The word Shavuot means "weeks" in Hebrew and marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer. Its date is directly linked to that of Passover; the Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot, they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.[3]
While Shavuot is sometimes referred to as Pentecost (in Koinē Greek: Πεντηκοστή, romanized: Pentecostē, lit. 'Fiftieth') due to its timing fifty days after the first day of Passover, it is not the same celebration as the Christian Pentecost or Whitsun, which comes fifty days after Easter.[4][Note 1][5] That said, the two festivals are related, as the first Day of Pentecost, related in the Acts of the Apostles, is said to have happened on Shavuot.
2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad -
Shavu’ot and Its Relationship with Pesaḥ - Peninei Halacha
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This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Bamidbar: Perfecting Our Middot Through Parenting
The Torah in Parashat Bamidbar briefly recounts the death of Nadab and Abihu, Aharon’s two older sons: "Nadab and Abihu died before God…and they had no children" (3:4). The Gemara in Masechet Yebamot interprets this verse to mean that Nadav and Abihu died because they did not beget children. On this basis, the Gemara establishes that one who does not involve himself in Periya Ve’ribya – the Misva of begetting children – is liable to death, just as Nadab and Abihu died because of their refusal to have children.
The commentators raise the question as to how the Gemara can attribute Nadab and Abihu’s death to their decision not to have children. After all, the Torah right here in this Pasuk states explicitly that they died on account of their irreverence toward the Mishkan, for bringing an unwarranted offering. And the Midrash gives other reasons for their untimely death – drinking wine before entering the Mishkan, and acting disrespectfully toward Moshe and Aharon. How, then, are we to understand the Gemara’s comment that Nadab and Abihu died because of their decision not to beget children?
The Hatam Sofer (Rabbi Moshe Sofer of Pressburg, 1762-1839) explained that Nadab and Abihu’s refusal to have children is the root cause of their other sins, which all have to do with a lack of respect. The irreverence they showed toward Moshe and Aharon and toward the Mishkan was the result of their failure to cultivate proper Middot (character traits) – a failure which could have been averted if they had begotten children. Parenting, the Hatam Sofer says, is the most effective means of perfecting one’s character. Children look to their parents as examples to follow, and thus parents have no choice but to be careful how they speak and act. Keenly aware of the effect our behavior has on our children’s character development, we are forced to conduct ourselves in a dignified, respectful and becoming manner. Strange as it may seem, parenting is not only about building our children, but also about building ourselves. We perfect our characters by being parents, as the role forces us to conduct ourselves in the way we want our children to behave. And so, the Hatam Sofer says, Nadab and Abihu died because they did not have children. Being childless denied them the opportunity to develop their characters and their sense of humility and respect, and thus indirectly caused their untimely death.
On Shabuot we read the Aseret Hadibberot – the Ten Commandments that Beneh Yisrael heard at Sinai. The Midrash comments that the Ten Commandments are divided into two sets of five, and each commandment corresponds to the parallel commandment in the other set. Thus, for example, the first commandment – "I am Hashem your God" – corresponds to the sixth commandment – murder – because murder constitutes the destruction of the divine image. The second commandment – idolatry – corresponds to the seventh commandment – adultery – because worshipping a foreign deity is a betrayal of God comparable to marital infidelity. Interestingly enough, according to this structure, the fifth commandment – honoring parents – corresponds to "Lo Tahmod," the prohibition against envy. The Midrash explains that somebody who is envious of other people will have children who disrespect him and will show respect to other people in their lives, instead, and this accounts for the implied link between these Misvot.
Why are disrespectful children the consequence of envy?
If children grow up around envious parents, who frequently speak of their desire to have what others have, then they, the children, will naturally become envious people. And it is then likely that they will be envious of their friends’ parents. If we cause our children to be jealous people, we may very well be causing them to disrespect us – because they will be jealous of their friends and show greater respect to their friends’ parents than to their own parents.
Parenting is a precious privilege and opportunity for many reasons, and one reason which we should not overlook is the way it can help us become better people. But this will only happen if we remember how much our behavior affects our children’s development, that the way we act directly impacts upon their characters. By being careful how we act and speak around our children, we not only help them develop and cultivate proper Middot – but we help ourselves perfect our own characters, as well.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
Shavu’ot and Its Relationship with Pesaḥ
Peninei Halacha
There are four names for the festival of Shavu’ot:
Shavu’ot, as we read: “Then you shall observe the Festival of Weeks (Ḥag Shavu’ot) for the Lord your God” (Devarim 16:10).
The Harvest Festival (Ḥag Ha-katzir), as we read: “the Festival of the Harvest, of the first fruits of your work, of what you sow in the field” (Shemot 23:16).
The Day of the First Fruits (Yom Ha-bikurim), as we read: “on the day of the first fruits, your Festival of Weeks, when you bring an offering of new grain to the Lord” (Bamidbar 28:26).
The Gathering (Atzeret), the festival’s name in rabbinic literature.
We will begin by explaining its primary name – Shavu’ot.
The timing of Shavu’ot is unique. All other festivals have a defined date – Pesaḥ starts on the fifteenth of Nisan, Rosh Ha-shana on the first of Tishrei, Yom Kippur on the tenth of Tishrei, and Sukkot on the fifteenth of Tishrei. However, Shavu’ot has no assigned date. Its date is dependent upon Sefirat Ha-omer. The omer offering was brought on the second day of Pesaḥ. From that day, we count seven weeks, for a total of 49 days.
The following day (the fiftieth) is celebrated as Shavu’ot. Thus we read: “And from the day you bring the sheaf (omer) of elevation offering – the day after the Sabbath – you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you must count until the day after the seventh week – fifty days, then you shall bring an offering of new grain to the Lord” (Vayikra 23:15-16). Similarly, we read: “You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Festival of Weeks for the Lord your God” (Devarim 16:9-10). True, nowadays Shavu’ot is always on the sixth of Sivan, but this is because we have a set calendar. In the past, when rabbinic courts were comprised of properly ordained judges (musmakhim), they would sanctify the new moon, determining Rosh Ḥodesh based on testimony as to the moon’s appearance. Under those circumstances, the festival was sometimes celebrated on the fifth or seventh of Sivan.
Accordingly, the timing of Shavu’ot depends upon the timing of Pesaḥ. The implication is that only by starting with Pesaḥ can we get to Shavu’ot and the giving of the Torah. Two interconnected principles were revealed on Pesaḥ – the Jewish people’s uniqueness, and simple faith (emuna peshuta). When God chose Israel as His special nation, smote the Egyptians, and led His nation to freedom, He demonstrated that there is a Creator Who runs the world. Jews have this simple faith. However, for this faith to reach its full expression and allow us to help the world progress toward redemption, we need the Torah as well, for it contains the values, commandments, and guidance necessary to perfect the world. This is the meaning of what we say in the berakhot on the Torah: “Who chose us from among all the nations” refers to Pesaḥ, while “and gave us His Torah” refers to Shavu’ot. Without the natural and basic Jewish faith revealed on Pesaḥ, it would be impossible to arrive at the deep and complex faith represented by Shavu’ot. Conversely, our natural faith and our uniqueness could not survive without the Torah given on Shavu’ot (see Peninei Halakha: Pesaḥ 1:1 and Zemanim 2:1-2).
God gave us the festivals of Pesaḥ and Shavu’ot so that we may relive the miraculous events of the Exodus, and to once again remind us of the uniqueness of the Jews and simple faith. These realizations allow us to use the time of Sefirat Ha-omer to gradually ascend to the sacred day on which the Torah was given, when our faith becomes whole and complete. Each year we can rise higher and higher. Ultimately, the whole world will be filled with righteousness and justice, mercy and compassion, and the land will be filled with the knowledge of God.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
Chag Shavuot Sameach
David Azerad
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2) Halakhat Hashavoua (Halakhot related to day to day life) By Hazzan David Azerad -
The History of the Sanctification of the Moon- Peninei Halacha
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This Week's Parasha Insight with Rabbi Eli Mansour
Parashat Behar-Behukotai: Freedom and Family
The Torah in Parashat Behar presents the laws that apply on the Yobel, or the "jubilee" year which was observed every fifty years during the times of the Bet Ha’mikdash. One of the laws of the Yobel is that all servants would be released. In those times, men who fell into poverty had the option of selling themselves as servants as a means of sustenance. The Torah commands that servants may not be held indefinitely, and on the Yobel all servants must be released.
Interestingly, when the Torah formulates this command, it emphasizes that with the onset of the jubilee, the servant returns to his family ("Ve’ish El Mishpahto Tashubu" – 25:10). Rather than simply state that the servant is set free, the Torah found it necessary to note that the servant returns to his family.
Contemporary society, to a large extent, views family as a burden that undermines a person’s freedom. To be free, we are trained to think, means being free from responsibilities and obligations, and family life imposes many responsibilities and obligations. The Torah has a fundamentally different understanding of the concept of freedom, teaching that the ultimate freedom is the ability to act the way we are supposed to act – which includes caring for one’s spouse, children, parents, siblings and relatives. We are not to see family as a difficult burden which we begrudgingly bear. We should embrace the challenges and obligations associated with family life, and view them as one of our greatest privileges and among the greatest sources of joy and satisfaction that we can have.
And thus the jubilee, the year of "freedom," is described as a time for families to reunite. The servant does not just go anywhere on the Yobel; he must go back to his family, where he belongs. Family life does not undermine freedom; it is one of the greatest expressions of freedom, and thus the freedom granted by Yobel demands a return to family.
Halachot this week are selected and Translated by Hazzan David Azerad
The History of the Sanctification of the Moon- Peninei Halacha
As a result of Roman persecution, the Jewish settlement in the Holy Land dwindled during the Talmudic period, while the larger community of Jews became ensconced in Babylonia and advanced in all areas. Nonetheless, the Sages of Eretz Yisrael retained the authority to sanctify months and intercalate years, as it says, “For out of Zion will go forth the Torah”(Yeshayahu, 2:3), and they dispatched messengers every month to inform the Jews residing in the Diaspora when the new month began. Only on rare occasions, like during the Beitar revolt, when the situation in the Holy Land was unbearable, and the Sages could not sanctify the months, judges ordained in Eretz Yisrael would leave the Land and journey to a place where the anti-Jewish decrees did not reach, to calculate the the months and the years.
Eventually, the Roman decrees intensified. As a result of Christian influence, decrees were aimed at the Sages in an attempt to stop them from sanctifying the months. During this period, the Rabbis of Eretz Yisrael sometimes had to sanctify a month while they were in hiding, and then inform the Sages of Babylonia by way of a secret letter (see Sanhedrin 12a).
Towards the end of the Talmudic period, Hillel the Second realized that the rabbinic courts of Eretz Yisrael would no longer be able to sanctify the months. He feared that hardships and evil decrees would lead to the termination of the institution of semichah. As Nasi, Hillel had the authority to fix the calendar, for he had inherited the presidency of the high court in a generational chain from Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. Therefore, he and his fellow judges took the initiative and calculated the months and years forever, consecrated them in advance. Thus, in the year 4119 from creation (359 CE), the Jewish people began to count the months according to the Jewish calendar that Rabbi Hillel HaNasi established. We pray that we will soon be privileged to witness the final redemption, when the Beit Din in Jerusalem will once again sanctify the months.
The Rambam explains a very important concept, teaching that the sanctification of the months depends on the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael, even after semichah was abolished. When the Jews of the Holy Land calculate the order of the months based on the fixed formula that Hillel used to establish the calendar, then the months are sanctified. If, however, no Jews lived in Eretz Yisrael, God forbid, the order of the months, along with all the holidays, would cease to exist. The Rambam adds, “God forbid that He should do such a thing, for He has promised us that the remnants of our nation will never be destroyed.
Bevirkat Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
David Azerad
3) HOLY JoKeS!!
Selection of funny snippets, loosely related to this weeks parashah or current events, to brighten your day
4) FOR KIDS
Click on the image to open the youtube video
LIFECYCLE EVENTS
Celebrate a lifecycle event with us by sponsoring a Kiddouch
