Jewish Shavuot Date

Shavuot: The Festival of Weeks

Shavuot (שָׁבֻוּעוֹת, “Weeks”) falls on 6 Sivan in the Hebrew calendar, which lands 50 days after Passover and usually puts it in late May or in June on the Gregorian calendar. The counting that gets you there is a commandment in its own right, Sefirat HaOmer (Counting of the Omer), which runs 49 days from the second night of Pesach.

Theologically, Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai, the founding moment of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Greek-speaking Jews called it “Pentecost” (πεντηκοστή, “fiftieth”). Christianity later borrowed the term, but for a different event, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.

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Several customs cluster around the holiday. People eat dairy foods like cheesecake and blintzes, a nod to the Torah as “milk and honey.” Synagogues and homes get decked with flowers and greenery, recalling Sinai in bloom on the day of revelation. And there is the Tikkun Leil Shavuot, an all-night vigil of Torah study. The Book of Ruth is read, which ties the harvest theme back to King David’s lineage.

FAQ

Why eat dairy on Shavuot? A few traditions point that way. The Torah gets compared to milk; before the kashrut laws were given, the Israelites held off on meat; and the gematria of chalav (milk) comes to 40, the number of days Moses spent on Sinai.

How is it related to Christian Pentecost? Both fall 50 days after Passover/Easter, yet they mean different things. Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah; Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. The event in Acts 2 happened on Shavuot for a simple reason: Jews from across the diaspora had already gathered in Jerusalem.

How long does the holiday last? One day in Israel and among Reform Jews, two days in the diaspora under Orthodox and Conservative practice. The extra day goes back to the old uncertainty about pinning down the new moon.