Shavuot

Shavuot table design: The guide to festive hosting

We gathered tips from the home experts at Hamashbir for setting a Shavuot table that is festive, trendy, and full of character with minimum effort.

A Shavuot table designed by Hamashbir experts
THE PURSUIT of individuality is one of modern culture’s most prominent trends.

Parashat Bamidbar: The individual within the collective

More than just "a first glass"

The most Shavuot ever: Pink wines conquer the holiday table

A holiday of cheese and wine

Shavuot of sensory intoxication: The wines that will make your holiday


Northern kibbutzim celebrate Shavuot as Hezbollah rockets explode above

Kibbutzim celebrated Shavuot with traditional festivities amidst eerily lively skies filled with rockets and missiles fired by Hezbollah, with kids exclaiming in awe, "Like fireworks."

 Israelis celebrate the Jewish holiday of Shavuot in Kibbutz Ein Ziwan, Golan Heights on June 11, 2024.

Say Cheese: Israel’s dairy holiday has hopes and holes

Israel celebrates the holiday of Shavuot, commonly associated with cheese, as the country’s dairy farms overcome war-related threats and labor shortages.

Montgomery's cheddar cheese

Nostalgia of the palate: The importance of cheesecake on Shavuot

Just Google “cheesecake” or “Shavuot,” and you will quickly discover scores of tried and tested options. The same goes for blintzes and umpteen other dairy dishes. Enjoy!

 THE WRITER, Greer Fay Cashman, with her late husband, Danny, enjoying a bowl of fruit and cheesecake, three decades ago. She gave up smoking not long afterward.

Counting Israel's modern heroes ahead of Shavuot

Counting, counting. For months we’ve been counting. How about counting heroes from Passover to Shavuot – not just biblical, but modern-day heroes?

 EDEN GOLAN represents Israel on stage at the Grand Final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, on May 11, 2024.

Shavuot: The beauty of the Jewish Torah, agricultural holiday

There are several underlying principles to Shavuot, from agriculture to the Torah.

 A POSTER from the late 1940s depicting the Shavuot festival in Israel.

Why are blintzes trending in Israel? Exploring the delicacy's connection to Shavuot

Cheese blintzes, with their rich, creamy filling, perfectly embody the festive and indulgent spirit of Shavuot.

Cheese and fruit blintzes

Fighting against antisemitism effectively: Non-Jews should engage too - opinion

Every citizen should repudiate those who abuse free speech by harassing, threatening, intimidating, and trying to make Jews feel uncomfortable for being Jewish and pro-Israel.

 PROTESTERS GATHER at an encampment in support of Palestinians at McGill University’s campus in Montreal in April.

Finding purpose in cheesecake on Shavuot - opinion

As we once again accept the Torah, let us take it upon ourselves to find new ways to infuse holiness into our routines, to feel the presence and the relevance of the Torah in everything we do.

 CUSTOMERS SHOP in the dairy section of a supermarket ahead of Shavuot. The Torah calls on us to find holiness in our every action – our meals, our work, our everyday interactions with others, and beyond, says the writer.

The history and evolving tradition of Shavuot - opinion

Shavuot’s journey from an agricultural celebration to commemorating the Giving of the Torah, and its eventual return to an agricultural focus, underscores the adaptability of Jewish tradition.

 READING FROM the Torah in synagogue: Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Ten Commandments. These commandments, like the Torah, offer stories, insights, values and actions as ways in to God

Praying for safety, security, return of hostages, and IDF soldiers this Shavuot - opinion

The victory picture that we can all pray for on this holiday is of farmers on our borders harvesting their fields without the threat of incoming rocket fire.

 SHAVUOT IS the ultimate Israeli holiday that allows us to celebrate our connection to the land and salute the wonder of how hard work combined with God’s hand makes the fields flourish and produces sustenance and beauty, says the writer.