Passover has come and gone.  It was the start of a journey.  And Shavuot (this Wednesday, May 15) is the ending of that journey and the beginning of a new and improved journey.  It is the day that we receive Divine revelation.  It is the day that we start to see our hard work over the last several months start to manifest in this world.  It is the day we bring those first fruits to the temple, that sacred space where the infinite, where all possibilities, meets the finite, the place where one of those possibilities comes into being.  It is the time to discover the best way to harvest our hopes and dreams that are coming into reality.

Shavuot takes place on the 6th of the Hebrew month of Sivan.  Sivan is the last month of spring in the Jewish calender.  We take the first fruits of our work and give them back to the Creator as a reminder that we could not have produced them without Her help.  This giving opens us up to hearing His words telling us the best way to harvest and live with our bounty.  I say harvest, because the Hebrew word for summer, kietz, literally means harvest.  Hearing, absorbing, and assimilating new ideas sometimes takes time.  Fortunately we have 3 weeks before summer, before the harvesting begins in earnest.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.