Why Is Shavuot Called "Weeks"? The Hidden Link to the Manna

SHAVUOT — MAY 22-24

The seven weeks before Shavuot aren't a countdown. They're a re-enactment.

The Hebrew word "Omer" — the offering that opens the count — appears in only one other place in the entire Torah. And once you see where, the whole holiday changes.

Watch the 13-minute video

SHAVUOT — MAY 22-24

The seven weeks before Shavuot aren't a countdown. They're a re-enactment.

The Hebrew word "Omer" — the offering that opens the count — appears in only one other place in the entire Torah. And once you see where, the whole holiday changes.

Watch the 13-minute video

Shavuot has a strange name.

The Torah doesn't call it "Torah Day" or "Law Day" or "Sinai Day." It calls it Shavuot — literally, "Weeks."

Seven weeks of counting between Passover and the day we received the Torah. Why name a holiday after a unit of time?

The seven-week count begins with the Omer offering — a measure of grain.

The word omer (עמר) appears in only one other place in the entire Torah:

The Manna.

The bread from heaven that fell every morning during the forty years in the desert. The first portion of grain ever introduced to the people of Israel. The first time the concept of Sabbath was ever taught.

The seven weeks aren't waiting. They're a re-enactment.

Why we actually celebrate Shavuot

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Why Is Shavuot Celebrated

"Shavuot! Laws!!! WOOHOO!!!"...said no one ever. So... why should we be excited about celebrating Shavuot? About the day when we honor the giving of the Torah? A super pious person might say: "We're rejoicing in the obligations that God placed upon us!", and while that sounds really nice and religious, let's get real: those laws are burdensome. So why are we pretending that they're so great?

And when you think about when God imposed these mitzvot on us, you have to ask: Wasn't it pretty lousy timing? We received the Torah fewer than two months after leaving bondage in Egypt. It's like we just got done celebrating our freedom from one master, from Pharaoh, and all of a sudden, God swoops in and says, "It's nice being free, huh? BAM!! 613 laws. You answer to Me now. Say bye-bye to your freedom. How do you like that?"

And... that's what we're celebrating on Shavuot??!

Look, no one's suggesting that we defy God. He's... God. The laws are the laws. But do we really have to be excited about it?

Watch this video and get excited about why we celebrate Shavuot. For real.

Discover other great Shavuot videos at Aleph Beta, including ‘The Origin of Shavuot’, ‘Our Guide To Celebrating Shavuot’, and more Shavuot Divrei Torah & Videos!

Animated Video

• 13 mins 28 secs

Rabbi David Fohrman

More Shavuot content

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