Shavuot 2025 Dates & the Story Behind Cheesecake, Grass, and Ruth: Unwrapping the Holiday of Revelation

It might surprise you to learn that nowhere in the Torah is Shavuot explicitly called the anniversary of the giving of the Torah. That’s right. Open your Tanach and you’ll see Shavuot referred to as a harvest festival , tied to the offering of the bikkurim (first fruits) and the culmination of the Omer count (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:15–22). So where does this “Zman Matan Torateinu” – “the time of the giving of our Torah” – come from?

Jewish tradition fills in the gaps.

The Talmud (Shabbat 86b–88a) debates the precise day the Torah was given. The timeline from Shemot (Exodus) chapters 19–20 places the giving of the Torah in early Sivan, and most traditions land on the 6th of Sivan – the same date that Shavuot falls on according to the fixed calendar. That’s why we say Zman Matan Torateinu in the holiday prayers.

Still, the Torah doesn’t scream this out. The connection is mostly midrashic, rabbinic, and liturgical. Why the silence? Theories abound:

• The Ralbag (Gersonides, commentary to Exodus 19) argues that we’re meant to deduce the connection from the text. The Torah lays out a sequence that leads directly to the 6th of Sivan, but it’s left implicit.
  
  

• The Abarbanel (commentary to Leviticus 23) says the Torah was indeed given on Shavuot, but the holiday commemorates the harvest – not the revelation.
  
  

• Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch , in Collected Writings, vol. 1, suggests the omission was intentional, to emphasize the importance of Oral Torah . Since the date of the Torah’s giving is preserved only through tradition, it teaches that Torah She’b’al Peh (Oral Law) is essential for understanding the written word.
  
  

So while Shavuot may not wear the “Giving of the Torah” badge front and center in the text, Jewish memory and ritual have more than made up for it.

Step into a traditional synagogue on Shavuot and you might feel like you’ve wandered into a botanical garden. Why do Jews decorate their homes and synagogues with greenery on Shavuot?

The simplest answer comes from the Mishna Berura (494:10) : grass grew around Mount Sinai, so we recreate that scene in miniature.

But it goes deeper. The Magen Avraham (494:5) notes that on Shavuot, we are judged on the fruit of the trees (Rosh Hashanah 1:2). The trees and flowers serve as a reminder to pray for a good harvest. Plus, some say it’s a throwback to Reuven gathering flowers during the wheat harvest (Genesis 30:14) – an event connected to the birth of Issachar , the tribe known for Torah learning.

Other sources are more mystical: the Chatam Sofer taught that the world was filled with sweet fragrance at Sinai with each divine utterance (Shabbat 88b). Hence, the greenery reflects that heavenly aroma.

Oh – and don’t bring fruit-bearing branches unless you want a halachic debate about cutting down fruit trees (bal tashchit, Deuteronomy 20:19). Many communities use decorative greens or branches from non-fruit trees to keep things kosher (Piskei Teshuvot 494, footnote 60).

Now we get to the delicious part.

Ashkenazi Jews are known for eating dairy meals on Shavuot , sometimes followed by a meat meal to mimic the two-loaf offering brought in the Temple (Leviticus 23:17). But why dairy?

Here are just a few reasons (seriously, there are dozens):

• Milk = Torah. Song of Songs 4:11 compares the Torah to milk and honey under the tongue .
  
  

• Gematria geekery: The Hebrew word for milk, chalav (חלב), has a numerical value of 40 – just like the number of days Moses spent on Mount Sinai (Baal HaTurim on Exodus 34:28).
  
  

• Practical halacha: After receiving the laws of kashrut at Sinai, the Israelites realized their dishes weren’t up to code. They had no kosher meat ready, so they ate dairy instead (Mishna Berura 494:12).
  
  

• A dairy meal requires a separate loaf of bread , and if you eat meat later, you’ll need another – symbolizing the two loaves offered in the Temple (Rema on Orach Chayim 494).
  
  

• Some say it’s about humility: just as milk requires gentle vessels, so too the Torah only stays with those who are humble (Taanit 7a).

Whether you lean toward mystical symbolism or just really love blintzes, the tradition is as rich as a good ricotta.

Every Shavuot morning, Ashkenazi communities crack open the Book of Ruth. Why?

• Timing: The events of Ruth take place during the harvest season (Ruth 2:23).
  
  

• Ancestry: Ruth is the great-grandmother of King David (Ruth 4:17), and according to Yerushalmi Chagigah 2:3 , David died on Shavuot .
  
  

• Conversion: Ruth’s journey from Moabite outsider to Jewish matriarch echoes the national conversion moment at Sinai, when the Israelites declared “Na’aseh v’nishma” – “We will do and we will hear” (Exodus 24:7).
  
  

• Oral Law spotlight: Deuteronomy 23:4 appears to ban Moabites from entering the Jewish community , yet Yevamot 76b clarifies that this applies only to men – not women. Ruth’s inclusion in Jewish lineage only makes sense through the Oral Torah .

So, Ruth isn’t just a nice pastoral interlude – it’s the thematic backbone of the day .

Shavuot might not have matzah or shofars, but it has something arguably more profound: an invitation to re-engage with Torah. Whether you mark the day with all-night learning (tikkun leil Shavuot),  cheesecake, or flowers on your table , it’s all part of a centuries-old mosaic of meaning.

And while the Torah doesn’t explicitly connect Shavuot to its own giving, Jewish tradition has gone above and beyond to make sure that connection is unforgettable.

So don’t let it sneak up on you this year. As Shavuot 2025 approaches – June 1–3 / 6–7 Sivan 5785 – take a moment to count your days, prep your dairy delights, and maybe even pick up a bouquet.

Because at its heart, Shavuot is about growth – of crops, of character, and of commitment to the Torah!