Preparing for Shavu’ot II

The following is part of an article written by John Parsons found on Hebrew4christians.com called Preparing for Shavu'ot – Getting the point of your Redemption. In reading this article I found myself substituting Torah with Bible. As this is a time of preparation for the celebration of Shavu'ot, which is also the Birthday of the Christian Church, I felt that we too could follow some of the Jewish traditions eg., spend time studying the Bible (both Old and New Testament), contemplating the scriptures, teaching our children Bible stories. One Jewish tradition I like, before studying Torah, children are given something sweet (like dates, figs, honey, or sweet rolls) to make the studying of Torah 'sweet on the tongue'.


"On Shavu'ot Jews are commanded to remember the revelation given at Sinai (Deut. 4:9)
and to spiritually reenact kabbalat ha-Torah (the receiving of the Torah). Shavu'ot begins on Sivan 6 (May 18^th, 2010). The Jewish day begins at nightfall and on Erev Shavu'ot (Sivan 6) it is customary to stay up all night studying the Torah in order to instill a deep longing for God's revelation to be given. Since Shavu'ot recalls the momentous time when Israel received revelation from God at Sinai, at daybreak additional prayers and blessings are recited at the synagogue for the gift of the Torah (Mattan Torah). However, since ignoring the Torah leads to ruin, admonition to pursue the study of Torah is also made during this time.

'Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? And the Lord says: "Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with It'. (Jer. 9:12-13)

Studying God's revelation is a prelude to re-experiencing the joy of His Presence, though this requires diligence and hard work. In order to understand what God requires of us, we must make effort to study the Torah. We therefore ask God to make Torah sweet on our tongues and to help us be 'engrossed' in the words of the Scriptures.
All of this, obviously enough, indicates that Shavu'ot is a time when we are called to engage ourselves in the study of God's revelation and Torah. But how is this possible if we are not properly educated to do so? In Hebrew the word chinukh means 'education,' a word that shares the same root as the 'chanukah' (dedication). Unlike the ancient Greek view that pragmatically says education is a humanistic means of escaping from 'the cave of ignorance' to better one's personal power of happiness, the Jewish idea of education implies dedication to God and His concrete purposes on the earth. Rambam (Maimonides) notes that the word chinukh is borrowed from the Torah's description of dedicating a tool for use with the Holy Altar, 'habituating the tool for its work'. In other words, godly education is a process of being made a 'fit vessel' for the service of God in the world. All other ends of knowledge ultimately exist for this purpose, and rightly understood, education is a form of worship.
Hence the Jewish value of teaching children the words of Torah and their obligation to live as Jews. Torah learning is not an individual act. When we learn to 'talk Torah' with each other as members of a community, we share the greater message of redemptive love the Yeshua gave to the world. . . . Chaverim, pursue Talmud Torah".


This call for a greater study of the Word of God could not come at a greater time; as Christians we need to be a 'light unto the world' (John 9:5). How can we be that light if we do not know of what we speak? Jesus quoted the Torah (our Old Testament) extensively, especially when debating with the Pharisees, who were the learned of the synagogue, how can we then ignore our study of the Scriptures; are we not called to be Christians (Christ like)?
How can I do this, you might ask; join a Bible study, the Jews were taught from little on to study in pairs, that way you always had a friend to encourage you on in your study and to 'talk Torah'. Ask somebody you trust to be your Biblical mentor (Paul (Saul) was a student of Gamaliel the Elder, one of the great teachers of the first half of the first century) and meet with them on a regular basis.
Some points of reference; The Jewish
day begins at sundown the evening before (eg., Sabbath begins Friday evening at sundown and runs to sundown Saturday), the term Erev means before. Mattan Torah is the celebration of the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Chanukah is the Hebrew word for Dedication, which the festival of 'Hanukah' is. Rambam is the universal name of one of the great sages of all times, the Rabi Moshi ben Maimon (1135-1204), known to the world as Maimonides. Chaverim = Friends, Talmud although used as the name of writings on the Torah, it really means study.

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
(Proverbs 3:18)

Again Chaverim pursue Talmud Torah