Fifty
days after Pesach, on the 6th of Sivan, is the festival
of Shavuot, or Pentecost.
Shavuot is compared to a wedding, for it was
on Shavuot that the covenant between God and the Jewish
People was sealed at Mount Sinai.
The exchange of love between God and the Jewish
people is symbolized by the dual nature of the holiday:
Shavuot is both an agricultural festival, commemorating
the offering of the people's first fruits in the Temple,
and a spiritual climax, commemorating God's giving of
the Torah to the Jewish nation.
The freewill offering of Shavuot is beautifully
expressed in the Mishnah (Peah 1:1):
"These are things that have no limit: the corner
of the field (from which the poor can glean), the first
fruits, the offering (brought on the three Pilgrimage
Festivals), and the study of Torah."
