Category: Shavuot

Is There Anything I May Do on Shabbat to Prepare for Yom Tov?

Rabbi Dov Linzer (Posted on May 16, 2018)
From the Lindenbaum Center for Halakhic Studies

  This weekend, we will celebrate another marathon holiday – Shabbat followed by Shavuot. Shavuot, occurring later in spring, presents its own challenges of time: each day of the holiday, as with all yamim tovim, does not begin until dark, but as preparing for one day of the holiday on the previous one (or on Shabbat for Yom Tov) is forbidden, any preparations not done before the holiday may not begin until very late in the evening.…

On the Nature of Birkat HaTorah

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on May 26, 2017

כי שם ה’ אקרא הבו גודל לא-לוהינו For the name of the Lord I proclaim; Give glory to our God (Devarim 32:3)   This verse, from Parashat Haazinu which we will be reading this Shabbat, Shabbat Shuva, is the basis for our daily recitation of Birkat HaTorah.…

Shavuot: Chag v’Chesed

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on July 5, 2016

The holiday of Shavuot is generally assumed to commemorate the giving of the Torah, which occurred on the sixth of Sivan. In the Torah, however, Shavuot is only described as an agricultural holiday and occurs not on any particular calendrical date, but at the culmination of seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest season that occurs on the second day of Pesach.…

Setting Up to Move Out

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on May 21, 2015

Prepared for publication from remarks made at the 2015 YCT Annual Tribute Dinner in honor of Sharon and Steven Lieberman. Many people today would be happy to set up camp at the foot of Har Sinai permanently. Just think about what it was like: We had received all the mitzvot; the Mishkan was built; the sacrifices were being offered on a regular basis; and the camp’s boundaries had been delineated, and it was protected.…

The Obligations of Tzedek

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on May 24, 2012

(An earlier version of this appeared in the 5769 AJWS Chag v’Chesed) The holiday of Shavuot is generally assumed to commemorate the giving of the Torah, which occurred on the sixth of Sivan. In the Torah, however, Shavuot is only described as an agricultural holiday and occurs not on any particular calendrical date, but at the culmination of seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest season that occurs on the second day of Pesach.…

A Dynamic Faith of Gratitude

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on May 18, 2012

Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot are celebrated a week apart. These celebrations mark two tremendous gifts that have been bestowed upon us: the gift of a unified Jerusalem as part of the State of Israel and under Jewish control, that we received only 45 years ago, and the gift of the Torah, that we received over 3000 years ago.…

Shavuot: A Holiday of Communal Justice

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on August 6, 2009

The holiday of Shavuot is generally assumed to commemorate the giving of the Torah, which occurred on the 6th of Sivan. In the Torah, however, Shavuot is only described as an agricultural holiday and occurs not on any particular calendrical date, but at the culmination of seven weeks from the beginning of the harvest season that occurs on the second day of Pesach.…

Chuppah and Har Sinai

by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on August 6, 2009

When we move from sefer Vayikra to sefer Bamidbar, we are finally moving away from Har Sinai, where Bnei Yisrael have been for almost a year. From the middle of Shemot through the end of Vayikra, they have been encamped at the foot of Har Sinai, having received the Torah, mitzvot and the laws, and then all the laws of the Kohanim, through Kedoshim and Behar Bichukotai.…