Shavuot

Yosef Lindell explores the true nature of the Aseret ha-Dibrot.

In honor of Shavuot 5784, Dalia Wolfson presents five new bilingual poems that explore the themes of the third perek of Mishnah Bikkurim and contemplate their possible inversion.

How should we understand Yatziv Pitgam, the enigmatic poem recited in the Haftarah for the second day of Shavuot? Tzvi Novick’s close reading reveals it to be a paean to the Torah and those who study it.

Through a nuanced examination of interrelated minhagim, Nachman Levine shows how the custom of eating dairy foods, particularly blintzes, on Shavuot reenacts a collective initiation into Torah Study, allowing us to reexperience Revelation.

Benjamin Marcus was commissioned to create illustrations for an illuminated manuscript of the Book of Ruth. In this one-of-a-kind article, he shares his challenges, his discoveries, and his art.

In this whimsical story, David Zvi Kalman takes an information theory perspective in tackling what it might have been like for Moses to receive the Law.

Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines the significance of the six barleys that Boaz gives Ruth in light of the story of Rachel, Leah, and the duda'im.

Batya Hefter explores a Hasidic understanding of “Sinai consciousness” and proposes a way to re-experience it on Shavuot.

Yaakov Jaffe examines different views on which of Ruth's attributes first sparked Boaz's attention, and explores what that means about how we define a Jewish hero.

Matt Lubin reflects on the holiday of Shavuot.