From: www.chabad.org
The holiday of Shavuot celebrates 3,330 years since Hashem’s rendezvous with the Jewish people at a humble mountain called Sinai.
It was – the first and only time the Creator communicated with an entire nation, a mere fifty days after taking them from Egypt. Hashem gave the Torah to the Jews, entrusting a nation of recent slaves with the cosmic mission of bringing Divine light to the universe. This moment and mission are celebrated on the holiday of Shavuos.
The Torah
Torah is Hashem’s wisdom, an expression of His essence. He created the universe so that the Torah’ s ideals could be actualized
The Torah, as we experience it, is Divine wisdom distilled for consumption by the human mind. By studying its laws, logic and stories, it becomes possible to wrap our rational minds around Divine concepts.
To nourish you mind and soul, study whenever you can — ideally a chapter each morning and evening.
To start today, check out, https://www.chabad.org , the #1 Judaism website on line.
Counting the days to Hashem’s giving the Torah to the Jews
Shavuot means “weeks,” referring to the seven weeks our ancestors counted between Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah. Today we count as well, reciting a special blessing and prayer each of the 49 consecutive nights between Passover and Shavuot. This step-by-step process prepares us to receive the Torah on the day of Shavuot itself
Cust0mary All Night long Prayer session
On the morning the Hebrews were to receive the Torah, our ancestors slept late. They sincerelY thought that they would be best able to receive the Torah if unconstrained by physical bodies —their souls could tap into sub-conscience realms beyond the mind.
In truth, Hashem wantS us to be present an awake in our service. Instead of escaping the physical world to reach holiness, we can use Torah to make the world itself holy.
We compensate for our ancestors’ misjudgment by staying up the entire first night of Shavuot (Saturday Night, May 19, 2018) studying Torah. Many local Chabad centers will be hosting all-night Torah-fests, with .interesting lectures and discussion, plus lots of delicious treats.
Shavuot and Kids
Before giving the Torah, Hashem asked the Jews for a guarantor to ensure its perpetuation even as the demands of daily life overtook our focus. They suggested the elderly or the sages —people who had the time and energy to champion the Torah. But G-d wanted to know that everyone would hold the Torah dear.
When they said “Our children will be our guarantors,” Hashem was satisfied that all through history, the Torah would be transmitted through our kids — our very future.
Children naturally absorb the Torah’s moral concepts, which is why children of all ages, even infants, should go to synagogue to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments on Shavuot (Sunday, May 20, 2018), reliving the event as we experienced it the first time.
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