Shavuot

Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, seven weeks after the exodus from Egypt. The custom is for everyone to be in synagogue when the Ten Commandments are read — children very much included, the way the whole nation stood at the mountain together.

Dairy food is traditional on Shavuot, and so is staying up through the first night to learn.

We hold a dinner on Shavuot eve, read the Ten Commandments at services, and say Yizkor, the memorial prayer, on the second day. It is fun for adults and children alike, and you do not need to know your way around a prayer book to come.