YHWH. We must learn this lesson if we wish to see the good destiny stored up for those who do His will (blessed be He). Both agriculture and commerce, study and entertainment, work as well as rest, are all under his providence. Therefore, let it be the will of our God that we are privileged this year to keep His Torah, to enjoy His blessing, and to rejoice on his Feast together with his entire nation, Israel, Amen.

Notes:

Note 1: Shavuot is called Yom HaBikurim (The Day of Firstfruits) in Num 28, 26. See also Ex 23,16 and Ex 34,22 [NG]. Back

Note 2: The connection between Shavuot and the giving of the Torah does not appear in the Tanach. This erroneous belief is based on Exodus 19,1.11 which indicates that the Revelation at Sinai took place towards the beginning of the Third Month, which is also the time when Shavuot falls out. Interestingly, the exact day of the month, on which the Revelation at Sinai took place, is not given nor is an exact date for Shavuot. Hacham Alfandari himself rejected the association of Shavuot and the Revelation at Sinai, as he explains in his article "The Feast of Shavuot: Facts" [NG]. Back

This article was originally published in Hebrew in the Karaite Journal Ha'Or, Year 1 Volume 3 (Sivan) [May-June 1956] p.2 under the title "Shavuot - Hag HaBikurim - Matan Torah" ["Weeks - Feast of Firstfruits - The Giving of the Torah"]. Translated from the Hebrew by Nehemia Gordon (May 2000).