Shavuot is the holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah.
It tends to be a slightly overlooked holiday, even though it's really one of the most important!
On the eve of the holiday, it's traditional to stay up all night and study Torah. (This isn't the most kid-friendly part of the holiday.)
It's also known as Chag ha-Bikkurim, the celebration of the first fruits of the harvest, which can be extended nicely into celebrating nature as well.
So, in honor of Shavuot, we started a new family tradition, a nature
But, not just any walk of course. We talked about Torah and we talked about God, and we talked about nature. We brought books and read bible stories along the way.
Here's Abba reading about Abraham's Search for God:
We made some drawings and told stories about them. Sam is explaining his flower, so is Yael.
And what is ahike walk without snacks?
And because Torah is sweet as honey, we stopped by the honey beehives at the nature center.
(We didn't get too close to the maybe-friendly-but-not-likely bees.)
A good holiday always comes with dessert. Shavuot is known for its desserts, since it's customary to eat dairy on this holiday. That makes ice cream, cheesecake, and other dairy desserts a special part of this holiday.
So I made a cake with sprinkles in it (trust me, they're in there) because Torah is colorful!
And what is a
And because Torah is sweet as honey, we stopped by the honey beehives at the nature center.
(We didn't get too close to the maybe-friendly-but-not-likely bees.)
A good holiday always comes with dessert. Shavuot is known for its desserts, since it's customary to eat dairy on this holiday. That makes ice cream, cheesecake, and other dairy desserts a special part of this holiday.
So I made a cake with sprinkles in it (trust me, they're in there) because Torah is colorful!
How did your family celebrate?
Plus, check out the #Torah tag on Twitter to see how many of us spent Erev Shavuot.
Read Auntie Liz's post about Torah and Twitter.
Here's what @RebMark had to say about Tweeting Torah as well.
(it was so much fun, so many of my colleagues and friends were creative and inspiring with their #Torah tweets!)
3 comments:
I love Shavuot, especially in Jerusalem.
Here's the post about how I intended to spend the holiday:
Shavuot
And here's the post about what I did in the end:
Shavuot 2010 - the way it was
And, because in Israel, the day after the holiday is a no-school day, we are all sleeping in!!
oops, that comment was not fair. My dear hubby had to get up for work.... poor thing. I am sure he would have enjoyed an extra day to catch up on his sleep as well.
Thank God Shabbat is around the corner!!
Wonderful post! Great idea to take the kids on a nature hike for Shavuot-- what a neat way to celebrate the bounty of the spring and all that grows, as well as the Torah! Thanks for the tip with the blintzes, great time-saving idea. :)
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