TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2024
Yom Tov Candle lighting (Blessings #1 & 2) 8:25 PM
Mincha & Ma’ariv 8:30 PM
Return to the synagogue 11:00 PM
for Tikkun Leil Shavuot (please click to register):
High quality Torah learning, Exciting presentations
& discussions, BBQ at 3:30 AM, Sunrise prayer service at 4:30 AM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12 YOM TOV
Shacharit Services 9:00 AM
Mincha & Ma'ariv 8:30 PM
Candle Lighting after 9:42 PM
from an existing flame (Blessing #1)
THURSDAY, JUNE 13 YOM TOV
Shacharit 9:00 AM
Yizkor 10:30 AM
Ne'ilat Chag Shavuot - afternoon learning
Mincha 8:00 PM
followed by presentations and study and refreshments
Ma'ariv and Havdalah to end Yom Tov and Shabbat
Yom Tov concludes 9:43 PM
Blessing #1 Yom Tov
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with commandments, and commanded us to light festival candles.
Blessing #2 Shehecheyanu
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam sheheheyanu v’kiyimanu, v’higiyanu laz’man hazeh.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has given us life, and sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.
What is Shavuot?
The Torah was given by God to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai more than 3300 years ago. Every year on the holiday of Shavuot we
renew our acceptance of God’s gift, and God “re-gives” the Torah.
In biblical times Shavuot also marked the beginning of the new agricultural season and was called Chag HaKatzir, which means
“The Harvest Holiday.” Other names Shavuot is known by are “The Feast of Weeks” which marks the completion of the seven week
counting period between Passover and Shavuot and Chag HaBikurim, meaning “The Holiday of First Fruits.” This last name comes
from the practice of bringing fruits to the Temple on Shavuot.
After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE the Rabbis connected Shavuot with the Revelation at Mt. Sinai, when God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. This is why Shavuot celebrates the giving and receiving of the Torah in modern times.
The giving of the Torah was a far-reaching spiritual event, one that touched the essence of the Jewish soul for all times. Our sages have compared it to a wedding between God and the Jewish people. Shavuot also means “oaths,” for on this day God swore eternal devotion to us, and we in turn pledged everlasting loyalty to Him. It is a Shavuot tradition to adorn the synagogue and the home with greenery, fragrant flowers, leaves, boughs and trees.
The holiday of Shavuot is a two-day holiday, beginning at sundown on the 5th of Sivan, June 11th and lasting until nightfall of the 7th of Sivan, June 13th. Women and girls light holiday candles to usher in the holiday, on both the first and second evenings of the holidays. Candles on the first night are lit at 8:25 PM and on the second night must be lit from an existing flame after 9:42 PM. As on other holidays, special meals are eaten, and no “work” may be performed.
The Ten Commandments combine two sets of relationships: Duties between man and God, and our duties from person to person. Come with your children to the Synagogue to hear the Ten Commandments.
Many Jews commemorate Shavuot by spending the entire night studying Torah at their synagogue or at home. This all-night gathering is known as Tikkun Leil Shavuot.
It is customary to eat dairy foods on Shavuot. Among other reasons, this commemorates the fact that upon receiving the Torah, including the kosher laws, the Jewish people could not cook meat in their pots, which had yet to be rendered kosher.
On the second day of Shavuot, the Yizkor memorial service is recited.
