Shavuot: the giving of the Torah שָׁבוּעוֹת
Shavuot, the “Feast of Weeks”, falls on the 6th of Sivan, fifty days after the start of Passover, in May or June. It celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the wheat harvest. It lasts one day in Israel and two in the Diaspora.
Feast of Weeks · Pentecost · Zeman Matan Torateinu · שבועות · 6 Sivan (6–7 in the Diaspora)
What is Shavuot?
The Torah describes Shavuot as an agricultural festival: after counting seven weeks from Passover, a new offering of wheat is brought, and the first fruits (bikkurim) are presented in the Temple. The festival has no fixed date in the Torah – it is defined by the counting – which is why its name means simply “weeks”.
The Sages identified the day with the giving of the Torah: according to the Talmud the Ten Commandments were proclaimed at Sinai on the sixth of Sivan. The prayers call Shavuot zeman matan Torateinu, “the season of the giving of our Torah”. Passover is the physical freedom from Egypt; Shavuot gives that freedom its purpose.
How Shavuot is observed
How Shavuot is kept
- Shavuot is a Yom Tov: candles are lit, Kiddush is made, and work is forbidden as on Shabbat, except cooking and carrying for the day’s needs.
- Many stay up the whole first night learning Torah (Tikkun Leil Shavuot), and pray Shacharit at sunrise.
- The Ten Commandments (Exodus 19–20) are read in the synagogue, the congregation standing; on the second day in the Diaspora Yizkor is said by Ashkenazim.
- The Book of Ruth is read – a story of harvest, kindness and a convert who accepts the Torah – and its last verse lists King David, who, according to tradition, was born and died on Shavuot.
Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs
- Dairy foods: most communities eat a dairy meal – cheesecake, blintzes, Sephardi cheese pastries (sambusak, bourekas) – with several explanations, among them that the newly given laws of kashrut made meat preparation impossible on that day.
- Greenery: many decorate the synagogue and home with plants and flowers, recalling the greenery of Sinai and the first fruits (Rema 494:3); the Vilna Gaon discouraged trees in the synagogue.
- Ashkenazim read Akdamut, an Aramaic poem, before the Torah reading; Sephardim read the azharot (poems on the 613 commandments) and a ketubah symbolizing the covenant between God and Israel.
- In Israel, children bring baskets of first fruits in kindergarten and school ceremonies.
Shavuot dates 2025–2028
Dates follow the Diaspora schedule. Jewish days begin at sundown: a holiday starts in the evening before its first day and ends at nightfall.
| Year | Begins | Ends | Hebrew date | In Israel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Sundown, Sunday, June 1, 2025 | Nightfall, Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 6 Sivan 5785 – 7 Sivan 5785 | Ends Monday, June 2, 2025 |
| 2026 | Sundown, Thursday, May 21, 2026 | Nightfall, Saturday, May 23, 2026 | 6 Sivan 5786 – 7 Sivan 5786 | Ends Friday, May 22, 2026 |
| 2027 | Sundown, Thursday, June 10, 2027 | Nightfall, Saturday, June 12, 2027 | 6 Sivan 5787 – 7 Sivan 5787 | Ends Friday, June 11, 2027 |
| 2028 | Sundown, Tuesday, May 30, 2028 | Nightfall, Thursday, June 1, 2028 | 6 Sivan 5788 – 7 Sivan 5788 | Ends Wednesday, May 31, 2028 |
Israel and the Diaspora
Shavuot is one day in Israel (6 Sivan) and two days in the Diaspora (6–7 Sivan).
Candle-lighting times
Candle-lighting and havdalah times for Shabbat and Yom Tov in 94 cities, computed for your location: Shabbat & holiday candle-lighting times
Related prayers
- Friday Night Kiddush קידוש ליל שבת
- Shabbat Candle Blessing הדלקת נרות שבת
- Havdalah הבדלה
Greetings
- Chag Sameach (חג שמח) – “Happy holiday”.
- Chag Shavuot Sameach (חג שבועות שמח) – “Happy Shavuot”.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Shavuot in 2027?
- In 2027, Shavuot begins at sundown on Thursday, June 10, 2027 and ends at nightfall on Saturday, June 12, 2027. In Israel it ends one day earlier, at nightfall on Friday, June 11, 2027.
- Why is Shavuot called the Feast of Weeks?
- Because it falls at the end of seven weeks counted from Passover (the Omer). In Greek it was called Pentecost, “fiftieth”, for the fiftieth day.
- Why do Jews eat dairy on Shavuot?
- Explanations include: the Torah is compared to milk (Song of Songs 4:11); after receiving the laws of kashrut the Israelites had no kosher meat ready; and the dairy meal recalls the two loaves offered on Shavuot. Many still also eat meat at the festive meal.
- Why stay up all night on Shavuot?
- A midrash relates that the Israelites slept late on the morning of the giving of the Torah; staying awake and learning is a way of showing eagerness to receive it.
- Why is the Book of Ruth read on Shavuot?
- The story takes place at the harvest, and Ruth’s acceptance of the Jewish people mirrors the acceptance of the Torah at Sinai; Ruth is also the ancestor of King David.
Sources
- Leviticus 23:16
עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת תִּסְפְּרוּ חֲמִשִּׁים יוֹם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם מִנְחָה חֲדָשָׁה לַיהוָה
Count fifty days and bring a new offering – Shavuot follows the seven weeks of the Omer.
- Exodus 34:22
וְחַג שָׁבֻעֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה לְךָ בִּכּוּרֵי קְצִיר חִטִּים וְחַג הָאָסִיף תְּקוּפַת הַשָּׁנָה
“The festival of weeks, the first fruits of the wheat harvest.”
- Exodus 19:1
בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי
In the third month the Israelites reached Sinai – the setting of the giving of the Torah.
- Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 86b
The Ten Commandments were given on the sixth (or seventh) of Sivan.
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 494 (with the Rema)
The Shavuot prayers, greenery in the synagogue and the custom of dairy foods.
Hebrew verses: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain) via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. The explanations on this page are our own, not translations.
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For learning and general information only. Customs differ between communities; for halachic questions ask your rabbi.