Shavuot – Feast of Weeks

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We Celebrate Shavuot.Shavuot – Feast of Weeks

Shavuot, also known as the Feast of Weeks, is a Hebrew Feast that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. Literally meaning “Weeks” or “seven”, Shavuot (שָׁבוּעוֹת) occurs 50 days or seven weeks (i.e. “a week of weeks”) after Passover. It is a harvest celebration that marks the wheat harvest in Israel and spiritually celebrates the anniversary of the day when Adonai gave men the Torah at mount Sinai.

It’s a celebration of the perfection of the One True God who, in the old testament, wrote his laws in tablets of stone and on the same day, in the new testament, wrote his laws in our hearts. We celebrate the arrival of the Torah and we celebrate the earthly arrival of the Ruach HaKodesh – The Holy Spirit of God.

 

When & Where

Every year we celebrate the feast of Shavuot for two days starting on the evening of the first Holy Day as prescribed on chapter 23 of the book of Leviticus.

“‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord. And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.”
Leviticus 23:15-21

 

Three Historic Facts & A Warning

  • Shavuot is not explicitly named in the Bible as the day on which the Torah was revealed by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, although this is commonly considered to be its main significance.
  • During the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, an offering of two loaves of bread from the wheat harvest was made on Shavuot.
  • Shavuot, Passover and Sukkot share two important characteristics: All tree Feasts involve a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and all tree holidays involve firstfruit offerings at the temple.

Warning: In today’s “prosperity gospel” and money driven world, “firstfruits” have been turned into a “special money offering” to be given to the church. This is a lie and a distortion of what firstfruits are supposed to be. So, don’t fall for it.

 

In The Old Testament

Shavuot is called the “Festival of Weeks” (חג השבועות‎) on Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10; “Festival of Reaping” (חג הקציר) on Exodus 23:16, and “Day of the First Fruits” (יום הבכורים) on Numbers 28:26.

“Observe the festival of Shavu‘ot with the first-gathered produce of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. …”

Exodus 34:22

 

“You are to observe the festival of Shavu‘ot [weeks] for Adonai your God with a voluntary offering, which you are to give in accordance with the degree to which Adonai your God has prospered you. …”

Deuteronomy 16:10

 

“Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts.”

Exodus 23:16

 

“‘On the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to Adonai in your feast of Shavu‘ot, you are to have a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work;…”

Numbers 28:26

 

In The New Testament

In today’s bible translations, what is called Pentecost was in fact a celebration of the Hebrew Feast of Shavuot and the celebration of God’s provisions and delivery of the Torah to the community of Israel.

Shavuot was the reason why there were people “from every nation” gathered in one place.

“Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem religious Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered; they were confused, because each one heard the believers speaking in his own language.” 

Acts 2:3-5

 

Going Deeper

During the arrival of the Torah on Mount Sinai, Hashem wrote his laws on tablets of stone. Likewise, during the arrival of the Ruach HaKodesh, Hashem wrote his laws on our hearts to reiterate its importance. To provide to the chosen people a compass that would always point to our Savior. As He Himself said:

“If you love me, you will keep my commands”

John 14:15

Interesting enough, the conditional statement above is followed by a promise:

“and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.”

John 14:16

 

Conclusion

When you understand the correlation between these events, you understand why there were so many people from so many different languages gathered in one place. You also understand how perfect Hashem is and the fact that his Feasts foreshadow cyclical events that were pre-assigned to happen until the end of time. Therefore, it is very important to understand that we were not made to celebrate feasts and holidays made by man and his traditions. We were made to “keep his commands” if we love Him. 

The Lord Yeshua, kept and celebrated these Feasts. As a reminder, he didn’t do away with the law, Feasts or celebrations, but rather, he faithfully obeyed the Father and kept them. Also, by the examples given by the apostles and disciples, we know that they continued to copy what Yeshua did after Yeshua went back to Heaven. 

There is no evidence in the bible that shows either Yeshua or any of his apostles, disciples or followers celebrating easter, christmas, three kings, ash Wednesday, immaculate conception or any of the other nonsense traditions and ideologies created by man. These are distractions and we must resist their lure and return to the first love and re-align ourselves to Hashem’s Feasts and celebrations as a reminder of his perfect plan for humanity. We were not made to follow the opinions or creations of man, but the example set by our Lord and Savior. The alternative provided by many of today’s preachers is to create your own jesus (god) and worship it. To ignore the eternal laws of God and follow traditions that do not exist in the bible. Ask yourself: Who am I really following? Repent and return to the first love.

 

Shalom!

Rabbi Douglas