Shavuot - Yearning for Closeness

["Shavuot" Tapestry by Bracha Lavee]

Shavuot [Pentecost], a holiday tucked away in the middle of the year and likely to be forgotten by secular Jews if not for the abundant assortment of cheesecake and blintse recipes, is actually a rich source of folklore and folksongs reflecting agricultural festivity and the spirituality of revelation. To me, the pervasive feeling underlying the festival is of a yearning for closeness that is often difficult to attain: between God and the Jewish people, between the Jewish people and the Torah, between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and between fellow human beings.

Shavuot (Festival of the First Fruits –;חג הביכורים  Harvest Festival - חג הקציר) was originally an agricultural festival - "You shall observe the festival of the harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you will sow in the field…" (Shemot [Exodus] 23:16). The Mishnah (Bikurim, C.3) gives a detailed account of the procession of people bearing their first fruits to the Temple: "The inhabitants of the district assembled in a city of the district and spent the night in the town square. Early in the morning, their leader said: 'Let us rise and go up to Zion, to the house of the Lord our God.' (Mishnah Bikurim 3:2.) Those who lived near Jerusalem brought fresh figs and grapes, and those who lived far away brought dried figs and raisins.  . . .  The sounds of the flute announced the pilgrims’ coming until they neared Jerusalem, when they sent messengers ahead and arranged their first fruits for presentation.  . . .  (Mishnah Bikurim 3:3). The children's song Saleinu al k'tefeinu [With baskets on our shoulders] by Levin Kipnis and Yedidya Admon (1929) harks back to this ancient Biblical festival. It is this agricultural aspect of Shavuot that was highlighted in the early days of modern Israel, especially in kibbutz-inspired celebrations. Here are two sites with lyrics of the many agriculturally-based folksongs, one in Hebrew and the other with English transcriptions.

[Rembrandt, 1659]

The closeness of the connection between God and the Jewish people at the Time of Giving of the Torah (זמן מתן תורתנו) is expressed in the metaphor of a sacred marriage, which is based upon the prophecy of Hosea (2:21-22): "I will betroth thee unto Me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in compassion. And I will betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord". The solemnization of this marriage in form of a wedding contract is based upon the verse in Jeremiah: "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel" (Jeremiah 31:30). The Mishna (Ta'anit, 26b) comments that the wedding day of King Solomon (Song of Songs – Shir Hashirim, 3:11) refers to the day of the giving of the Torah.

There are several variations of this marriage theme: in Sephardic communities, a ketubah (the certificate the bridegroom presents to the bride at the wedding ceremony specifying the conditions agreed upon between the two parties) is recited in the Shavuot service prior to the reading of the Torah. The version commonly used, "Ketubah le-Shavuot - Yarad dodi legano" is that of Rabbi Israel Najara (c.1550-c.1625). A copla in Ladino, "La Ketuba de la Ley" [The marriage contract of the Law] (also known as "Es razon de alavar"), written by Yehuda bar Leon Kalay (d.1782), expresses the same idea. A Yiddish folksong, "Der eybeshter iz der mekhutn" [the Almighty was the bride's father] expresses the idea of marriage between the people of Israel, the groom, and the Torah, the bride; God is represented as the bride's father [mekhutn] and Moshe is the matchmaker [shadkhn].

Besides the seminal idea of a marriage contract, there are many midrashim associated with the giving of the Torah. One is a dialogue between Moses and the angels, expressed in the copla "Alli en el midbar" [There in the wilderness], in which Moses is required to justify to the angels why the Jewish people deserve the Torah and why he, a mortal, should be allowed to approach God. *
 

[The Lubavitsher Rebe and Chabad hasidim singing "Tsomah lecha nafshi"]

The Book of Ruth, recited during the Shavuot service, reflects the desire for closeness in Ruth's plea to her mother-in-law Naomi: "Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back from following you. For where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people are my people, and your God is my God." (Ruth 1, 16).

    Adi Nes - [Ruth and Naomi gleaning] - photograph, 2006           Chagall - Ruth gleaning - 1960

(Here are some other famous paintings of Ruth and Naomi)

Songs which celebrate the giving of the Torah abound: there is no lack of piyutim in Hebrew (e.g., Eshorer shira lichvod hatorah - [I shall sing a song in honour of the Torah]) or popular Hebrew hasidic songs which are sung on the festivals of both Shavuot and Simchat Torah (see Shavuot Songs). Coplas in Ladino include "Muestro senor Elokenu" [Our Lord God] and "Hi torah lanu nitana"  [It is the Torah which is given to us].

The importance of learning Torah in the life of the Jewish child is described in the children's songs La Torá, in Ladino, and Shvues, libe kinderlekh [Shavuot, dear children] in Yiddish. A modern song, "In the village of Tudra" by Habreira Hativit, shows the same tradition in a different part of the Diaspora. The Jewish truism that "Toyre iz di beste skhoyre" [Torah is the best merchandise] is expressed in many Yiddish songs, particularly the popular lullaby "Unter dem kinds vigele" [Under the child's cradle].