sanctuary adorned in greenery in honor of Shavuot Nowadays in the post-Temple era, Shavuot is the only biblically ordained holiday that has no specific biblical
laws attached to it other than usual festival requirements of abstaining from
creative work and being in a state of joy. The rabbinic observances for the holiday include reciting additional prayers, making
kiddush, and partaking of meals. Special emphasis is placed on hearing the Torah reading on the first day, when the
Ten Commandments are read in the Synagogue. There are, however, many
customs which are observed on Shavuot. A mnemonic for the customs largely observed in Ashkenazi communities spells the Hebrew word (, "last"): • –
Aqdamut, the reading of a
piyyut (liturgical poem) during Shavuot morning synagogue services • –
ḥalav (milk), the consumption of dairy products like milk and cheese • –
Rut, the reading of the
Book of Ruth at morning services (outside Israel: on the second day) • –
Yereq (greening), the decoration of homes and synagogues with greenery • –
Torah, engaging in all-night Torah study. The
yahrzeit of
King David is traditionally observed on Shavuot.
Hasidic Jews also observe the
yahrzeit of the
Baal Shem Tov.
Torah readings On the first day of Shavuot the story of the giving of the
Ten Commandments (
Exodus 19:1–20:23) is read in the synagogue. Many people put an emphasis on bringing their children to hear this Torah reading, based on the
Midrash which characterizes children as "guarantors" for the continuity of the Torah.
Liturgical poems Aqdamut The
Aqdamut () is a liturgical poem recited by Ashkenazi Jews extolling the greatness of God, the Torah, and Israel that is read publicly in Ashkenazic synagogues in the middle ofor in some communities right beforethe morning
Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot. It was composed by Meir of
Worms. Meir was forced to defend the Torah and his Jewish faith in a debate with local priests and successfully conveyed his certainty of God's power, His love for the Jewish people, and the excellence of Torah. Afterwards he wrote the
Aqdamut, a 90-line poem in
Aramaic that stresses these themes. The poem is written in a double
acrostic pattern according to the order of the
Hebrew alphabet. In addition, each line ends with the syllable (), the last and first letters of the Hebrew alphabet, alluding to the endlessness of Torah. The traditional melodies that accompanies this poem also conveys a sense of grandeur and triumph.
Azharot There is an ancient tradition to recite poems known as
Azharot () listing the commandments. This was already considered a well-established custom in the 9th century. These piyyutim were originally recited during the chazzan's repetition of the
Mussaf amidah; in some communities they were later moved to a different part of the service. Some Ashkenazic communities maintain the original practice of reciting the Azharot during mussaf; they recite ''
on the first day and Azharat Reishit
on the second, both from the early Geonic period. Italian Jews do the same except that they switch the piyyutim of the two day, and in recent centuries, Ata Hinchalta'' has been truncated to include only one 22-line poem instead of eight. Many
Sephardic Jews recite the Azharot of
Solomon ibn Gabirol before the mincha service; in many communities, the positive commandments are recited on the first day and the negative commandments on the second day.
Yatziv Pitgam The liturgical poem
Yatziv Pitgam () is recited by some synagogues in the diaspora on the second day of Shavuot. The author signs his name at the beginning of the poem's 15 linesYaakov ben Meir Levi, better knows as
Rabbeinu Tam.
Book of Ruth in
Boaz's Field'' by
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, oil on canvas, 1828; National Gallery, London The
Five Megillot – five books from the
Hebrew Bible – are traditionally read in synagogue on various Jewish holidays. Of these, the
Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot. Reasons given for this custom include: • Shavuot is harvest time (), and the events of Book of Ruth occur at harvest time. • Because Shavuot is traditionally cited as the day of the giving of the Torah, the entry of the entire Jewish people into the covenant of the Torah is a major theme of the day. Ruth's conversion to Judaism, and consequent entry into that covenant, is described in the book. This theme accordingly resonates with other themes of the day. • The
gematria (numerical value) of Ruth is 606. Added to the
Seven Laws of Noah, the total equals the
613 commandments in the Torah. • Another central theme of the book is
ḥesed (loving-kindness), a major theme of the Torah.
Greenery In many Jewish communities, there is a tradition to decorate homes and synagogues with plants, flowers and leafy branches on Shavuot. In fact, Persian Jews referred to the holiday as "The Mo'ed of Flowers" () in
Persian, and never as "Shavuot". A common reason given for this custom is the story that Mount Sinai suddenly blossomed with flowers in anticipation of the giving of the Torah on its summit. This idea is first mentioned in medieval Ashkenazi sources such as
Maharil. In another interpretation, flowers represent the Jewish people, which received a covenant with God on this date. The
Vilna Gaon cancelled the tradition of decorating with trees because it too closely resembles the Christian decorations for their holidays. The custom was later linked to a
Midrash which relates that the night before the Torah was given, the Israelites retired early to be well-rested for the momentous day ahead. They overslept and
Moses had to wake them up because God was already waiting on the mountaintop. To rectify this perceived flaw in the national character, many religious Jews stay up all night to learn Torah. In 1533
Joseph Caro, author of the
Shulchan Arukh, then living in
Ottoman Salonika, invited
Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz and other
Kabbalistic colleagues to hold Shavuot-night study vigils for which they prepared for three days in advance, just as the Israelites had prepared for three days before the giving of the Torah. During one of those study sessions, an angel reportedly appeared and taught them
Jewish law. It has been suggested that the introduction of
coffee throughout the
Ottoman Empire may have attributed to the "feasibility and popularity" of the practice of all-night Torah study. In contrast, the custom of Yemenite Jews is to ingest the fresh leaves of a stimulant herb called
Khat (containing
cathinone) for the all-night ritual, an herb commonly used in that region of the world. Any subject may be studied on Shavuot night, although
Talmud,
Mishnah, and
Torah typically top the list. People may learn alone or with a
chavruta (study partner), or attend late-night
shiurim (lectures) and study groups. followed by the reading of
Sefer Yetzirah, the 613 commandments as enumerated by
Maimonides, and excerpts from the
Zohar, with opening and concluding prayers. The whole reading is divided into thirteen parts, after each of which a
Kaddish d-Rabbanan is recited when the
Tiqun is studied with a
minyan. Today, this service is held in many communities, with the notable exception of
Spanish and Portuguese Jews. The service is printed in a book called
Tiqun Leyl Shavuot. There exist similar books for the vigils before the seventh day of
Pesach and
Hosha'ana Rabbah. In
Jerusalem, at the conclusion of the night time study session, tens of thousands of people walk to the
Western Wall to pray with sunrise. A week after Israel captured the
Old City during the
Six-Day War, more than 200,000 Jews streamed to the site on Shavuot, it having been made accessible to Jews for the first time since
1948.
Dairy foods Among the customs observed on Shavuot is the consumption of dairy foods, with specific dishes varying among different communities. Dairy foods such as
cheesecake, cheese
blintzes, and cheese
kreplach among
Ashkenazi Jews; cheese
sambusak,
kelsonnes (
ravioli filled with
tzfatit cheese), and
atayef (a cheese-filled pancake) among
Sephardic and
Syrian Jews;
kahee (a dough that is buttered and sugared) among
Iraqi Jews; and a seven-layer cake called
siete cielos (seven heavens) among
Tunisian and
Moroccan Jews are traditionally consumed on the Shavuot holiday. As a dessert, Sephardic Jews traditionally consume
sütlaç (a rice pudding cooked in milk) decorated with cinnamon in designs such as the
Star of David, flowers, and other patterns. Among the explanations given in rabbinic literature for the consumption of dairy foods on this holiday are: • Before they received the Torah, the Israelites were not obligated to follow its laws, which include
shechita (ritual slaughter of animals) and
kashrut. Since all their meat pots and dishes now had to be made kosher before use, they opted to eat dairy foods. • The Torah is compared to milk by King
Solomon, who wrote: "Like honey and milk, it lies under your tongue" (
Song of Songs ). • The
gematria of the Hebrew word () is 40, corresponding to the forty days and forty nights that
Moses spent on
Mount Sinai before bringing down the Torah. • According to the
Zohar, each day of the year correlates to one of the Torah's
365 negative commandments. Shavuot corresponds to the commandment "Bring the first fruits of your land to the house of God your Lord; do not cook a kid in its mother's milk" (
Exodus 34:26). Since the first day to bring
Bikkurim (the first fruits) is Shavuot, the second half of the verse refers to the custom to eat two separate mealsone milk, one meaton Shavuot. • calls Mount Sinai
Har Gavnunim (, mountain of majestic peaks), which is possibly related to
gevinah (, cheese). ==Observances in secular agricultural communities==