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A Pilgrimage Festival
Shavuot is one of the three festivals (Passover/Pesach and The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot being the two others) on which the Israelites brought offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem. On Shavuot, offerings were brought from the first fruits to ripen in the Land of Israel.
Caravans of pilgrims traveled in processions to Jerusalem where they were joyfully greeted by the people of the city. In the Mishnah (Bikurim 3), this journey is graphically
described:
"When a man descends into his field and sees a fig ... or
a cluster of grapes ... or a pomegranate that has begun to
ripen, he ties it round with reed grass and says: 'Behold
these are first fruits.'"
How did they take the first fruits to Jerusalem? All the smaller
towns of a vicinity assembled in the town where the head
of the province lived and they lodged for the night in the
street, not entering the houses.
Early in the morning the leader would say: 'Arise and
let us go up unto Zion into the House of the Eternal our God.'
The flutes played before the pilgrims until they drew near
to Jerusalem. When the pilgrims arrived, they sent messengers
ahead of the group and adorned their first fruits. Those that were near brought figs and grapes; and they
who were far away brought dried figs and raisins. And an
ox went before them with its horns overlaid with gold and
a crown of olive leaves on its head.
The governors, the chiefs and the treasurers went out to
meet them. According to the rank of those that came in,
they used to go forth... And all the craftsmen in
Jerusalem stood before them and greeted them: "Brothers...
(of such a place)... welcome!"
When they reached the Temple Mount, even Agrippa the
King would set his basket upon his shoulder and go on until
he reached the Temple Court. The flute played before them,
and when the Temple Court was reached, the Levites sang
the hymn: "I will extol you, O Eternal..."
At the Temple, accompanied by the sounds of the flute and
priestly song, beautiful baskets of fruits were given to
the priests, who then blessed the people.
Pilgrims coming from outside the Land of Israel recited passages expressing gratitude for
having arrived in the Promised Land, invoking their early
history with the phrase we associate with the Pesach
Haggaddah: "An Aramean [Laban] sought to destroy my
father..." (Deutoronomy 26:5-8).
Other Links in "First Fruits and the Land:"
The Seven Species |
The Holy Temple |
The Omer Period
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