Shavuot is the third of the three major pilgrimage festivals. The others are Passover and Sukkot. Shavuot is also known by different names: the Feast of Weeks, the Festival of First Fruits and the Harvest Festival. Each of these names reflects the agricultural nature of the holiday, which is celebrated in the late spring time in May or early June.
Shavuot falls on the sixth of Sivan in the Jewish calendar, seven weeks and one day after the second day of Passover. This year Shavuot falls on May 28th. The Bible describes Shavuot as a one-day holiday. Because of the certainty of the calendar communities outside of Israel traditionally observe the holiday for one extra day. Orthodox and Conservative Jews celebrate two days of the holiday while most Reform follow the Israeli practice.
Eating Dairy
Shavuot, known as a time of milk and honey, celebrates the day that Moses was given the Ten Commandments by G-d on Mount Sinai. It is a tradition to eat only dairy foods during this celebration.
Before receiving the Torah on Shavuot, the Jewish people were not bound by the Kosher dietary laws; they ate pork and other non kosher meats. On Shavuot they first learned of these restrictions, which rendered all of their utensils nonkosher and unfit for use. Without kosher meat and utensils, the children of Israel had no choice but to eat dairy foods. Today, in commemoration of this, Jews eat blintzes, cheesecake, and other dairy dishes.
