DOCSLIB.ORG

Shavuot Among Ashkenazi and Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Shavuot Among Ashkenazi and Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews SHAVUOT AMONG ASHKENAZI AND SEPHARDI/MIZRAHI JEWS SEPHARDI/MIZRAHI* JEWS (often varies country to country). For convenience, both are referred ASHKENAZI JEWS to here as Sephardi. Shavuot (to rhyme with “ah, blue boat!”) Shavuos (to rhyme with “ya knew us”) Both groups typically eat dairy food during this holiday. Among the Sephardim, however, Yemenite Jews do not observe this custom. OF THE HOLIDAY PRONUNCIATION PRONUNCIATION Some make Siete Cielos (Seven Heavens) cake, Cheese blintzes: rectangular crepes stuffed with a symbolizing the seven spheres Moses is believed to have sweet ricotta-like cheese. travelled through en route to heaven to receive the Law. Kreplach: small, boiled dumplings; also made with In North Africa, Sephardi Jews eat leftover matzah from sweet cheese filling. Passover, shredded in bowls of milk and honey, because Shavuot is the climax of the Exodus—commemorated at Knishes: larger than kreplach, these dumplings can Passover— while milk and honey symbolize the land of be fried, grilled, or baked. FOOD Israel. Milk pudding with rice is also popular. Challah: festive bread; the dough contains lots of eggs and is often braided. Cheesecake: need we say more? *The first three items, except when eaten on Shavuot, are often served as savory dishes, filled with meat and/or potato. Reading the Azharot, a liturgical poem enumerating Reading the Akdamot (eleventh century liturgical the 613 commandments of the Torah with the positive poem praising God and the Torah) during the ones (“thou shalt”) on the first day of the holiday, and synagogue service Reading the book of Ruth in negatives (“thou shalt not”) commandments on day two. the synagogue, because it relates to the harvest theme; and Ruth’s aligning herself with the Jewish people parallels the establishment of Israel with the Torah at Sinai. Both have a tradition of staying up all night to study the Torah, a custom which began in the 16th century. In many Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities (but not Spanish/Portuguese), there is a service called Tikkun Leil Shavuot, “Repair of the Night of Shavuot.” Legend has it that Israel fell asleep the night the Torah was given; to make up for LITURGY ANDLITURGY WORSHIP that, we stay up all night long reading excerpts from the Bible, the Mishnah (compilation of laws and discussions set in writing about AD 200), and the Zohar (medieval book of Jewish mysticism). Both decorate homes or the synagogue with greenery because of the springtime theme. Ashkenazi Jews are descended from The majority of the Jewish Mizrahi Jews either live in medieval Jewish communities population in the United States or come from various other that settled near the Rhine in is Ashkenazi. communities such as Southern Germany from Alsace in the south Arabia (Yemen), North Africa, to the Rhineland in the north. Many In the same way, Sephardi Jews were Mesopotamia (Iraq), Syria, Persia migrated to numerous countries those who had settled in the Iberian (Iran), and India. There is some including Hungary, Poland, Peninsula. When all Jewish people overlap between Mizrahim and Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, and were expelled from Spain in 1492, Sephardim (“im” indicates plural). Eastern Europe. Generations later, they scattered to various places the word Ashkenazi no longer has throughout the Ottoman Empire, a particularly German connotation. Morocco, and elsewhere..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Shavuot Guide
    5780/2020 SHAVUOT GUIDE 6-7 SIVAN Thursday evening, May 28 until Shabbat nightfall, May 30 CHAG SAMEACH! SEE BACK PAGE HAPPY SHAVUOT! SPECIAL MESSAGE IN LIGHT OF COVID 19 SHAVUOT INSIGHTS MONTREAL TORAH CENTER What is Shavuot? There are 613 commandments. The positive command- ments (‘do’), numbering 248, are equivalent to the BAIS MENACHEM Shavuot is the second of the three major festivals CHABAD LUBAVITCH number of organs in the human body. The 365 negative (Passover being the first and Sukkot the third) and commandments (‘don’t do’) are equivalent to the Joanne and Jonathan Gurman comes exactly fifty days after Passover. The Torah was Community Center number of blood vessels in the human body. given by G-d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai Lou Adler Shul 3,332 years ago. Every year on this day we renew our Through the study of Torah and fulfillment of mitzvahs Marcia Gillman & Michael Flinker Early Childhood Center acceptance of G-d’s gift. we connect ourselves and our environment to G-d. G-d’s purpose in creating the world is that we sanctify The Kenny Chankowsky The word Shavuot means ‘weeks’. It marks the com- Memorial Torah Library all of creation, imbuing it with holiness and spirituality. q pletion of the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot (the ‘Omer’ period) during which the Jewish Rabbi Moishe New people prepared themselves for the giving of the Why was the Torah given Rabbi Itchy Treitel Torah. During this time they cleansed themselves of in the wilderness and not Executive Commitee the scars of slavery and became a holy nation ready to Rabbis Yossi Kessler, Moishe New, in the land of Israel? enter into an eternal covenant with G-d with the giving Pesach Sperlin, Itchy Treitel The Torah was given freely, in of the Torah.
    [Show full text]
  • From Falashas to Ethiopian Jews
    FROM FALASHAS TO ETHIOPIAN JEWS: THE EXTERNAL INFLUENCES FOR CHANGE C. 1860-1960 BY DANIEL P. SUMMERFIELD A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON (SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES) FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PhD) 1997 ProQuest Number: 10673074 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673074 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT The arrival of a Protestant mission in Ethiopia during the 1850s marks a turning point in the history of the Falashas. Up until this point, they lived relatively isolated in the country, unaffected and unaware of the existence of world Jewry. Following this period and especially from the beginning of the twentieth century, the attention of certain Jewish individuals and organisations was drawn to the Falashas. This contact initiated a period of external interference which would ultimately transform the Falashas, an Ethiopian phenomenon, into Ethiopian Jews, whose culture, religion and identity became increasingly connected with that of world Jewry. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine the external influences that implemented and continued the process of transformation in Falasha society which culminated in their eventual emigration to Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • “Cliff Notes” 2021-2022 5781-5782
    Jewish Day School “Cliff Notes” 2021-2022 5781-5782 A quick run-down with need-to-know info on: • Jewish holidays • Jewish language • Jewish terms related to prayer service SOURCES WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE INFORMATION FOR THIS BOOKLET WAS TAKEN FROM: • www.interfaithfamily.com • Living a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant with Howard Cooper FOR MORE LEARNING, YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES: • www.reformjudaism.org • www.myjewishlearning.com • Jewish Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin • The Jewish Book of Why by Alfred J. Kolatch • The Jewish Home by Daniel B. Syme • Judaism for Dummies by Rabbi Ted Falcon and David Blatner Table of Contents ABOUT THE CALENDAR 5 JEWISH HOLIDAYS Rosh haShanah 6 Yom Kippur 7 Sukkot 8 Simchat Torah 9 Chanukah 10 Tu B’Shevat 11 Purim 12 Pesach (Passover) 13 Yom haShoah 14 Yom haAtzmaut 15 Shavuot 16 Tisha B’Av 17 Shabbat 18 TERMS TO KNOW A TO Z 20 About the calendar... JEWISH TIME- For over 2,000 years, Jews have juggled two calendars. According to the secular calendar, the date changes at midnight, the week begins on Sunday, and the year starts in the winter. According to the Hebrew calendar, the day begins at sunset, the week begins on Saturday night, and the new year is celebrated in the fall. The secular, or Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar, based on the fact that it takes 365.25 days for the earth to circle the sun. With only 365 days in a year, after four years an extra day is added to February and there is a leap year.
    [Show full text]
  • Diy Sinai May 28–30, 2020 | 6–7 Sivan, 5780
    REUVEN_MINTZ CHABAD CENTER FOR JEWISH LIFE - NEWPORT BEACH DIY SINAI MAY 28–30, 2020 | 6–7 SIVAN, 5780 CONTENTS <<FIRSTNAME>>_<<LASTNAME>> 1 THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL CELEBRATING SHAVUOT ON YOUR OWN Introduction The holiday of Shavuot begins this year on the evening of Thursday, May 28, after sunset, and concludes on Saturday, May 30, after nightfall. havuot is the anniversary of the day declined; when the Jews suggested S the Jewish people received the Torah their children, G-d accepted. Only our at Sinai 3332 years ago. Before this event, children can assure that Judaism will there was a “barrier” of sorts between thrive in future generations. Therefore, heaven and earth—it was impossible to the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged that all be truly attached to G-d while living a children of all ages should hear the reading material lifestyle. By G-d descending on of the Ten Commandments on this day. Sinai and giving us the Torah, this barrier was lifted. Shavuot is thus a celebration of The name Shavuot means “weeks.” This the day that enabled us humans to have a yom tov goes by this name because the genuine relationship with G-d. Torah instructs us to count each day for seven weeks beginning from the second Jewish festivals do not merely night of Passover, and to celebrate Shavuot memorialize events from the past; they at the conclusion of these seven weeks. are also spiritual reenactments of events Shavuot is thus the culmination of a from the past. Accordingly, each year on seven-week preparatory process.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019-2022 Calendar of Major Jewish Holidays
    2019-2022 CALENDAR OF MAJOR JEWISH HOLIDAYS Please note: Jewish students may not be able to participate in school activities that take place on the days marked with an *. 2019 2020 2021 2022 PURIM Celebrates the defeat of the plot to destroy March 21 March 10 February 26 March 17 the Jews of Persia. PASSOVER Deliverance of the Jewish people from Egypt. The first *Eve. of April 19 *Eve. of April 8 *Eve. of March 27 *Eve of April 15 and last two days are observed as full holidays. There are *April 20 *April 9 *March 28 *April 16 dietary restrictions against leavened products (such as *April 21 *April 10 *March 29 *April17 bread, pastries, pasta, certain legumes and more) during *April 26 *April 15 *April 3 *April 21 all eight days of the holiday. *April 27 *April 16 *April 4 *April 22 SHAVUOT *Eve. of June 8 *Eve. of May 28 *Eve. of May 16 *Eve of June 3 Feast of Weeks, marks the giving of the Law (Torah) *June 9 *May 29 *May 17 *June 4 at Mt. Sinai. (Often linked with the Confirmation *June 10 *May 30 *May 18 *June 5 of teenagers.) ROSH HASHANAH *Eve. of Sept. 29 *Eve. of Sept. 18 *Eve. of Sept. 6 *Eve of Sept 25 The Jewish New Year; start of the Ten Days of Penitence. *Sept. 30 *Sept. 19 *Sept. 7 *Sept. 26 The first two days are observed as full holidays. *Oct. 1 *Sept. 20 *Sept. 8 *Sept. 27 YOM KIPPUR Day of Atonement; the most solemn day *Eve.
    [Show full text]
  • Shabbat Schedule Shavuot Schedule Mazal Tov Weekly
    Shaul Robinson Rabbi Sherwood Goffin Senior Cantor ECHOD Yanky Lemmer Cantor 5 -7 SIVAN 5775 • JUNE 10-13, 2015 Shirley Stark President PARSHAT BAMIDBAR & SHAVUOT Brian Chartock CANDLE LIGHTING: 8:10PM Executive Director SHABBAT SCHEDULE SHAVUOT SCHEDULE Friday Evening Saturday Night, June 11th 6:54pm: Earliest Candle Lighting 9:10pm: Earliest Candle Lighting 6:45pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat in the Nathaniel Richman 9:11pm: Ma’ariv Cohen Sanctuary led by Chazzan Yanky Lemmer 12:00am Beginners Shavuot Learn-In in room 206/207 6:45pm: Shir Hashirim followed by Sephardic Minyan in the Bel- fer Beit Midrash 12am-5am Tikkun Leil Shavuot—see page 2 for the full schedule 8:10pm: Candle Lighting 8:15pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat in the Nathaniel Richman Shavuot Day 1– Sunday, June 12th Cohen Sanctuary 4:58am: Services in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary Shabbat Morning 7:45am: Hashkama Minyan in the Belfer Beit Midrash followed 9:00am: Services in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary led by by Kiddush. Chazzan Yanky Lemmer. Drasha by Rabbinic Intern Marc 9:00am: Services in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Sanctuary Weingarten led by Chazzan Yanky Lemmer. Drasha by Rabbi 10:30am: Youth Groups Shaul Robinson 7:15pm: Tea, Terrace, Torah with Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary: Recreat- 9:08am: Latest Shema ing Sinai: How to Find Truth in an Age of Relativism 9:15am: Beginners Service led by Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald in room LL201 (Lower Level) 7:15pm: Book of Ruth class with Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald 9:45am: Rabbi Herschel Cohen Memorial Minyan in the Belfer 8:15pm: Mincha & Shiur by Rabbi Shaul Robinson Grit- Naomi, The Beit Midrash Unsung Hero of Megillat Ruth 9:11pm: Earliest Candle Lighting/Ma’ariv Shabbat Afternoon Shavuot Day 2– Monday, June 13th 12:30pm: Mishnah Siyum Lunch in the ballroom 4:00pm: Herb Weiss Bikur Cholim Society meets in shul lobby.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ethical Significance of Shavuot By: Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL
    Chosen Together: The Ethical Significance of Shavuot By: Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL Why is the festival of Shavuot called "the time of the giving of our Torah" and not the time of the receiving of our Torah? Because the giving of the Torah happened at one specified time, but the receiving of the Torah happens at every time and in every generation. – Rabbi Meir Alter of Ger Each generation must make its own way back to Sinai, must stand under the mountain and re-appropriate and reinterpret the Revelation, in terms that are both classical and new. We recognize change as part of the continuing process of tradition itself. – Rabbi Ger Cohen The least-known of the Shalosh Regalim is Shavuot, the two-day Festival of Weeks. A victim of schedule, Shavuot comes just before the beginning of summer — unable to fit into the vacation schedule of most contemporaries, and lacking any special rituals to excite widespread observance. In the biblical period, Shavuot celebrated the conclusion of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. By the time of the Mishnah and the Talmud, some thousand years later, the rabbis expanded Shavuot beyond its agricultural origin to incorporate a foundational event as well. Since the festival comes exactly seven weeks (hence its name) after the second day of Pesah, which marks the liberation of the Jewish slaves from Egypt and their wandering toward Mt. Sinai, the rabbis saw Shavuot as celebrating z'man mattan Torateinu, (the season of the giving of our Torah) token, record, and pathway of the special love between God and the Jewish People.
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot 5768 by Rabbi Gordon Tucker
    Shavuot 5768 By Rabbi Gordon Tucker What we are accustomed to calling “Shavuot” or “Chag Ha-Shavuot” (“The Pilgrimage of Weeks,” since it falls seven weeks after the first day of Passover) was known in the Torah by two additional names: (1) “Chag Ha-Katzir” (“The Harvest Pilgrimage”1), because it came at the time of year when the work of harvesting the year’s produce was beginning; and (2) “Yom Ha-Bikkurim” (“The Day of First Fruits”), because it was the occasion on which the first yields of the major crops were set aside to be brought on a pilgrimage to the Temple and presented to the priests with a declaration of acknowledgment to God. Both of these alternate names for the festival turn our attention to deeply important ethical lessons associated with Shavuot, and we shall look at each of them in turn. The Shavuot season was actually inaugurated on the second day of Passover, with the offering at the Temple of a token amount of the early barley harvest and the launching of the seven week count. When many more crops had begun to ripen seven weeks later, the farmer’s obligation to offer the first fruits took effect. This ritual (beautifully and movingly spelled out in the 26th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy) was clearly meant to be a timely reminder that we are neither outright owners of our land, nor as self-sufficient as our self-flattery suggests. Yes, we may be blessed with some control over the means of production (it was land in the ancient world, and it is both that and many other things today).
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Holiday Guide Tu B’ Shvat 1 As Arepresentation Ofthenatural Cycle
    Jewish Holiday Guide Tu B’Shvat 15th day of Shvat “…Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children (Talmud Ta’anit 23a).” Tu B’Shvat is a time when we celebrate the New Year for trees. It falls on the 15th of Shvat in the Hebrew calendar and it is a time for us to focus on our ecological responsibilities and the life cycle of renewal. The very first task that was assigned to humans by God was to care for the environment: ‘God took man and put him into the garden to work it and guard 1 it…’ (Genesis 1:15). In Israel, Tu B’shvat is usually celebrated by planting trees and holding the Tu B’shvat seder. Planting trees is a custom that was first held in 1884 in Israel due to the spiritual significance of the land of Israel and the agricultural emphasis that the Zionist brought with them to Israel. The Tu B’shvat seder is formed out of 4 sections for the 4 worlds as the Kabballah says: • The spiritual world of God represented by fire – Atzilut (nobility) • The physical world of human represented by earth – Assiyah (Doing) • The emotional world represented by air – Briyah (Creation) • The philosophical, thoughtful world represented by water – Yetzirah (Making) Each section of the seder also represents one of the four seasons, and mixtures of red and white wine are drunk in different amounts as a representation of the natural cycle. Tu B’ Shvat Tu Purim 14th day of Adar “The Feast of Lots” Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar, as it celebrates the story of two heroes, Esther and Mordecai, and how their courage and actions saved the Jewish people living in Persia from execution.
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot Around the World
    Shavuot Around the World Like many of you, we at the UJIA will be celebrating Shavuot at home this year. But it can still be just as meaningful! In Biblical times, Jews from far and wide would come to Jerusalem to offer their harvests at the Temple. We might not practice that today, but our colleague Sydney has virtually visited her friends all around the world to hear about their Shavuot traditions and to celebrate together! Click each video to hear about exciting Shavuot traditions, old and new, from around the world, and read the texts to learn more and participate in the activities. If you have a great time sharing in these traditions, snap a selfie and share with us at [email protected]. Chag Shavuot Sameach! Click image to watch Wellington, New Zealand Pavlova with Daniel You may think that the pavlova, a rich dessert made of meringues, cream and fruit, is from Russia, but it’s really a specialty of New Zealand, named for Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova’s visit in the 1920s. But you may not know that the Jewish communities of New Zealand like to celebrate Shavuot with this delicious dairy concoction! On Shavuot, it’s traditional to eat dairy for a few different reasons. One of them is because on Shavuot the Jewish people were given the Torah, including all the different dietary laws. It was all so complicated, that they didn’t want to make any mistakes, and so stuck to dairy deliciousness. Try out this recipe for Shavuot Pavlova, and party like a Kiwi this Shavuot! Shavuot Pavlova Ingredients: • 4 egg whites • 250 grams caster sugar • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 1 tsp lemon juice • 2 tsp corn flour • ½ litre double cream • fruit for topping Method: - Preheat oven to 300 F / 150 C.
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot Commemorates the Spring Harvest and the Giving of The
    Editorials ..................................... 4A Op-Ed .......................................... 5A Calendar ...................................... 6A Scene Around ............................. 9A Synagogue Directory ................ 11A News Briefs ............................... 13A WWW.HERITAGEFL.COM YEAR 43, NO. 40 JUNE 7, 2019 6 SIVAN, 5779 ORLANDO, FLORIDA SINGLE COPY 75¢ Israel is holding new elections Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media after the Knesset voted to dissolve itself, May 30, 2019. By Marcy Oster The haredi parties blamed Liberman. Rinse and repeat. JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Why wasn’t Netanyahu The book of Ruth is read during Shavuot as well as remembering the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. blame game started shortly able to form a new gov- after midnight Thursday ernment? morning. Despite 65 of the Knesset’s The Knesset’s vote to dis- 120 seats going to tradition- Shavuot commemorates the spring solve itself and hold a second ally right-wing parties and national election in five politicians in April’s elections, months had hardly been Netanyahu could not cobble harvest and the giving of the Torah posted on the chyrons of together a majority coalition news networks in Israel and of 61 seats. That was mostly By My Jewish Learning practice regarding food on Shavuot is ter. Among them are that the book around the world when the because of the military draft the result of customs and traditions. takes place at the time of the barley major players in the drama law, which was designed to Shavuot, the “Feast of Weeks,” is The main custom is the eating of dairy harvest, that Ruth’s assumption of that is coalition government- force more yeshiva students celebrated seven weeks after Pass- dishes, mainly dishes containing milk Naomi’s religion reflects the Israelites’ forming took to microphones to enlist.
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot True Or False (Questions Only) 1
    Shavuot True or False (Questions Only) 1. Shavuot means “weeks” in Hebrew. Answer:! 2. In the original Shavuot story, the Jewish people have recently escaped from Egypt. Answer:! 3. The holiday that honors the Jews’ escape from Egypt is Passover. Answer:! 4. The Egyptian soldiers who followed the Jews as they fled turned around and walked home when they could not cross the Red Sea. Answer:! 5. Shavuot takes place just before Passover. Answer:! 6. Moses directs the Jews to stop at Mt. Sinai. Answer:! 7. God tells Moses to stop at Mt. Sinai so the Jewish people can have time to rest and eat cheese blintzes. Answer:! 8. The Jews were given seven days to prepare for God’s arrival on Mt. Sinai. Answer:! 9. Some Jews stay awake and read the Torah all night during Shavuot. Answer:! 10. This tradition of staying up all night to read the Torah is to honor the Jews at Mt. Sinai who were up all night waiting to hear the word of God. Answer:! ©ActivityConnection.com – Shavuot True or False (Questions Only) – Page !1 of !3 11. All Jewish people are said to have been at Mt. Sinai when God spoke to them, including those who had not yet been born. Answer:! 12. Since all Jewish people, even those alive today, are said to have been present in spirit at Mt. Sinai, they all remember the event. Answer:! 13. The Jewish people at Mt. Sinai never doubted the existence of God again after hearing the voice of God. Answer:! 14. The Book of Ruth is often read during Shavuot because Ruth was one of the Jews who followed Moses out of Egypt.
    [Show full text]