Introduction

Many of the following laws are adapted with permission from the wonderful Hebrew sefer (book), Kovetz Halachot on Shavuot, a collection of Halachic decisions from Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky Shlit”a. The “lessons” are written in italics, to differentiate them from the “laws”.

In truth, the Torah’s laws, and its lessons, are one and the same, as they both reveal what Hashem (God) wants from us most.

The following ideas are just a drop in the sea compared to all of the Torah of Shavuot, but, as Rabbi Tarfon teaches (Pirkei Avot, end of chapter 2), “The task is not upon you to complete, yet you are not free to withdraw from it!”

This adaptation is based on my best understanding of the laws in Kovetz Halachot. If any questions arise, please consult with a qualified rabbi.

Counting Up to Shavuot

  1. Beginning the second night of Passover, we count 49 complete days in excitement[1], until Shavuot, when we received the Torah[2].
  2. Each year on Shavuot, it is like we are receiving the Torah anew, at Mount Sinai[3].

Complete Days, Adding to The Festival

  • The custom is not to begin the evening prayers of Shavuot eve until after tzeit hakochavim[4] (“when the stars go out”), halachic nightfall. This is to ensure that we have counted 49 complete days, before beginning the Shavuot prayers[5].
  • Nevertheless, one must add on to the Festival (Tosafot Yom Tov), by accepting it upon himself at least two minutes[6] before sunset (shkiah), just as one must do before all Festivals and Shabbats[7].
  • Sunset Shavuot eve, this year of 2026, will be at 8:12 p.m. in Passaic, NJ, 8:11 in Lakewood NJ, Brooklyn NY and Queens NY, 8:13 in Monsey NY, and 8:06 in Woodstock, NY.
  • Hashem created the world in six days. He engaged in active labor (melachah), until the very split second before He rested, so to speak, on the seventh day, Shabbat. In practice, it’s hard for us to know when exactly Shabbat begins. By ceasing our active labor a couple of minutes early, we add on to the Shabbat, to be certain that we will not violate the Shabbat itself [8]. This is a lesson in humility. Only Hashem knows the precise nature of things. As humans, we are limited, and must take an extra precaution[9].

Decorative Flowers

  1. Some have the custom to decorate the synagogues and houses with grasses and flowers, as an expression of our happiness for receiving the Torah[10].
  2. Leaves which fall from the flowers are not fit for any use. Therefore, they are muktzeh (“set aside”) and may not be moved during the Festival[11].
  3. The grasses and flowers themselves are used to beautify the house or synagogue. They are not muktzeh, and may be moved[12].
  4. When Hashem gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, the dry desert bloomed with vegetation[13]. Studying Torah gives us new life and rejuvenation, even in miraculous ways[14].

Dairy Foods

  1. On Shavuot, there is a custom to eat dairy foods in addition to the regular meat dishes eaten on Festivals[15].
  2. One can fulfill this custom by eating dairy and meat at the same meal, or at separate meals[16].
  3. One can also fulfill this custom by eating dairy food without a meal of bread[17].
  4. Milk is the food a baby nurses from its mother. Milk is one item which includes all of the nutrients the baby needs, and it is delicious. The baby has complete trust that his mother is giving him something good. On Shavuot, Hashem gives us the delicious Torah, whose directives account for everything we might need. As Hashem’s precious children, we can be rest assured that what He is giving us is very good[18]!

Separating Between Milk and Meat

  1. During both Shavuot and the rest of the year, one may not eat meat and milk together[19].
  2. After eating meat or chicken, one must wait six hours[20] before eating or drinking a dairy item[21].
  3. One may eat meat immediately after eating dairy food, provided that he first takes the following steps:
    • Check his hands, to ensure there is no residue of dairy on them. It is advisable (nachon) to wash them instead[22].
    • Eat any food (aside from flour[23], dates, and vegetables) and drink something to clear his mouth of any remaining dairy food[24].
  4. If one covers a meaty oven rack with aluminum foil, he may ideally (lechatchila) bake, roast, or cook a dairy dish in a covered container on that rack[25].
  5. Both milk and meat may each be eaten on their own; only their combination is prohibited. According to Jewish mysticism, milk represents kindness (chesed), while meat represents strict judgement (din). In order to distinguish between these two opposing attributes, we may not mix them together[26].

Blessings for Cheesecake

  1. Many cheesecakes have a thin dough crust, which mainly serves to hold up the cheese, but also has its own pleasant taste.
  2. When eating such a cake, one should separate a piece of the crust and recite Mezonot, the blessing for grain items[27].
  3. Then, he should recite Shehakol, the blessing for foods that do not grow from the ground[28], before eating the cheese[29].
  4. If there is fruit on top of the cheesecake, one should not recite a blessing on it individually. The fruit is included in the Mezonot and Shehakol recited on the rest of the cheesecake[30].
  5. After eating, he should recite Borei Nefashot (“Who creates living things”)[31].

Staying Up Shavuot Night

  1. There is a custom to stay awake and learn Torah, the entire Shavuot night[32].
  2. Hashem’s giving the Torah to us represents our entering a marriage-relationship with Hashem[33]. Although we cannot possibly understand Hashem’s essence, Hashem did the seemingly impossible, distilling and encapsulating His will and wisdom into the mitzvot (commandments) and laws of the Torah[34]. Just as someone might stay up the night before their wedding in excitement, thinking about the virtues of their fiancée, we stay up on Shavuot night, studying the closest “description” of Hashem that we have, the Torah.

Morning Blessings

  1. On Shavuot morning we recite all of the morning blessings as usual. However, there are several exceptions for one who did not sleep all night:
    • Although he should wash his hands after daybreak as usual, he may not recite the blessing Al Netilat Yadayim (“regarding the washing of the hands”), until he relieves himself[35].
    • Strictly speaking, he may recite the blessings of Hama’avir Sheinah (“Who removes sleep…”)and Elokai Neshamah (“My God, the soul…”). However, the custom is not to recite them oneself. He should fulfill these blessings by listening to them being recited by someone else who did sleep that night[36].
    • He should not recite Birchat HaTorah (The Blessings on The Torah) himself. He should fulfill it by listening to it being recited by someone else who did sleep that night[37]. One who slept for at least a half hour[38] during the day before Shavuot, may recite Birchat HaTorah himself[39].
  2. One who did not sleep at night does not recite those blessings which are associated with getting up after a night of sleep. Nonetheless, we listen to another person reciting them, to fulfill the opinions that the new day itself requires a new blessing, regardless whether one slept or not. The morning blessings each day express our fresh appreciation for the Torah, our lives, and everything we enjoy, as new gifts from Hashem[40].

The Ten Commandments

  1. Even those who do not generally stand for the communal Torah Reading in the synagogue (Keriat HaTorah) during the year, should stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments.
  2. In Jewish law, standing is a sign of respect[41]. Standing up also indicates our preparing ourselves for action. Just as the Jews said na’aseh[42], “we will do”, before nishma, “we will listen”, we stand up to show our commitment to follow the Torah, before we listen to the Ten Commandments being read. A sincere sense of respect and appreciation for the Torah and its ideals, will necessarily bring us to actually carry them out in our own lives.

The Torah is for Us

  1. When Moshe ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah, the angels protested: “How can the holy Torah, which represents Hashem’s glory, be given to humans of flesh and blood?” Moshe feared that the fiery angels would burn him up. But Hashem told him to respond. Moshe questioned the angels: “Do you have parents? How can you possibly fulfill the mitzvah (Torah commandment) to honor one’s parents? Do you have jealousy or negative impulses, that you can fulfill the mitzvot to overcome them[43]?” In Hashem’s infinite love for his children, the Jewish People, He gave them the Torah[44], precisely because of their physical nature. Angels are naturally perfect, but the Torah is only acquired through our overcoming hardships[45]. Through the Torah’s laws and lessons, Hashem guides us through the complexities of this physical world, and enables us to overcome its temptations. By performing the mitzvot, which are “clothed” in physical objects[46], we bring out the Godly spark that is in everything[47]. 

[1] Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvah 306

[2] Kovetz Halachot pg. 5

[3] Korban Ha’aidah, Yerushalmi Rosh Hashana 21a, s.v. mikeivan

[4] How to calculate the time of tzeit hakochavim can depend on one’s individual location. In regard to this law of “complete days”, Rabbi Doniel Asher Kleinmann shlit”a suggests that people in the general New York area should wait until 42 minutes after sunset before praying. This calculation is used by Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky shlit”a in regard to many mitzvah matters.

[5] Kovetz Halachot pg. 129

[6] This is evident from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l, Igrot Moshe, Orach Chaim 1:96.

[7] Kovetz Halachot pg. 129

[8] Rashi, Bereishit 2:2

[9] Rabbi Yosef Fishman shlit”a

[10] Kovetz Halachot pg. 121

[11] Pg. 121-122

[12] Pg. 121, with footnote 4

[13] Mishnah Berurah 494:10

[14] Based on Rabbi Noach Weinberg zt”l

[15] Kovetz Halachot pg. 131

[16] Pg. 131

[17] Pg. 133

[18] Rabbi Chaim Sampson Shlit”a

[19] Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 87:1

[20] There are varying customs regarding how long to wait. Each person should follow their own rabbis and tradition (mesorah).

[21] Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 91:1

[22] Kovetz Halachot pg. 134. One who only drank a cup of milk need not wash or check his hands (Rabbi Doniel Asher Kleinmann shlit”a).

[23] Presumably this refers to a cooked dish of flour, similar to farina. Any baked or cooked dough item is in this regard like bread, which definitely fulfills one’s obligation (Rabbi Doniel Asher Kleinmann shlit”a).  

[24] Kovetz Halachot Pg. 134

[25] Pg. 136

[26] Rabbeinu Bachyeh, Shemot 23:19, with the commentary Tuv Ta’am

[27] This includes the five grains: wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats; as well as rice, according to most Poskim (halachic decisors; Directions of Siddur Yitzchak Ya’ir pg. 96).   

[28] Directions of Siddur Yitzchak Ya’ir pg. 97   

[29] Kovetz Halachot pg. 143

[30] Rabbi Eliyahu Barax shlit”a

[31] Kovetz Halachot pg. 145

[32] Mishnah Berurah 494:1

[33] Mishnah, Ta’anit 4:8

[34] Tanya, Likutei Amarim chapter 4

[35] Kovetz Halachot pg. 147 . See there, that even urinating allows one to recite the blessing. See Ishei Yisroel pg. 20, footnote 99, that according to some, one can also touch a normally covered part of his body.                                

[36] Pg. 148

[37] Pg. 150

[38] Ishei Yisrael pg. 62, footnote 75

[39] Tanya, Likutei Amarim chapter 4

[40] Rabbi Dovid Apter shlit”a; see Rashi, Shemot 19:1.

[41] It is also a mitzvah to stand for one’s parents, a Torah scholar, an elderly person, a Torah scroll, and more.

[42] Shemot 24:7

[43] Shabbat 88b-89a

[44] Blessing of Ahavat Olam, Daily Siddur, Evening Prayers; see Rabbi Matisyahu Salamon zt”l, Matnat Chaim, Ma’amarim (5786 edition) pp. 234-236, 240

[45] Berachot 5a

[46] Tanya, Likutei Amarim chapter 4

[47] Ba’al Shem Tov Hashalem Vol. 4, pg. 2’455; see Tanya, Likutei Amarim chapter 37

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