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Shavuot: the Zeppo Marx of Jewish holidays

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WhitherThouGoest

‘Whither thou goest’ by Sandy Freckleton Gagan

Published: 9 June 2016

Last updated: 4 March 2024

The Jewish festival of Shavuot (‘Feast of Weeks’ in English) is one of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals, commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai seven weeks after the Exodus, and coincides with the wheat harvest in Israel (Exodus 34:22). It commences this year on the evening of 11 June (6 Sivan). Shavuot readings include the book of Ruth. Tikkun Leil Shavuot is a custom, dating from the 16th century, of staying up on Shavuot night to study Torah or related themes.

Shavuot: the Zeppo Marx of Jewish holidays – J.J. Goldberg – The Forward 12.05.10
Shavuot is about obedience. But it’s also subversive. Memo to our current authorities [and boundary riders]: Relax. Laws evolve, and borders were meant to be permeable. That’s worth a slice of cheesecake.

Shavuot
- Rabbi Joseph Telushkin – American Jewish World Service 2013
As we read of refugees like Naomi and her impoverished daughter-in-law, Ruth - ancestress of King David and from whom, the Jewish tradition teaches, the Messiah will one day descend - let us commit to work to protect the rights of refugees around the world. Any one of these people might be another Ruth, another Abraham, Sarah or Moses—and what deed could be greater than protecting such a person?

The Shavuot underground: how vegans celebrate
– Yam Yehoshua - Anonymous for Animal Rights 07.06.16
Upset by the suffering of cows, angry with milk producers who celebrate on our behalf, more and more Israelis do not join the so-called 'white products’ celebration over the Shavuot holiday. And a recipe too.

Me and Bobby McGee, and Shavuot
- Andrés Spokoiny (President and CEO of Jewish Funders Network) - The Times of Israel 07.06.16
When I think of Shavuot, I reflect that this iconic song’s view of freedom is radically different than the one Judaism proposes.

What sex in the Book of Ruth can teach today’s teens
– Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum – JTA 02.06.16
We tend to pride ourselves on our tradition’s values and how we pass them on to future generations; values such as education, tzedakah, loving the stranger, pursuing justice and tikkun olam, ‘repair of the world.’ But if you were to start a conversation today with a teenager, would you be ready to articulate Jewish values related to dating and sexuality?

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