To our Jewish friends: Chag Shavuot Sameach

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

This evening we shall start celebrating the Jewish holiday of ‘Shavuot’ ( meaning ‘weeks’ in Hebrew ) which commemorates the giving of the Torah (the Law) to the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai ( which include the 10 Commandments ).
It’s also known as ‘the feast of the weeks’ and sometimes referred to as ‘Pentecost’ ( meaning ‘fifty’ in Greek ) since it occurs 50 days after the first day of Passover.

The 10 Commandments laid the foundation stone of ‘the ethics and the moral values’ that are the basis of our culture and the bedrock of the civilized society. As Winston Churchill said : “We owe to the Jews a system of ethics…the most important possession of mankind.”

Shavuot was one of the three ‘Pilgrimage Festivals’ when the Jewish People made pilgrimage to their Temple in Jerusalem, to bring ‘the First Fruits’ (‘Bikkurim’). Shavuot also commemorates the spring harvest, which was one of the ‘Harvest Festivals’ when wheat was harvested.

During this holiday we shall be eating a lot ( like in every Jewish Holiday ! ), mainly dairy products symbolic of the ‘Land of Milk and Honey’ ), and the ‘7 Species’ of the Land of Israel ( wheat, barley, figs, pomegranates, olives, grapes and dates ).

A blessed and a peaceful Shavuot!