Naso/Shavuot: The Outlier Holiday

This past week, we celebrated the Jewish holiday of Shavuot from Tuesday night through Thursday evening. Shavuot is actually one of three Pilgrimage festivals, together with Passover and Sukkot, and as such it is one of our most important holidays. Yet very few people observe it (or are even aware of how to observe it), and many of you may not have realized it was Shavuot at all. But don't feel bad. If this description applies to you, you're in very good company. Even in the Torah, the festival does not have a fixed date, we are merely told to celebrate it seven weeks after Pesach OR on "the day of the first fruits" (Num. 28:26). The Torah itself isn't sure what to make of it! Some say the holiday is about the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, others say it's about harvesting barley, pulling an all-nighter of Torah study, reading the Book of Ruth, or even eating cheesecake and blintzes. Shavuot should be all of these things, yet somehow it amounts to none of them. The holiday tries to be so many different things, and still ends up being our least famous, and least acknowledged holiday. But why?

Part of the problem is marketing. Look at our other holidays: Passover has freedom from bondage, matzah, Seders, and plagues. Sukkot has the connection to the land, the lulav and etrog (pictured on the right), and the building of funky, outdoor huts. Chanukah has presents and candle-lighting, Purim has costumes and Hamentaschen, and so on and so forth. Other holidays have easily recognizable symbols, relevant themes, and distinct foods. Shavuot somehow missed the boat on most of these issues, and in every generation the rabbis have tried to talk it up to no avail. But the more I think about it, I wonder if Shavuot's status as an outlier isn't part and parcel of the holiday itself.

You see, the Bible contains five scrolls, and each is read at a different holiday. At Passover we read the Song of Songs, at Shavuot the Book of Ruth, at Tisha B'av we read Lamentations, at Sukkot we read Ecclesiastes, and at Purim we read the Book of Esther. In addition to having connections to each holiday, the five books together represent five major facets of life. Esther and Lamentations are the Comedy and the Tragedy. Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs represent rational thinking and romantic excitement. These are four major aspects of the human experience. And the last one, the Book of Ruth, tells the story of a Moabite woman who "converts" to Judaism, and who rises from poverty and obscurity to become the great-grandmother of King David.

Both Shavuot and the Book of Ruth teach us about the outsider, and the very common experiences of feeling alone, forgotten, and insignificant. It is a unique perspective, and an important one that can help us learn how to treat the people around us. Too often in society we idolize celebrities who take center stage, but who teach us terrible values, and represent the worst human attributes. So much time is wasted on people who are flashy, charismatic, and boisterous, yet who have absolutely nothing useful to say. Shavuot and Ruth make us focus on quality over quantity, on the quieter, more reserved people who deserve just as much attention and praise.

As we celebrate every other Jewish holiday and come together with family and friends to celebrate, eat, and pray; we should also think about how to bring a little Shavuot back into our lives. Who are the people around us who should be honored and recognized, but who are easily missed? What can be done to bring true heroism to light, when it is too humble to speak on its own behalf? Shavuot may have just ended, but really that just means we have a whole year to figure out how to make next year better. Let us begin right now by focusing more on the people, values, and experiences that have real meaning and value in our lives. And next year, we will use Shavuot, the Outlier Holiday, to celebrate and give thanks for these things that matter most.