Thought of the Week: Shavuous - 5783

Exodus 19:1-20:23; Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 

On the first day of Shavuot we read from Exodus chapters 19 and 20.

A summary of the content: The Children of Israel camp opposite Mount Sinai, where they are told that G‑d has chosen them to be His "kingdom of priests" and "holy nation." The people respond by proclaiming, "All that G‑dhas spoken, we shall do."

On the sixth day of the third month (Sivan), seven weeks after the Exodus, the entire nation of Israel assembles at the foot of Mount Sinai. G‑d descends on the mountain amidst thunder, lightning, billows of smoke and the blast of the shofar, and summons Moses to ascend.

G‑d proclaims the Ten Commandments, commanding the people of Israel to believe in G‑d, not to worship idols or take G‑d’s name in vain, to keep the Shabbat, to honor their parents, not to murder, not to commit adultery, not to steal, and not to bear false witness or covet another’s property. The people cry out to Moses that the revelation is too intense for them to bear, begging him to receive the Torah from G‑d and convey it to them.

On the second day of Shavuot we read from Deuteronomy chapters 14-16 which detail the laws of the three pilgrimage festivals — Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot — on which all Jews came "to see and be seen before the face.