The Heart of Torah

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	Shavuot


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	and the heart of Torah


	I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts (Jer. 31:33)


	The Fruit of the Spirit

	In the Jewish tradition, forty nine days – seven weeks of days – are carefully counted between the holiday of Firstfruits and Shavu'ot (Pentecost or "Weeks"). This period of time is called Sefirat Omer ("counting the sheaves"). Every day during this season, a special blessing is recited naming exactly how many more days are left before the "seven weeks of days" are complete.


	Surely God did not want the Jewish people to miss something important here! Could He have made it any clearer? It's almost as if there is a dotted line pointing directly from Firstfruits to Shavu'ot - a "Jubilee" of days:

Originally an agricultural festival, traditional Judaism views Shavuot primarily as Mattan Torah, a time that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Historically, as one of the three pilgrimage festivals, Jews from all over the world would come to Jerusalem to celebrate and reaffirm their commitment to the covenant of Moses.

And such was the custom when God delivered the Substance of which the festival of Shavu'ot was merely a "type and a shadow." For the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) reveals that Shavu'ot is the climax of God's plan for our deliverance through Jesus, the true Lamb of God (Seh Elohim). The countdown to Shavu'ot represents the giving of the anticipated New Covenant to mankind, since it was on this very day that the Holy Spirit was given to form the Church of God.

With a touch of divine irony, on the very day that Jews from around the world gathered in Jerusalem to reaffirm their commitment to the covenant of Moses, the Holy Spirit descended upon Israel to offer the promise of the New Covenant to all who will believe (see Acts 2:1-42). This new covenant makes Torah a matter of the heart, written by the God's Spirit, and yielding a life fruitful in the praise of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:
against such there is no Torah. (Gal 5:22-23)

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