Shavuot - Cheesecakes, Water & Torah Study

Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance, a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). It marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer and the day the Torah was given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. It is customary to eat dairy meals during Shavuot. In farms and kibbutzim many participate in the Bikkurim festival holding baskets of fruit and wearing garlands in their hair.

While traditions says  the reason for decorating with plants and flowers is that when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, the barren desert bloomed with flowers as the earth itself rejoiced, without a doubt its a great opportunity to sample cheesecakes, blintzes and an array of dairy foods, a holiday worth forgetting about one's calory intake.06/08/08