Hebrew Stuff

This is the page for learning all about Jewish life in the North East of Scotland. We are members of our local synagogue and take part in many Jewish events throughout the year. Details of all of these services and events can be found on our shul's website, but here we will have more cultural and social content including crafts, recipes and so on.

We are also learning Modern Hebrew and we will put some of our learning experiences on this site as well, for the benefit of those who are following in our footsteps!

The Next High Holiday is Shavu'ot

From 5-7 Sivan (this year, 18-20 May) we will be celebrating the first harvest festival of Shavu’ot.  This always falls seven weeks after the second night of Pesach.  It is a positive mitzvah (commandment) to observe Shavuot, which is a Jewish holiday of religious, spiritual, agricultural, historical, and national significance.

The word Shavu’ot   is actually the Hebrew word for “weeks”.  Every night for seven weeks, we count out the days between Passover and Shavu’ot – Passover when we were physically freed from slavery in Egypt, and Shavu’ot when the Torah was given to us, making us spiritually free too.

There are actually three festivals involved – Hag HaKastir    the Wheat festival, Hag HaBikurim  the Festival of the First Fruits,and Hag Matan-Torah,  the Festival of the Giving Of The Torah.  Jewish tradition refers to Shavu’ot as the time the Torah was given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai over 3,300 years ago. This was the only time that G-d revealed His Presence and was heard by the children of Israel. In this historical and spiritual event the Ten Commandments were given and the bondage between G-d and the Jewish people was created.

Traditional things we do during Shavu’ot include –

• The reading of the book of Ruth .  Ruth was a Moabite who married, and converted, King Boaz.  She was the great-grandmother of King David;
• Eating dairy-based meals, to celebrate the laws we were given regarding Kashrut (Kosher food);
• Decoration of our home and synagogue with flowers and greens, in honour of the Harvest festivals;

Staying up all night on the first night of Shavu’ot, studying Torah; this prepares us to receive the Torah anew, the next morning.  One explanation for this tradition is that the Jewish people did not get up in time on the day G*d gave the Torah, and He had to awaken us Himself.  To compensate for this laziness and lack of respect, we now remain awake all night beforehand.

Study is important in itself in Judaism.  We are taught that the end result of study is not the reward; it is for the personal growth, progress and wisdom that study brings.  When we only seek rewards, we become slaves to whoever is dangling the right carrot.

In Israel, the ceremony of Bikurim was renewed during the new settlement in the land of Israel. The ceremonies take place mainly in agricultural settlements such as Moshavim and Kibbutzim and in schools, featuring songs and dances, agricultural shows and children carrying baskets full of first fruits.

Scotland, like Israel, is a nation that produces many dairy goods.  The dairy aspect of Shavu’ot comes from when the Israelites were given the Torah on Mount Sinai; up until then, we had been eating any old meat and fish.  The Torah set out specific rules as to the sort of meat we could or couldn’t eat; suddenly, all our old eating patterns had to be changed!  And until people learned what was and wasn’t suitable, it was safest to stick with dairy produce.  So Shavu’ot is the time for cheesecakes, blintzes, meat-free lasagne and Marshall's Macaroni cheese!

Most Scottish dairy cows are the black-and-white Frisians, a breed which originated in the far north of Holland, and so are suited for the Scottish climate.  The long-haired, big-horned Highland cattle that appear on postcards were originally bred for beef, but have now been superceded by more productive breeds.  There are still lots of Hielan’ Coos around though, because they are popular tourist attractions!

Another type of cow which is exclusively Scottish is the “Beltie”, or Belted Galloway, a breed which is found in the Borders.  This cow has a very distinctive black and white pattern, and there are very few pure Belties left; there was some concern during the last foot-and-mouth epidemic that the breed might die out altogether, but there is a small population in various zoos and wildlife parks that contribute to a breeding programme to sustain the national Beltie herd.

Israeli dairy cows have to be bred to withstand a very different climate, and so the special Israeli-Holstein breed was developed.  These look like Frisians, and are also very high-yielding, hardy cows that produce a phenomenal amount of milk.  But they can easily cope with heat and humidity,  and have transformed the Israeli dairy industry into the largest in the Middle East.

Israel produces a soft white cheese (gvina levana) which can only be obtained there.  In Scotland, however, hard yellow cheeses such as Cheddar are more popular.  There is, however, a Scottish cheese called Caboc which is very white and soft, and comes coated in oatmeal, another Scottish staple food.