Richard L. Shafer[1]
Penetcost and Shavu'ot, the Festival of Weeks, both occur in May this year. What are these holidays, and what do they celebrate? Are they related? If yes, then HOW are they related?
Penetcost for Christians (Whitsunday in some traditions) is considered by some to be the church’s “birthday.” It’s the time when, according to Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descended upon the gathered faithful. “...a mighty wind...tongues of fire...speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.”[2] Acts 2 tells us that “religious Jews” from all over the world were hearing everything in their own languages. Peter addressed a gathered crowd, repeating Joel’s prophesy (Joel 2:28-32) and explaining to them about Jesus’ resurrection. He recited David’s words in Psalm 16:10, “I am your chosen one. You won’t leave me in the grave or let my body decay.”[3] Some 3000 were baptized and became Christians that day.
Why were the faithful gathered there, at that time? Why are the “religious Jews” mentioned in the scripture? According to a footnote in my Bible, Penetcost was “a Jewish festival that came fifty days after Passover and celebrated the wheat harvest.”[4] A little more research can illuminate this a bit. Leviticus 23 establishes times for religious festivals for the Jews. Specifically, Lev. 23:15-16 set out a counting of 50 days from Passover to Shavu’ot. “Traditionally in Judaism, seven weeks are counted until this Festival of Weeks, beginning on the day after the start of Passover.”[5]
Shavu’ot, also
called the Festival of the First Fruits, is a time of rejoicing for the
harvest, and the rejoicing is directed in Deuteronomy 16:9-12: “...Bring him an offering as large as you can
afford...Be sure take along your sons and daughters and all your servants. Also invite the poor, including Levites,
foreigners, orphans, and widows.
Remember that you used to be slaves in
Jews now celebrate Shavu’ot as the time when they were given the Torah, the Law of Moses. Recall that it is a time of counting the days between Passover and Shavu’ot. “The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavu'ot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah.”[7] And for Christians, Pentecost - the time when the Holy Spirit enters and has been received - also represents a kind of redemption. Both redemptions are to be celebrated.
Copyright Richard L. Shafer 2007
[1] This is one
of a series of occasional columns in which the author, raised in the Christian
tradition, searches for common ground and common history among the teachings,
beliefs and practices of adherents of the Abrahamic faiths -- Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
[2] Acts 2:2-4
[3] HOLY BIBLE, Contemporary English Version (New York: American Bible Society, 1995), 562
[4] Ibid. p. 1134
[5] Fox,
[6] HOLY BIBLE, op. cit. p. 185
[7] http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayb.htm