Chag HaShavuot, Chag HaKatzir, Chag/Yom HaBikurim, Zman Matan Torateinu….
Shavuot has so many names, but whatever you call it — it’s always my favorite holiday!
I love the whole harvest aspect, I love all the flowers (and that the little kids in Israel all wear a zer prachim, a wreath of flowers, on their heads), I love eating all the cheesecake and really anything dairy, and I love that after all our counting down (or up!), we finally reach the anniversary of HaShem giving us our precious Torah! Our nation was made complete today!
Even more special to me personally is that thirteen years ago, my daughter was named at shul on the second day of Shavuot — and that one year ago, we celebrated her bat mitzvah on Shavuot!
(You may have noticed that of all the things I wrote that I love about Shavuot, staying up all night and learning wasn’t on the list! When I was single, I did love that, too! But then I got married and had babies who never slept, and my perspective on that one changed a wee bit. Now they’re the ones staying up all night learning (or at least I hope that’s what they’re going to be doing!). Sunrise, sunset….)
Whether you’re planning to indulge in all the dairy, or stay up all night learning, or make a beautiful flower arrangement for your table… or not… we all stood at Sinai together! And for that, we all share this beautiful holiday with each other.
Wishing you a beautiful and meaningful chag! I’ll catch you on the “other side”!
xo
~ Mara
Beautiful everything you said.
Hag Shavuot sameach