Shavuot (June 12-13, 2024), the holiday of “weeks”, commemorates Israel's receiving the Torah at Sinai. After the 49-day, 7-week countdown since Passover, we at last reach Shavuot on the 50th day. In the synagogue we read the story of the Revelation at Sinai, in which God descended upon Mount Sinai and communicated directly with Israel, giving the nation the Ten Commandments and its unique mission to God and mankind. We also read the Book of Ruth, telling the story of one of Israel's finest converts.
There are no specific mitzvot to fulfill on Shavuot, but some common customs are decorating the synagogue with plants (just as Mount Sinai blossomed), staying up all Shavuot night studying Torah, and eating dairy foods such as cheesecake.
She was a Moabite princess who converted to Judaism in the 10th century BCE, but what does her story have to do with the events at Mount Sinai more than 300 years earlier?
No day in history comes even close in the magnitude of its significance. It was a day when all the assumptions concerning life and its purpose were altered irrevocably.
Identifying as a Jew
