Shavuot Layout

There's lots of hoopla surrounding Passover, Chanukah, Rosh Hashana, and on Purim there's lots to record about the costumes. Shavuot, by comparison, is pretty simple. Sure, it marks the time that God gave the Torah to the Jewish people, and when the first fruits were brought  to the Temple in Jerusalem. Nowadays, it's celebrated by staying up all night to learn Torah (I did not do this), decorating with fresh flowers to remember how Mt. Sinai bloomed when God gave the Torah there, and eating cheesecake ( I definitely did this). Why cheesecake? Well, 's there's a tradition to eat dairy foods, and lots of proposed reasons why. But, I will resort to Tevye's "Why? Because it's tradition. And how did this tradition get started? I'll tell you...I don't know. But it's a tradition."

Quick update: I just read my friend's blog about Shavuot, and what with her teaching Jewish Studies from the high school to post college level, her description is WAY more informative than mine. So, check this out. It's funny, because I started this post mentioning the simplicity of the holiday. She talks about this in depth, and offers a beautiful explanation for it. 


Nothing too special happened this year at Shavuot. My biggest memory? Max was away for the whole holiday, and before he left he said he'd miss us. I like that.

So that tiny detail, and a picture of my pretty flowers made it onto this page. Washi tape is all the rage, though I own none. So I used paper strips and stickers from the Crafting Jewish Style lines for a similar effect. I am quite smitten with the results, if I may say so.