Seven Weeks and One Day = Shavuot!

5 Sivan 5784
49 Days of the Omer
Erev Chag Shavuot

I just have to say right now that I have a very strong feeling that something great is right upon us.  May we each be found worthy to receive it!

I hope you enjoy these meaningful excerpts which I've taken from previous Shavuot blog posts.  

~ Chag Shavuot Sameach!! ~

The holiday is given this name because it is the climax of the Counting of Days and Weeks which make up the Sefirat HaOmer. Sefirat HaOmer connects Passover and Shavuot. Passover is the holiday on which we commemorate our Redemption from slavery in Egypt. That was our "Physical Redemption."

But physical redemption is not enough. It would have left us "free" people, but with no purpose to our lives. The purpose of the Jewish People is to serve G-d. The way we serve G-d is by studying and practicing his Torah. On Shavuot, G-d Himself appeared to us on Mt. Sinai to give us the Torah. By accepting it, we earned the title of "A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation."

Thus, Shavuot is the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt. Seven weeks had to pass before we were able to shake off the feeling of being subject to our Egyptian taskmasters. The Jewish religion believes that there is no legitimate master for a human being other than G-d. This is probably the most important lesson of Shavuot.

...Shavuot and Pesach have a special relationship which makes them really, in a sense, almost like one holiday, namely, the Holiday of Redemption, Physical and Spiritual, of the Jewish People.

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In one respect, the 50th is the uncountable number. The Omer period lasts for 50 days – yet only 49 are to be counted. The counting of 49 automatically leads to the arrival of the 50th. This elevated state was reached at Sinai. It truly surpassed everything that came before it. It was on the 50th day, Shavuot, that the union between Israel and God, like a marriage, was solemnized.

With this act the Jewish nation supernaturally transcended worldly existence to become one with God. Israel achieved this unity when they arrived at Sinai to encamp in a unified state: like a single person with a single heart. The names of the 12 Tribes of Israel, which were engraved upon the Stones worn by the Kohen Gadol, have a total of 50 letters, merged as one entity with their Creator.

Thus, the 50th is the point of arrival. This is where man has come “all the way.” This is the ultimate level; man has successfully completed the requisite stages of the natural passage and progressed to transcend up to the Godly level of eternity. This is the dimension of Torah, of Divine understanding, of true freedom. It is where Israel transcends to truly become one with God.