Shavuot is known as the Feast of Weeks because we are supposed to count seven weeks of seven Sabbaths after the Passover.  According to current Rabbinical laws, Shavuot is to be celebrated on the the 6th of Sivan (The third month of the Hebrew calendar) which is exactly 50 days after Passover.  Passover is considered to be a Sabbath day, but the bible does not give an exact calendar date this Holy day is to be celebrated.

    Lev 23:15-16 "And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete:  Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD."

If we read this text closely it says to count from "the morrow after the Sabbath."  If we stop there, it could very well mean counting from Passover because it is considered a Sabbath, in which case the rabbis could be right about the 6th of Sivan.  But if we continue on through both verses above it says, "Even until the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days."  The only Sabbath that is seven weeks after Passover falls on a Saturday and, according to these scriptures, the fifty day count has to land on the day after that seventh Saturday Sabbath, which is Sunday.  That would mean that Shavuot would land on Sunday every year, which makes it impossible to always be on the 6th of Sivan.  That would also mean the counting of 50 days (Known as counting the Omer) would have to resume on the Saturday Sabbath following Passover, not the Sabbath day of Passover. 

Just like we Christians have our unbiblical "church" traditions and doctrines, the Jews have their share of unbiblical teachings as well.  As we Christians endeavor to learn and follow our Hebrew heritage, we need to be careful to discern what is biblical and what is man made.

How appropriate that Pentecost always falls on Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the resurrection.  It almost sounds like God knew what He wanted when He planned the Holy days, doesn't it?  Of course He did!  This is why we Christians need to really understand God's Holy days because Jesus is as much a part of the Old Covenant as He is the New Covenant.

Last modified: 03/16/10

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