Reply To: Shavuos: Cheese-Cake Reason?

FLOWERS AND GREENS

A beautiful long-standing Shavuot tradition is the decoration of our homes and shuls (synagogues) with fragrant flowers, leaves, tree branches, and greens. Many reasons have been given for this custom.

Flowers: Our Sages taught that although Har Sinai was situated in a desert, in honor of the Torah the desert bloomed and sprouted flowers.

Greens: Our Sages taught that on Shavuot judgment is rendered regarding the trees of the field.

TIKUN LAIL SHAVUOT

A well established Minhag (custom) calls for all-night Torah study on the first night of Shavuot, because on the day the Bnei Yisroel were to receive the Torah, the nation overslept. As an atonement, the Zohar says that certain pious individuals would remain awake the entire night of Shavuot as a means to rectify this lapse.

In some congregations, Rabbis lecture deep into the night, either to enable the entire congregation to study the same topic or perhaps to accommodate those who are not capable of studying by themselves, (or perhaps to put some congregants to sleep – only kidding).

DAIRY MEALS

It is customary to eat a dairy meal at least once on Shavuot. Others eat dairy products (but not hard cheese) before the main (meat) lunch meal.

There are several reasons given by our Sages for the custom of eating a dairy meal on Shavuot. One of them is, that on Shavuot, the Bnei Yisroel had just received the Torah (and the laws of Kashrut therein), and they did not have both meat and dairy dishes yet, and were unable to use their dishes that day (Shabbat) until they were rendered Kosher by the proper process of “kashering” utensils. Thus their meal was a dairy meal.

Another reason is that the Torah is compared to Milk.

The word for milk, Chalav, has the numerical value of 40, corresponding to the 40 days Moses spent on Har Sinai.

For a great Shavuot recipe Click here.

AKDAMUT

On the first day of Shavuot, after the Kohain has been called to the Torah, but before he recites his blessing, Akdamut is read responsively, the chazzan saying two verses, and the congregation saying the next two. It was composed as an introduction to the Aseret Hadibrot. Consisting of ninety verses, composed by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak, it is probably one of Judaism’s best known and most beloved Piyut (liturgical poem). It is a description of Hashem’s creation of the world and close look at the splendors of Olam Habah (the World to Come). It describes the Malachim’s praise of Hashem and the greatness and the suffering of Bnei Yisroel.

MEGILLAT (THE SCROLL OF) RUTH

Megillat Ruth is read on the second day of Shavuot, before the reading of the Torah. Many reasons are given for this practice:

The entire Torah is loving kindness, and this Megillah consists of loving kindness, therefore it is read on the day of the giving of the Torah (Midrash Rabbah).

The act of Ruth’s conversion took place during the harvest season, ‘at the beginning of the barley harvest’ to the ‘end of the wheat harvest.’ This period includes the Yom Tov Shavuot.

Matan Torah marks the beginning of the Jewish Nation, when they entered into the Covenant with Hashem. Megillat Ruth tells how Ruth entered into that Covenant.

copy from http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/shavuos/shavustr.htm