Shavuot
Shavuot (Yom HaBikkurim/Reshit HaKatzir/Chag HaKatzir): At the time of the first fruits of the harvest Counting the Omer: 7 weeks after the first fruits harvest Chag HaAsiph: At the going out of the harvest
SHAVUOT: THE HOLIDAYS OF THE HARVEST
The Holidays of the Harvest in the Torah are more complicated and extensive than the 1 day holiday currently observed as 'Shavuot'.
As will be discussed, several different names are used to describe what are, in fact, a series of connected formal holidays; which includes the Festival of Weeks ('Shavuot'; also known as the Holiday of the Harvest ('Chag HaKatzir'), the second pilgrimage festival) and the Holiday of Ingathering ('Chag HaAsiph') (the third pilgrimage festival), which is Succot. Thus, 'Shavuot' spans an entire agricultural season and no set dates for the celebrations (barring Succot) are provided. Moreover, in between, there is a period of 49 days; marked by the waving of a sheaf at the beginning, the bringing of offerings at the end and the 'counting of weeks' in between.
COMPLEXITY IN THE NAMES
1) Chag Hakatzir: Festival of Harvest
The first mention of this holiday comes in Exodus 23. When listing the three pilgrimage festivals to be celebrated (the first being the Festival of Unleavened Bread), Exodus 23:16 [1] says:
"And [you shall also celebrate] Chag (holiday) [2] HaKatzir (of the Harvest) [3], the first-fruits ('bikuri') [4] of your labours ('maaseicha') [5] that you sow in the field. And Chag HaAsiph (ingathering) [6] at the going out of ('betzet') [7] the year, when you have gathered in ('asaph') [8] the fruits of your labour from the field".
The word 'bikkurim' comes from the word, 'bakkar' [9] and refers to the 'firstborn' bearing of new fruit; as such, these are noticeably agricultural celebrations. However, you may be aware that 'the three pilgrimage festivals' are more formerly known as the Festivals of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot and Succot, suggesting that Chag HaAsiph (the Festival of the Ingathering) and Succot are the same thing. Succot, however (as well as the Festival of Unleavened Bread), is more commonly known for marking the exodus from Egypt (Leviticus 23:43 [10]).
While Succot does contain conspicuous agricultural elements; the Succah must be made out of specified green foliage [11] and there is also the requirement that four species of vegetation be collected (Leviticus 23:40 [12]), the word 'ingathering' (asiph) is not mentioned with the passages concerning the commandments for Succot.
2) Chag Shavuot: The Festival of Weeks
The same holiday is also called the Festival of Weeks. Exodus 34:22 [13] says:
"Chag Shavuot (weeks) [14] you shall observe ('taaseh') [15]; the first-fruits ('bikuri') of the harvest ('katzir') of wheat ('chittah') [16] and Chag HaAsiph (ingathering) at the turn/end ('tekuphat') [17] of the year".
Chag Shavuot is the name given in Deuteronomy 16:10 [18].
3) Yom HaBikkurim: Day of the Firstfruits
Then, in Numbers 28:26 [19], we are told:
"Also in the day ('yom') [20] of the firstfruits ('habikurim'), when you bring a new meal-offering ('mincha' [21]) to Yehova [22] in your Week Festival ('shavuoteichem') [23], you shall have a holy ('kodesh') [24] convocation ('mikra') [25]: you shall do no manner of customary ('melechet') [26] work ('avodah') [27]".
SEVERAL CONNECTED CELEBRATIONS
As such, we are told about a 'Yom HaBikkurim' (Numbers 28:26 [28]); the 'Day of First Fruits' ('Reshit [29] Bikkurim' [30]), also known as 'Reshit HaKatzir [31]; the 'First of the Harvest'. This holiday celebrates the first gleanings of the harvest. It is also 'Chag HaKatzir'; the 'Holiday of the Harvest' and more commonly known as 'Shavuot'.
Then there is the Chag HaAsiph; the celebration at the ingathering of the rest of the harvest at the end of the agricultural cycle. This holiday is in fact celebrated as Succot.
INBETWEEN ELEMENTS: THE SHEAF, THE COUNTING OF THE WEEKS AND THE NEW GRAIN OFFERING
Then, there are three additional related requirements.
1. THE SHEAF
Leviticus 23:10-11 [32] says,
"When you come into the land which I give to you and reap ('katzar' [33]) its harvest ('katzir'), you shall bring a sheaf ('omer' [34]) of the firstfruits ('reshit') of your harvest to the Priest (kohen [35]). And he shall wave ('henif' [36]) the sheaf before Yehova so it may be accepted on your behalf; the Priest is to wave it on the morrow ('mimochorat') [37] of the Sabbath ('Shabbat' [38])".
We cannot, "eat any bread ('lechem' [39]) or roasted or new grain until the very day [that we bring] this offering" (Leviticus 23:14 [40]).
2. THE COUNTING OF WEEKS
Then Leviticus 23:15 [41] says,
"And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow ('mimochorat' [42]) of the Sabbath, from the day ('miyom' [43]) that you brought the sheaf ('omer') of the wave offering ('tenufah'), seven Sabbaths ('Shabbatot' [44]) shall be completed ('temimot') [45].
Deuteronomy 16:9 [46] says we are to count seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to ('mechahel' [47]) the grain.
3. THE NEW GRAIN OFFERING
Leviticus 23:16 [48] then says,
"Until the morrow '(mimochorat') of the seventh Sabbath you shall count ('tisperu/saphar' [49]) 50 days and then you shall offer a new grain offering".
Once seven Sabbaths are counted, we are to bring two loaves of bread (Leviticus 23:17 [50]) as a wave offering ('tenufah' [51]); the firstfruits ('bikkurim') to Yehova. We are also to bring several other offerings. This day is to be proclaimed ('kara [52]) as a holy convocation ('mikra' [53] 'kodesh' [54]) and is a permanent statute. We are to hold a sacred assembly and cannot do any regular work (Leviticus 23:21). On that same day you are to proclaim a It is recognised that there are several types of grain, which ripen at different times [55].
THE INBETWEEN ELEMENTS
Modern Judaism currently counts 49 days from the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which it refers to as 'the Counting of the Omer' and then holds the celebration of Shavuot. Different schools of thought hold different opinions as to whether the relevant Sabbath is during or after the Festival of Unleavened Bread [56].
However, this calculation must be inherently incorrect because it seeks to fix the date to the Festival of Unleavened Bread, instead of the agricultural cycle. The Festival of Unleavened Bread is given a set date by Leviticus 23:6 [57] (the 15th of the 1st month) but there is no set date for Shavuot because it is supposed to be observed as and when harvesting occurs. Pesach and the Festival of Unleavened Bread must be celebrated at a similar time to Shavuot but one is fixed while the other is not; Leviticus 23 (which lists the three pilgrimage festivals) suggests that the Festival of Unleavened Bread is the first to be celebrated.
LIST OF THE SHAVUOT MOEDS
The process of 'the Festival of Weeks' must, therefore, begin with the first tasks of seeding for the harvest.
Then, the first formal celebration is the Holiday of the First Fruits. On this day, we are to bring a new meal offering, hold a holy convocation and do no manner of servile work (Numbers 28:26 [58]). We are also to bring a sheaf ('omer' [59]) of the firstfruits of the harvest to the Priest for him to wave on the morrow ('mimochorat') of the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:10-11 [60]). It is noticeable that Modern Judaism currently shakes the lulav on Succot [61]. Leviticus 23:12-14 goes on to say several offerings should be made on the day of the waving of the sheaf. This is a moed and a statute ('chukah' [62]) to be observed permanently 'in all your dwellings' ('becol' [63] 'moshevotechem' [64]).
A 49 day period is then counted, the 'Counting of the Omer'; or in fact, the 'counting of the weeks'. This is also a counting of 'Sabbaths' and interpreting the phrase, "from the morrow of the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf" in Leviticus 23:15 [65] is important for identifying the correct date of this moed. Formal counting is required every day during this period.
Then there is the new grain offering that is to be brought after the 7 weeks (Leviticus 23:16 [66]). This day is also a holy convocation.
Finally, there is Chag HaAsiph, which is also Succot, reflecting the end of the harvest cycle and also the exodus. This festival is given the fixed date of the 15th of the 7th month (Leviticus 23:43 [67]). Again, this is also a moed.
As such, there are three days that are required to be observed as formal moeds for 'the Festival of Weeks', as well as a 49 day period of counting.
WHEN IS THE AGRICULTURAL CYCLE IN ISRAEL?
According to the Jerusalem Post,
"The process begins around the month of Kislev (November/December) with staggered sowing of the seeds over a period of four months. The first crops harvested are flax and barley, around the time of the month of Nisan (March), coinciding with the festival of Passover. It is not coincidental that the barley Omer offering (today commemorated by counting the Omer) took place on Passover. The month of Sivan (May) is the time of the wheat harvest and is reflected in the ritual service of the festival of Shavuot by the Two Loaves offering, made from the newly harvested wheat. The summer months from Tamuz to Elul (June-August) are spent harvesting and gathering the summer crops and fruits. The cycle ends in the month of Tishrei (September)" [68].
According to this calendar then, the day of Firstfruits/Shavuot (a moed) must fall in March (Nisan), the counting of the weeks must begin in March (Nisan), the new grain offering (a moed) must be brought in May or June (Sivan/Tammuz) and Chag HaAsiph (Succot) is observed in September/October (Tishrei).
Although the Islamic calendar is lunar, meaning its holidays fall on different months of the Gregorian calendar, this year, the pilgrimage of the Hajj to Mecca takes place as Judaism celebrates the new-grain offering at the end of the 7 weeks (what it currently and incorrectly calls 'Shavuot') [69]. Interestingly, it is swiftly proceeded by Eid al-Adha a few days later, which is only dated when the moon is sighted by witnesses.
REFERENCES
1. Exodus 23:16: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/23-16.htm.
2. 'Chag': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2282.htm.
3. 'Katsir': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7105.htm.
4. 'Bikuri': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1061.htm.
5. 'Maaseicha': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4639.htm.
6. 'Asiph': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/614.htm.
7. 'Betzet': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/betzet_3318.htm and 'yatsa': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3318.htm.
8. 'Asaph': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/622.htm.
9. 'Bakar': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1069.htm.
10. Leviticus 23:43: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-43.htm.
11. Olive, myrtle, palm and leafy branches, Nehemiah 8:15: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/nehemiah/8-15.htm.
12. Leviticus 23:40: https://biblehub.com/leviticus/23-40.htm.
13. Exodus 34-22: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/34-22.htm.
14. 'Shavua': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7620.htm.
15. 'Taaseh': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/taaseh_6213.htm.
16. 'Chittah': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/2406.htm.
17. 'Tequphah': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8622.htm.
18. Deuteronomy 16-10: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/deuteronomy/16-10.htm.
19. Numbers 28:26: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/numbers/28-26.htm.
20. 'Yom': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3117.htm.
21. 'Mincha': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4503.htm.
22. For why I write the name of God as Yehova, please see: https://www.israelalia.com/g-ds-name/.
23. 'Beshavuoteichem': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/beshavuoteichem_7620.htm.
24. 'Kodesh': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6944.htm.
25. 'Mikra': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4744.htm.
26. 'Melechet': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/4399.htm.
27. 'Avodah': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5656.htm.
28. Numbers 28:26: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/numbers/28-26.htm.
29. 'Reshit': https://biblehub.com/bdb/7225.htm; https://biblehub.com/nasec/hebrew/7225.htm.
30. 'Bikuri': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1061.htm.
31. 'Katsir': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7105.htm.
32. Leviticus 23:10 onwards: https://biblehub.com/bsb/leviticus/23.htm#10.
33. 'Katzar': https://biblehub.com/bdb/7114.htm.
34. 'Omer': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/omer_6016.htm.
35. 'Kohen': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_3548.htm; https://biblehub.com/bdb/3548.htm.
36. 'Henif': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/vehenif_5130.htm.
37. 'Mimochorat': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/mimochorat_4283.htm.
38. 'Shabbat': https://biblehub.com/bdb/7676.htm.
39. 'Lechem': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3899.htm.
40. Leviticus 23:14: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-14.htm.
41. Leviticus 23:15: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-15.htm.
42. 'Mimochorat': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/mimochorat_4283.htm.
43. 'Miyom': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/miyom_3117.htm.
44. 'Shabbatot': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/shabbatot_7676.htm.
45. The word is 'temimot' and appears only once in the scriptures. It is more usually used to mean 'blameless' or 'without blemish', see: 'tamim': https://biblehub.com/bdb/8549.htm.
46. Deuteronomy 16:19: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/deuteronomy/16-9.htm.
47. 'Mechahel': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/mehachel_2490.htm.
48. Leviticus 23:16: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-16.htm.
49. 'Saphar': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/tisperu_5608.htm; https://biblehub.com/nasec/hebrew/5608.htm; https://biblehub.com/bdb/5608.htm.
50. Leviticus 23:17: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-17.htm.
51. 'Tenufah': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8573.htm.
52. 'Kara': https://biblehub.com/nasec/hebrew/7121.htm; https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_7121.htm.
53. 'Mikra': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_4744.htm; https://biblehub.com/hebrew/mikraei_4744.htm.
54. 'Kodesh': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_6944.htm.
55. "If we think of the major crops grown in Palestine in biblical times, barley was harvested in early spring; wheat in early summer; fruit like grapes, figs, almonds and pomegranates in mid-to-late summer, and olives, so important for their oil, in October and November", Forward, 'Why Sukkot is called the 'holiday of the harvest' — even though there isn't any harvest': https://forward.com/culture/183771/why-sukkot-is-a-harvest-holiday-even-though-theres/.
56. "In late Second Temple times … [the Sadducee Priests, Pharisaic Scholars and Essene scribes] ... [all] … agreed that the 'morrow of the Sabbath' was associated with the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Chag HaMatzot], although the precise connection led to the festival being observed on different days. The Pharisees argued that Shavuot is to be counted from the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which they designated a 'Sabbath.' According to the Pharisees, 'morrow of the Sabbath' means the 'morrow of the 1st day of Unleavened Bread.' … The Essenes … began the 50-day count to Shavuot on a different Sabbath from the Pharisees. In their reckoning, the Omer offering was to be brought on the morrow of the weekly Sabbath, in modern terms: 'Sunday.' The Essenes began their count on the Sunday after the seven-days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread … [The Sadducees] agreed with the Essenes that Shavuot must be counted from a weekly Sabbath, but disagreed as to which one. The Sadducees believed the 50-day count must begin on the weekly Sabbath that falls out during the seven-days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread … Karaite Jews have accepted the Sadducee reckoning as the only one to be consistent with the plain meaning of the biblical text". See: Nehemiah's Wall, 'The Truth About Shavuot': https://www.nehemiaswall.com/truth-shavuot. See also: The Karaite Jews of America, 'Are You Up for the Count?': https://www.karaites.org/upforthecount.html.
57. Leviticus 23:6: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-6.htm.
58. Numbers 28:26: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/numbers/28-26.htm.
59. 'Omer': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/omer_6016.htm.
60. Leviticus 23:10 onwards: https://biblehub.com/bsb/leviticus/23.htm#10.
61. YouTube Short, 'Shaking the Lulav and Etrog' (Moses and Zipporah): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2JcvUnZQ3cU.
62. Chukkah: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_2708.htm; https://biblehub.com/nasec/hebrew/2708.htm. See also 'choq': https://biblehub.com/nasec/hebrew/2706.htm.
63. 'Kol': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/bechol_3605.htm.
64. 'Moshevotechem': https://biblehub.com/hebrew/moshevoteichem_4186.htm.
65. Leviticus 23:15: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-15.htm.
66. Leviticus 23:16: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-16.htm. This is called 'the Pentecost' in Acts 2: https://biblehub.com/bsb/acts/2.htm.
67. Leviticus 23:43: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/leviticus/23-34.htm.
68. The Jerusalem Post, 'The circle of a year': https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/the-circle-of-a-year-603008.
69. Wikipedia, 'Hajj': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj"Hajj falls in the Islamic calendar month of Dhul-Hijjah, which is named in reference to the pilgrimage itself. Exactly when Eid al-Adha falls each year is in part determined by when Saudi Arabia announces the schedule for Hajj. Some scholars use a method of calculation to determine when Dhul-Hijjah 2024 (or any month) will begin - well in advance - based on patterns of the moon's orbit around the earth and more. The Muslim tradition, as the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) established, is to sight each of the 12 lunar months' new crescents with the naked eye in the western sky immediately after sunset. Similar to Eid al-Fitr, it is still too early to definitively say when Eid al-Adha 2024 will be. However, because of the difference in how many days are in an Islamic calendar year and the Gregorian calendar year, the events of the Islamic calendar year typically occur 11 days earlier each Gregorian year" Zakat.org, 'When is Eid al-Adha 2024?': https://www.zakat.org/when-is-eid-al-adha-2024.