June 11, 2024
The Jewish World Organization Menora shares its message for Argentine society in tune with the inspiration of the Shavuot holiday that begins on Tuesday, June 11. It also answers the most common queries about the meaning and traditions of this holiday.
Shavuot begins on Tuesday, June 11 and ends on Thursday, June 13. It is a Jewish holiday that remembers the revelation of the Torah, especially the Ten Commandments, and calls us to improve society through the implementation of fair laws. Below there is a guide to the complete information:
What is Shavuot?
Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments to the People of Israel on Mount Sinai. After the miraculous exit from Egypt, we Jews received the Law that compresses the foundations of our religion.
The message of Shavuot is that the existence of fair laws is the basis for the proper functioning of society.
The Story of Shavuot
On Shavuot, which is celebrated 49 days after Passover, we remember the giving of the Law.
The Jewish people, guided by Moses and under the leadership of God, free themselves from the oppression and slavery imposed by Pharaoh and leave Egypt towards freedom. They head towards Mount Sinai and, once there, they prepare with enthusiasm and joy to receive the Law. Finally, 49 days after the exodus from Egypt, God begins to transmit the Torah, especially the Ten Commandments and the fundamentals of the Law.
When is Shavuot celebrated?
Shavuot literally means “weeks” because it is celebrated seven weeks (49 days) after the first day of Passover. It is a single day celebration in the Land of Israel but it lasts two days in the Diaspora. This year, 2024, in Argentina, it begins during sunset on Tuesday, June 11 and ends on Thursday, June 13.
How do you greet others on Shavuot?
The traditional greeting is Chag Shavuot Sameach or simply Chag Sameach which translate as “Happy holiday of Shavuot (Weeks)” or “Happy holiday” respectively.
What is the spiritual purpose of Shavuot?
Shavuot reminds us that we have to work together to build a fair society.
How is Shavuot celebrated?
Synagogues and homes are decorated with flowers and ornaments. Special prayers related to the holiday are also said.
What are the customs of Shavuot?
It is customary to stay up all night studying the Holy Scriptures and other sacred texts. It is also traditional to eat dairy foods.
Shavuot Message
By Chief Rabbi Isaac Sacca. June 2024.
On the 6th (in the diaspora, also the 7th) day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, the holiday of Shavuot is celebrated (this year 2024, in the diaspora it is from the night of Tuesday, June 11 to the afternoon of Thursday, June 13). What meaning does this holiday have and what is its universal message?
Shavuot remembers and recreates the moment when the people of Israel receive the Torah as a way of life: God delivers the Law, encapsulated in the Ten Commandments, on Mount Sinai and summons the Jewish people to live according to its precepts. This miraculous and supernatural event, of Divine revelation, is a transcendental moment in the history of humanity. There God reveals, publicly, to an entire people, the foundations of the Abrahamic religions. For this reason, Christians, Muslims and Jews treasure this occurrence as a great and superlative event.
However, Shavuot contains a message that transcends the strictly religious: the importance of the law as the ultimate foundation of justice and the proper functioning of society. God instructs the people of Israel with the Ten Commandments, which are the basis of their legal order, to teach them that society needs laws for justice and well-being.
In today’s world, it is fashionable to think that everything is relative: it is said that morality is only a matter of personal taste; that justice is the imposition of the powerful and that truth is a social construction. This leads to a loss of trust in institutions and a dissolution of social ties. Then the bridges between people are broken and each individual creates their own reality, divorced from the collective. In this way, intolerance, discrimination and hatred are generated and exacerbated.
To counter this trend, we must rebuild the very foundations of the social pact: living together means living as a community. This entails finding a shared mission that gives meaning to our collective existence as a society.
