Shavuot 5780 - Youth Tefillah Blog

This weekend there is a special holiday called Shavuot. This holiday is one of three holidays called, pilgrimage festivals. Three times a year, our ancestors, would pack up their families and head towards the city of Jerusalem. There, they would gather, give gifts to God at the Temple, and say thank you!

What is something that you are grateful for?

Each Jewish holiday celebrates a story and something about nature. Shavuot is about the barley harvest. Each year our ancestors would gather up all of the barley they grew and would celebrate. Just like them, we are so lucky to have so much.

The other aspect of Shavuot is celebrating the special moment that God gave us, the Jewish people, the Torah. The people were standing around Mount Sinai, a small mountain, and there were thunder and lightening. It was a little scary. But in the end, we got this really important gift.

If you could give a gift, what would it be?

This gift was all of the rules and holidays of Judaism! It teaches us how to be kind to each other, how to share what we have, and to be happy together. This gift, the Torah, teaches us how we can be the best people we can be, to grow strong in our hearts, minds, and bodies. We celebrate this holiday by asking good questions, reading lots of books, and eating sweet foods.

What do you like to learn about?

On Shavuot, we remember how lucky we are to have so much, how fun it is to learn new things, and being together. It is one of the pilgrimage festivals and one of the best of the year!

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