Pentecost Shavuot

Beginning at Sundown May 14 through Wednesday, May 15, 2013 the Jewish holiday of Shavuot or Pentecost is celebrated. This holiday is known by several names in the Bible, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the Harvest, and the Latter Firstfruits and is celebrated 50 days after Passover, so it also became known as Pentecost, which means “50” in Greek.

Pentecost Shavuot is a joyous time of giving thanks and presenting offerings for the new grain of the summer wheat harvest. The celebration of Pentecost Shavuot or The Feast of Weeks was celebrated because God commanded the Jews (Leviticus 23:15-22) to count seven full weeks beginning on the first Sunday after the first Sabbath after the Passover Lamb is sacrificed, and then present offerings of new grain to the Lord. Often called Matan Torah (giving of the Law), it is tied to the Torah because it is believed God gave Moses the Torah at Mount Sinai at this time. Pentecost Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage feasts when all Jewish males were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem. (Deut. 16:16)

Throughout Jewish history it has been customary to engage in an all-night study of the Torah on the first evening of Pentecost. Children were encouraged to memorize scripture and rewarded with treats. Traditional observance of the holiday includes lighting candles and reciting blessings, adorning their homes with greenery, eating dairy foods, studying the Torah and reading the Book of Ruth.

On behalf of The Joshua Fund board and staff, we want to wish all of our Jewish and Israeli friends a blessed and peaceful Pentecost Shavuot. Please join us in praying for the peace of Jerusalem, for the peace of all people in the epicenter, wisdom for the leaders of the region, as well as for U.S. leaders.

'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. Leviticus 23: 15 – 17 (NKJV)

And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Exodus 34:22 (NKJV)

"Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Deuteronomy 16:16 (NKJV)

“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:3 (NKJV)

(Photo credit: Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

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