Shavuot: let them eat ice cream!

By Alicia Feldman, PJ Library Coordinator

When you have young children, three Jewish holidays get the most holiday street cred with them – Passover, Purim and Hanukkah. While these holidays might have more cultural awareness, the holiday of Shavuot also has plenty of traditions to make it appealing for children.

This holiday marks the biblical story of receiving the Ten Commandments and the Torah at Mt. Sinai. While many families don’t regularly celebrate Shavuot, it’s a holiday that’s totally made for kids, and it’s a perfect excuse for sleepovers, flower picking, ice cream socials and many other fun activities.

Although Shavuot was originally a harvest holiday, people celebrate the day today by studying the Torah, staying up all night, crafting paper cutouts and, of course, indulging in cheesecake, blintzes and ice cream. It is also traditional on Shavuot to read the “Book of Ruth.” Many reasons are given by different scholars about why to read this story on this particular holiday. The major themes in the “Book of Ruth” about giving, kindness and selflessness coincide with the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people.

The tie-in to the Torah and Ten Commandments also make Shavuot a perfect opportunity to reinforce so many of the values that parents already impart to their children, like telling the truth, honoring others and sharing.

Many of us don’t realize how easy it is to summon the holy in our everyday life. However, when you consider the practical application of the values taught by the Ten Commandments, it is easy to see we are teaching our children these values daily. We are actually “living Jewishly” without even making a connection between daily life and the teachings of the Torah.

So, while the Shavuot celebration has some very delicious and fun traditions, like breaking out the sundae bar or holding summertime sleepovers, it is also the perfect time to remember our core values as a people. Living Torah isn’t an abstract concept; it is in the fabric of our daily lives. We just might not realize it!

I hope to see everyone at our Good Yom Tov it’s Shavuot celebration on Sunday, June 26, 3:30 p.m. at Tumbles Naples, 2462 Vanderbilt Beach Road, where we can enjoy each other’s company and celebrate the holiday together.

GOOD YOM TOV IT’S SHAVUOT CELEBRATION

When: Sunday, June 26 at 3:30 p.m. Where: Tumbles, 2462 Vanderbilt Beach Road

Sponsored by PJ Library