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Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi B"H D'var Torah on Shavuot
Jewish food, for body and soul
In a couple of days the festival of Shavuot begins, commemorating the giving of the Torah
on Mount Sinai. It is customary to eat dairy products on Shavuot. We'll explore why in
a minute. But first let us note that Jewish life revolves around food. As the popular
summary of Jewish holidays goes: They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat (or not). Indeed,
Jewish life alternates between feast and fast:
The Jewish year begins with Rosh Hashanah. That's a feast.
Then Tzom Gedaliah. That's a fast. Followed by more fasting on Yom Kippur. Then feasting
on Sukkot, more feasting on Hoshanah Rabbah, then wild feasting on Simchat Torah.
Then comes the month of Cheshvan. No feasts or fasts for a whole month. You've got to
learn to live with it! Then comes Hanukkah, when you eat a lot of
potato pancakes . Then the Fast of Tenth of Tevet, when you do not eat potato pancakes.
Then a feast on Tu B'Shevat, followed by a fast on the Fast of Esther.
Eat hamantaschen on Purim, then do not eat hamantaschen on the Fast of the First-Born,
or on Pessah. On Shavuot, enjoy a dairy feast of cheeses
and blintzes, but refrain from them on the fast of the 17th of Tammuz.
On Tish'a B'Av, don't even THINK about eating or feasting.
The comes the month of Elul, which ends the cycle, and you go back to square one.
Back to Shavuot. What is the origin of the custom of eating dairy on Shavuot? It is not
ancient. The earliest source is Kol Bo, a 13th-century opus on Jewish Law: [probably
by R. Aharon ben Yaakov HaKohen of Lunel] There is an established custom to eat honey
and milk on Shavuot since the Torah is compared to honey and milk as it is written [in the
Song of Songs], "Honey and milk are under your tongue." [Song
of Songs 4:11].
John Cooper, in his 1994 book "Eat and be Satisfied: A Social History of Jewish Food"
writes: According to Kalonymos ben Kalonymos, the
14th-century Jews of Provence used to eat a specially-prepared honey cake in the shape
of a ladder on Shavuot. Later in Germany the cake was made with 7 rungs, symbolizing the
7 spheres rent by the Almighty when He descended to give the Law.
So, too, the earlier 13th century Provence philosopher Jacob ben Abba Mari Antoli asserted
that it was customary for Jews to partake of milk and honey on Shavuot, as these foods
were compared with the sustenance derived from the Torah...
In central and eastern Europe dairy foods replaced the honey cake of Provence on Shavuot,
partly because there was an abundance of milk at this time of the year, and partly because
dairy dishes were the standard festive food at [that time of year] in several parts of
Germany.
There are also mystical reasons. The book Chag HaShavuot says:
Why is Torah likened to honey and milk? Honey comes from a bee, which is not kosher, and
milk comes from a live animal whose meat is forbidden until the animal is slaughtered.
Both honey and milk, therefore, allude to the power of Torah which can transform a sullied
soul into one of holiness and purity. [Chag HaShavuot published by Yad L'Achim]
Also, the gematria of milk, chalav in Hebrew, is 40. It reminds us of the three sets of
40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. There were also 40 generations
from Moses, who recorded the Written Torah, to Ravina and Rav Ashi, who wrote the final
version of the Oral Torah, the Talmud. Finally, the Talmud begins and ends with the letter
mem, which has a gematria of 40.
The Midrash notes that Mount Sinai is also known as Har Gav'nunim, the mountain of majestic
peaks. The Hebrew word for 'cheese' is gevinah, which has the same root. Gevinah has a gematria
of 70, corresponding to the "70 faces of Torah." [Numbers Rabbah 13:15]
Also, before the Torah was given to the Israelites in the desert, the laws of shechita, the ritual
slaughtering of animals, were not known. So, to be on safe side, they simply ate dairy
meals. Another reason: Receiving the Torah was like
being born again, so we celebrate by eating baby food, namely milk.
Finally, the Torah [Numbers 28.26] says: Minchah chadashah l'HaShem be-Shavu'otekhem
On your holiday of Shavuot, when you offer new grain to God.
The initials of the four Hebrew words spell 'me-chalav' (from milk), pointing to eating
dairy on Shavuot.
Sephardic Jews, however, differ somewhat, in that they eat both dairy and meat on Shavuot.
Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, who used to be Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, wrote in 1964:
Our custom is to eat some dairy and after rinsing out our mouths we eat meat. It is
a mitzvah to eat meat on Yom Tov to fulfill the obligation of being happy on the holiday,
because there is no happiness unless there is meat!
So the meat meal follows the milk meal. These two meals represent the two loaves of bread,
formerly offered in the "bikkurim", or "first fruits", offering at the Temple service on
Shavuot.
The Talmud [Makkot 23b] says that the Torah has 365 negative commandments, corresponding
to the 365 days of the year. The Zohar adds that they are matched one for one. So which
is Shavuot? The Torah gives the answer: Bring Bikkurim (first fruits) to God's Holy
Temple. Don't cook a kid in its mother's milk. [Exodus 34:26]
Why are these two commandments side by side? Well, the first day for bringing Bikkurim
is Shavuot. In fact, the Torah calls Shavuot "Chag haBikkurim", "the holiday of Bikkurim".
So, the second half of that verse is the negative commandment corresponding to Shavuot. Thus,
on Shavuot we eat two meals, one of milk and one of meat, taking care not to mix the two.
Also, we do not use the same loaf of bread for a meat meal and then later at a milk meal,
lest some of the meat splatters on the bread.
The Jews of Aleppo, Syria, had a custom of eating a light dairy meal on the first night
to facilitate staying up all night studying. The Jews of Egypt, like myself, had the custom
of eating geese in a local herb soup called Molokheyya.
There is also the custom of serving the seven species of produce that are native to Israel:
Barley, wheat, dates, figs, olives, grapes and pomegranates. The rabbis said it's because
they contain 613 seeds, the number of commandments in the Torah.
As mentioned earlier, the custom of eating dairy on Shavuot is not ancient. The Talmud
does record eating meat on Shavuot: On Shavuot, Rabbi Yosef would say 'Prepare
me a third-born calf [the best kind],'saying. 'If it were not for the influence of this
day, how many Yosefs would there be in the market place! [That is, I would be just an
ordinary person, not learned in Torah, which was given on this day]. [Pesachim 68b]
Another instance in the Talmud: R. Jochanan said: If a man set aside ten beasts
for his festal-offering, [and] he offered five the first day of the festival, he may
offer the other five on the second day of the festival. [Hagigah 8b]
In fact, the Sages had a saying: "En simchah ella be-bassar ve-yayin" --"There
is no rejoicing except with meat and wine." This is a custom, not a law. (Exceptions are
that mourners may not consume meat or wine, and one must eat dairy only on the nine days
before Tisha B'Av, except on Shabbat.)
The Talmud makes the intention of the saying clear:
The sons of R. Papa bar Abba asked R. Papa: We have meat and wine every day, so how shall
we mark a change? He answered: If you are accustomed to [have
dinner] early, postpone the meal, if you are accustomed to [have dinner] late, have the
meal earlier. [Shabbat 119a]
In other words, do something different for Shabbat and the holidays. You don't have to
force yourself to eat meat or drink wine if you don't really enjoy them. And if they hurt
you, there is no question that you should not have them.
On a related topic, the Sages decided that they will not issue decrees if the majority
of the people cannot follow them. The Talmud says:
Our Rabbis taught: When the [second] Temple was destroyed... large numbers in Israel became
ascetics, binding themselves not to eat meat or drink wine.
-R. Yehoshua...asked them: My sons, why do you not eat meat or drink wine?
-They replied: Shall we eat flesh which used to be brought as an offering on the altar,
now that this altar is in abeyance? Shall we drink wine which used to be poured as a
libation on the altar, but now no longer? -He said to them: If that is so, we should
not eat bread either, because the meal offerings have ceased.
-They said: [That is so, and] we can manage with fruit.
-We should not eat fruit either, [he said,] because there is no longer an offering of
first fruits. -Then we can manage with other fruits [they
said]. -But, [he said,] we should not drink water,
because there is no longer the ceremony of the pouring of water, [Simchat Bet HaShoevah,
which used to be performed on Sukkot when the Temple was standing].
-To this they could find no answer, so he said to them: My sons, come and listen to
me. Not to mourn at all is impossible, because the blow has fallen. To mourn too much is
also impossible, because we do not impose on the community a hardship which the majority
cannot endure... -The Sages therefore have ruled as follows.
A man may paint his house, but he should leave a small area bare. A man may prepare a full-course
banquet, but he should leave out an item or two. A woman may put on all her ornaments,
but leave off one or two... -It has been taught...: Since the day of the
destruction of the Temple we should [logically] not eat meat nor drink wine, but we do not
lay a hardship on the community unless the majority can endure it. [By the same logic,]
when the government... issues cruel decrees against us and forbids to us to [practice
circumcision], we should not marry and have children, but then the seed of Abraham our
father would come to an end, [and people will not accept that]... [Baba Batra 60b]
In a related vein, we are enjoined not to mix different forms of rejoicing:
"En me'arvin simchah besimchah" — one may not mix two sources of rejoicing.
For example, one may not marry during a holiday. The Talmud states:
One may not take a wife during the festival [week]... as it is a rejoicing.. And if it
is a rejoicing..., what is the problem? It is [forbidden] because one 'rejoicing' may
not be merged with another 'rejoicing'...[The groom] abandons the 'rejoicing' of the festival
and busies himself with [the rejoicing] of his wife.
[The Torah says] 'And you shall rejoice in your feast', [that is,] in 'your feast', but
not with your [new] wife [instead].' Ulla said, [It is] because the exertion [required
for the rejoicing of his wife] prevents the groom from enjoying the festival.
[Mo'ed Katan 8b]
However, weddings may take place on Chanukah, Rosh Chodesh and Purim [Shulchan Aruch, OC
696:8]. In fact, in some places, Jews even had a custom to specifically hold weddings
on Purim. The Midrash says that Jacob and Leah married on Purim. In 1930, Rabbi Shlomo
Zalman Auerbach's wedding took place on Purim so as not to conflict with his yeshivah's
learning schedule [Hanoch Teller, "And from Jerusalem His Word: Stories and Insights of
Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l", New York, 1995, 36]. Others disagree and do not hold
weddings on Purim. [Magen Avraham and sources cited in Nitei Gavriel, Purim [1986], 170-171].
So, to fully appreciate and enjoy a happy occasion, it should not be mixed with another
happy occasion.
Even more generally, Judaism is against all kinds of mixing. No mixing of milk and meat,
no mixing of wool and linen (Shaatnez), no mixing of the holy and the secular (they are
separated by the ceremony of Havdalah), no mixing of different kinds of celebration.
I believe one can even extend that notion to two-track relationships. They don't work
because once you lose one track, you lose both.
But back to Shavuot proper. Go enjoy some good cheeses, chag sameach and Bon Appé***!