[In 2011, Shavuot runs from sunset on Tuesday, June 7, to sunset, June 9, while Pentecost is Sunday, June 12. This post was originally published on May 26, 2010.]
This week is kind of a big deal. From May 18-20th, we celebrate Shavuot (Shah-voo-ote) which is the holiday of when the Israelites received the Torah from G-d on Mount Sinai. It happens to be one of my favorite Jewish holidays because the way to celebrate is by staying up all night, with a ton of people, drinking and studying text.
Last year, I went to the JCC in Manhattan where they had classes all night, plus Israeli dancing, musical performances, Krav Maga lessons (Israeli self-defense) and tons of food and wine. It’s overall a real high energy, exciting time where the City is filled with people walking from one shul to the next at all times of the night.
I actually got to Monica's post through another one called Kicking and Screaming...
Shavuot is a festival that happens fifty days after Passover in order to celebrate the event in which God gave the Torah to Moses… in other words, the event in which God gave his word to the Jewish people in the form of text. Christians, on the other hand, celebrate Pentecost fifty days after what we consider to be our Passover: Easter Sunday; fifty days days after the resurrection, the word of God was given again, except this time it was not given as written text, but as the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the believers.
Although I know that Christianity sprang from the Jewish faith, it is always interesting and uplifting to notice how closely they connect.
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