Shavuot among the Jews (Feast of the Giving of the Torah, Shavuot)

Shavuot is one of the most important dates in the Jewish calendar This holiday is often called the day of the giving of the Torah, the national religious dogma Several years ago it became a national holiday, and today is a day off, regardless of what day of the week it falls on According to ancient custom, Jews celebrate the holiday for two days Shavuot is translated from the local language as “weeks” This is an important point, since to determine the exact date of the celebration it is necessary to focus on another national holiday - Passover From the second day of this date, seven weeks are counted (a total of 50 days from Passover) Only then does the celebration of Shavuot begin According to historical data, after the world-famous Egyptian events (the Exodus of the Jews), people walked through the desert for a long time and only on the fiftieth day did they reach the mountain foot of Sinai In this place, the holiest place for Jews, God gave the Torah to the travelers Conventionally, this meant concluding an agreement Thus, God gave the people the opportunity to become sacred In turn, they had to preach religious principles on the territory of various states According to legend, Moses had at his disposal a Testament with several commandments written on two stone slabs (tablets) (there were 10 in total) At the same time, the prophet inherited the verbal commandments Later, some of them were recorded in writing This is exactly how the well-known sacred Jewish book Torah turned out The rest was recorded after 1500 centuries Today, this is the famous Talmud Like most national religious holidays, Shavuot symbolizes not only a significant event for the people - the transmission of the Torah This celebration also plays an important role in the agricultural sector Figuratively it is a symbol of new life and laws In other words, it marks the beginning of the next season in the traditional calendar and the end of the agricultural year Shavuot seems to usher in summer work and coincides with the harvesting of the harvest, primarily wheat As a result of this, a special custom arose many years ago The fruits of grain crops were ground into flour, from which two loaves were made The resulting bread was presented as a gift to God, bringing it to the temple Later, this tradition was transferred to other gifts of nature - pomegranates, figs and olives The solemn day begins with prayer, where a separate part is dedicated to Shaviot In Ashkenazi settlements, before reading the Torah, local residents open the Book of Ruth In the process of reading the Pentateuch, important importance is given to the Ten Commandments Today, Israeli synagogues and Jewish temples in other countries host lavish events dedicated to Shavuot In every agricultural settlement, the holiday is always noisy and fun Scrolls of the Torah are displayed in temples, telling visitors the history of its creation among the Jews and reading out the commandments Some truly religious people go to Jerusalem, to the world-famous Western Wall, where they pray all night Food is of great importance during the holidays Focusing on ancient legends dedicated to the appearance of the Torah and sacrificial bread, local residents supplement their diet with dairy and flour foods Particularly popular are all kinds of pies, pancakes with cottage cheese, honey cakes, and any variety of dairy cuisine Indeed, according to legend, after returning from Mount Sinai, the Jews set up a camp, where they lived, eating mainly dairy products