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Why is the date of Shavout not mentioned in the Torah?

by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

  

Library » Holidays » Shavuot » About | Subscribe | What is RSS?

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1 The Torah says: "You shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day [the first day of Passover], from the day you bring the Omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord ... And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you; you shall not perform any work of labor".

The holiday of Shavuot is not an independent holiday; rather it is an extension of Passover. The stated purpose of the Exodus was the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai. However, as the Jews were not spiritually prepared to receive the Torah immediately upon leaving Egypt, they were told to embark on a forty-nine day period of spiritual refinement, at the conclusion of which they would receive the Torah. Therefore, technically Shavuot doesn’t even have a fixed date — it is the 50th day after the offering of the Omer sacrifice on the 2nd day of Passover.

Today, with our perpetual calendar (see When -- and why -- did the Jews switch to a perpetual calendar?), Shavuot always falls out on the 6th of Sivan. However, when the months were determined by witnesses who saw the crescent new-moon, the holiday of Shavuot fluctuated, and could have been on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of Sivan (depending on the length of the months of Nissan and Iyar -- 29 or 30 days).

Footnotes

  • 1. Leviticus 23:15-16, 21

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Torah
Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.
Passover
A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.
Nissan
The first month of the Jewish calendar. This month, which falls out in early spring, is known for the holiday of Passover which starts on the 15th of Nissan.
Shavuot
Early summer festival marking the day when the Jews received the Torah at Mount Sinai in the year 2448 (1312 BCE).
Omer
Starting from the second day of Passover, we count forty-nine days. The fiftieth day is the holiday of Shavuot. This is called the “Counting of the Omer” because on the second day of Passover the barley “Omer” offering was offered in the Holy Temple, and we count forty-nine days from this offering. [Literally, "Omer" is a certain weight measure; the required amount of barley for this sacrifice.]
Iyar
The second month on the Jewish calendar, normally corresponding to April-May. The 18th of this month is the holiday of Lag b'Omer.
Sivan
The third month on the Jewish calendar, normally corresponding to May-June. This month features the holiday of Shavuot.
Exodus
1. The miraculous departure of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage in 1312 BCE. 2. The second of the Five Books of Moses. This book describes the aforementioned Exodus, the giving of the Torah, and the erection of the Tabernacle.