The word holiday comes from the Old English word hāligdæg (hālig "holy" + dæg “day"). What makes a specific day holy and different from any other day is the meaning we attribute to it. Today, more and more non-observant and secular Israelis are looking into their Jewish ceremonies and traditions from a cultural perspective, and attributing new meaning to them. Giving meaning to a specific holy-day deepens the understanding of your Jewish identity and the feeling of ownership and belonging to these traditions. Shavuot holiday is the perfect example for this Secular Jewish renaissance. 

 

Shavuot has multiple identities. The holiday of Shavuot began in the Bible as an agricultural festival. Only in Talmudic literature Shavuot was introduced and transformed into the "holiday of the giving of the Torah” (Hag “Matan Torah”). Today Shavuot is most often commemorated as a celebration of Torah - by secular and observant Jews alike, but it wasn’t always like that in Israel. The early zionist pioneers (halutzim), called for celebrating Shavuot as an agricultural festival, as a sign for the renewing Jewish culture in Israel. Growing up in a moshav (a village) I remember Shavuot as an agricultural festival. We used to dress all in white and march in the parade of tractors filled with the first fruits, flowers and agricultural produce (see the picture below).

 

Today, secular people like me celebrate Shavuot mainly as the holiday of the giving of the Torah. The traditional all-night "study awakening”, Tikkun leil Shavuot, that was once commemorated only by religious Jews, today is taking place in dozens of events all over Israel, offering the experience of studying subjects related to Judaism and Jewish culture linked to a secular identity. From multiple events in Jerusalem, to Tsavta theater event in Tel Aviv where you can hear Orthodox rabbis among the Secular Yeshiva speaker, and even an event in the new Wework space. Secular and religious, Charedi and Reform, synagogues and cultural centers, all have all night learning sessions on the night of Shavuot. The study methods varies as well, from lectures, study groups (hevruta), discussions or open debate and interpretation of Jewish texts. The content might be also musical and dance performances, and even spoken word.

 

The popularity of Tikkun Leil Shavuot is impressive and is an expression of a real desire of an increasingly growing number of non-observant Israeli Jews to partake in the Jewish experience, to learn Torah in its wider meaning, and to take part in the interpretation and creation of a modern Jewish culture.

 

In recent years, Tikkun Leil Shavuot has truly become a traditional cultural-Israeli-Jewish event, that is far from limited to observant Jews. This reality reflects a growing sense among the public that the Torah belongs to everyone.