DIY Guide to Keeping Shavuot

Between the three feasts of YHWH that happen in the springtime, and the three that occur in the fall, stands Shavuot. While lots of attention is given to Passover and Sukkot, the Feast of Weeks can feel a bit neglected to me. This is too bad, since, like the center of the menorah, this is not less significant because it stands slightly further apart than the others. On the contrary, celebrating the giving of the Torah and the Ruach Hakodesh should be a rich time for us all.

How do we make it a special time when there is so little help from the outside world? Some items for Passover make their way into grocery stores, and the fall feasts have many traditions in themselves. But search 'Shavuot' in a Judaica shopping site, and nary a return will you get. I don't get that, because this is a set apart time. So I'm sharing with you a few ideas to make your Shavuot celebration special this year. Here are a few things to try:

Chamomile Honeycomb Ice Cream from Snixy Kitchen
 Have you ever made candy honeycomb? There is nothing like it!

Rose and Pink Peppercorn Chevre with Honey from The House That Lars Built
"Like honey and milk the Torah lies under your tongue." This passage in Song of Songs is largely the reason we associate Shavuot with dairy treats and honey.

Bake Challah Bread from Smitten Kitchen
Shavuot requires two loaves of bread in Scripture. Find a good bread recipe or two to try ahead of time to serve on Shavuot. Challah is traditional but you can try any kind.

Fig and Cheddar Grilled Cheese from A House in the Hills
Shavuot is a no work day so choose foods that you can prepare ahead of time or are extremely simple to make like grilled cheese. 

Frozen Yogurt Bon Bons from Sugar & Cloth
This would be easy to make healthy by using natural food coloring and using chopped dried fruit instead of sprinkles.

10 Commandments Cupcake Toppers from Chai and Home
ALL THE HEART EYES for this idea!

Honeycomb Cookies from A Beautiful Mess

Milk and Honey Printable from Land of Honey
Use this free download to decorate your space.

DIY Color Wrapped Wheat from Inspired By Charm
Since Shavuot is correlated with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, incorporating wheat into your decorations would be very fitting.

Honeycomb Wall Decal from Idle Hands Awake
This super simple project is just washing tape shaped to look like a beehive. A great reminder of the sweetness of the Living Word given to us by YHWH.

DIY Stylish Tzedekah Boxes from Chai and Home
In Scripture giving was a time of joyous celebration, not a begrudged obligation. Making a pretty tzedekah box can help restore that joy.

Pasta Crown from Dana Israeli
A much more glamorous version of a macaroni necklace.

Homemade 10 Commandments Memory Game from The Climbing Tree
The ten commandments (along with the rest of the Torah) were given at Shavuot so this would be a perfect way to teach children YHWH's word. I'm sure the adults would benefit too!

Host a Torah Study
We talked last week about having an all-night Torah study. We need to believe and act like the Word of YHWH is the point. It is limitlessly valuable and worth celebrating in and of itself.

Get Immersed 
Since the Ruach HaKodesh fell baptizing the believers, getting mikvahed or immersed in living water would be a very appropriate Shavuot activity.

Chag sameach! I'm still interested in what you're doing to celebrate and I hope you'll share pictures with me over on Instagram!

Five Ways to Honor Shabbat

Shabbat is such an excellent illustration of how there is more to faith than simply hoping our beliefs are correct or mentally acquiescing that there is an all-powerful God. We should believe that Shabbat is a set apart day as YHWH commanded, yes. But we should also keep Shabbat as the set apart day! Just believing in it or claiming to keep it while looking absolutely the same as everyone else is not what YHWH asks of us. He requires that we do something.

These five things I am sharing with you today are simple, practical ideas to make the Sabbath look different than the rest of the week at your house. These are consistent with what the Old Testament teaches but are not expressly stated in Scripture. Please see Fifteen Things Scripture Says About the Sabbath for more on this.

1. Put the rest of your life on hold. Because, yes, Shabbat starts with a clear calendar. As the-set apart day, YHWH intended the Sabbath to be different from the rest of your week. A big part of that is not penciling in commitments or treating Shabbat as an 'overflow' or catchall day. In addition to not working professionally, don't be shy about saying to your friends that you can't make Saturday morning brunch (tell them you're free Sunday though!), or a bridal shower (you can always send a gift). There's nothing wrong with letting your child play tee-ball during the week and then having them skip Saturday practice. Your inbox can wait a day for you to get back to it.

Side note: I get that this is not exactly convenient. Sometimes it's really hard. For me, honoring Shabbat has meant missing birthday parties and bridal showers. It's meant not getting hired for jobs I've wanted because of my limited availability. It means skipping the Saturday morning farmers market and missing events that are scheduled on YHWH's set apart day. Friends and family not understanding is part of keeping the commandments, and sadly that can lead to hurt feelings. I don't wish those things on anyone but I can tell you that YHWH commands we honor him above our family and friends, even when that doesn't make sense to us.

2. Disconnect. Consider putting away electronics at the start of Shabbat or at least become more intentional with how you utilize them. Somehow when YHWH commanded us to rest I don't think he intended a day of Candy Crush gaming and Facebook posting. Keeping the television off and staying away from social media are good ways to separate the seventh day from the regular days. While I keep my phone on for calls, I've learned the hard way that getting an email about a problem at work or something to do does not make for a peaceful day, especially since these things are out of my control anyway on Shabbat. So, on Friday evenings my email gets switched off and I make it a point to avoid social media. This has been very positive for me. In addition to the ovious benefits of being more 'present' without the distraction, many studies suggest a digital day off is very beneficial to our physical and mental health.

3. Give a blessing. Judaism has a tradition of fathers speaking blessings over each family member as they sit down for a Sabbath meal. It is a combination of speaking life over your family and praying for them. While doing this as a Shabbat activity isn't a commandment, there is no better opportunity to take a few minutes to express to your loved ones how much you value them nd to remind them of their identity and worth in the Messiah. Even if you are by yourself, speak words from Scripture over your person, your family, congregation, work place, and concerns on your mind.

4. Spend some time sitting down and relaxed! It seems like outdoor activities are a big favorite for many of us on Shabbat and I agree that time outside in good weather is fabulous. Lots of studies show that fresh air is a great way to lift your mood and lessen anxiety, so I am definitely on board with that idea. But I'm also going to tell you - put your feet up. If it's nice enough to relax outside, fantastic! But Shabbat doesn't have to be all nature walks and dinner hosting. Make it a point to sit or lie down just to relax and unwind. Watch your kids play. Take a nap. Read Scripture. Pray or spend time journaling, and just take it easy.

If you are overworked or new to Shabbat keeping this might feel really strange at first. It's way too easy to get distracted by what we "should be doing," and not be able to enjoy ourselves. Something that helps me with this is just jotting down any to-do list items that come to mind. That way I know I will remember them later and my mind is free from that occupation. Figure out what works for you. Listening to music, diffusing essential oil, getting fresh air, or a cup of tea can all help to calm us.

5. Connect with like minded believers to hear the Word. In Acts 13:44 it says that almost the entire city gathered to hear the word of YHWH that Paul and Barnabas were teaching on the Sabbath. I love imagining the excitement and anticipation these people must have had for hearing the truth. I mean, is there a crowd in the world you wouldn't brave to hear Apostle Paul teach on Yahusha and the Old Testament? There is a valuable spark that happens when we are able to hear the word of YHWH with others.

Hopefully you have a congregation you are able to attend that teaches truth. This article has some ideas for connecting with others who share the faith. If you don't have a congregation there's no reason you can't sit down with your family and friends to read from Scripture together. If you have friends with similar beliefs and lifestyles that are too far away to see on Shabbat, checking in with them via a phone call or text is better than nothing.

More on keeping the Sabbath:

How to Stop Working on Shabbat
Reasons Why Believers Should Keep the Sabbath

Five Ways to Have a More Peaceful Sabbath

Torah Keeping in the New Covenant

The Torah is often misconstrued as a legalistic law given to us by a grumpy God as some sort of temporary appeasement until his son would get out of bed and come downstairs to fix things. And, yes, YHWH allowed the Levitical Temple system to temporarily stand in for the blood of Yahusha. However, YHWH never meant for his instructions to be written off later. Rather they are a permanent guide from a loving Father to teach us how we can live in a way that is best for us and most honoring to him.

Reading through the Old Testament it is easy to see that the core of the stories are centered around keeping YHWH's Torah - also know as instructions or commandments. The first books of the Bible are about those who were obedient to YHWH's spoken instructions and then about receiving the Torah in writing. Judges is a cycle of things going well when the Israelites kept the word, and disaster happening when the people were disobedient by not keeping the feast days or intermarrying with those not serving YHWH. Kings is about the rulers who didn't keep the Torah, and the few who did. Ezra is a celebration of the Torah. King David wrote Psalms about the Torah being more valuable than millions in gold. King Josiah tore his clothes when a Torah scroll was found in the Temple, fore he realized YHWH was angry they weren't keeping it. Nehemiah is a return of the walls of Jerusalem and the set apart times of YHWH. Daniel is the story of a man who refused to break Scripture's dietary commands by eating unclean animals. There are prophecies of the destruction that comes on nations who are disobedient to Torah, and the hope of a greater day when YHWH's instructions are honored. The Proverbs admonish us to keep the Torah. The whole thing is about that. Surprising as it may be, YHWH's Word is about keeping YHWH's word.

So we can see the significance of YHWH's instructions take in 2/3 of the canon of Scripture. But what about the rest of it? Once you read of the beauty and the value of YHWH's word it is hard to swallow the idea of 'he got rid of that and now we don't have to keep the Torah anymore' that the traditions of Christianity push. A closer look at the New Covenant reveals that the Messiah and his followers kept and honored the Torah.

Torah Keeping in the New Testament

"I did not come to abolish the Torah." -Matthew 5:17

This statement alone should send us into prayer and reevaluation of the what we have been taught. The Messiah said so himself that he wasn't getting rid of YHWH's instructions.

"I will put my Torah in their minds, and write it on their hearts." - Hebrews 8:10

The book of Hebrews was written some thirty years after the Messiah's death and YHWH still desired the hearts and minds of his people to be filled with his instructions.

"Let everyone who names the name of Messiah depart from Torah-breaking." -2 Timothy 2:19
Faith in the Messiah does not let us off the hook to act however we please. Paul is telling us that if we are going to claim to be believers in Messiah we had better start honoring his word.

"I have never eaten food that was unclean." - Acts 10:14

This statement from Peter is a big clue. He made this statement years after the ascension of Yahusha. That whole time he never considered it okay to violate the dietary instructions. Why? Because the Messiah never taught that.

"The doers of the Torah are being made righteous." -Romans 2:13

This tells us that Torah observance is a sign that YHWH is working in that person to make them righteous. In the same way, if you want to be made righteous you should start keeping the commandments.

"By going after the error of the Torahless, you fall." - 2 Peter 3:17

Peter not only taught that disregarding the Torah was an error but one that is damaging and destructive!

"What good is it if someone has faith but has no actions to prove it?" -James 2:14
Much of the writings of the Messiah's half-brother and leader of the Israaelite congregation are devoted to reminding us that simply having faith is not enough. Faith alone is a starting point, but then we are called to take steps of obedience. James questioned the supposed faith of those who weren't willing to prove it by putting the Torah instructions into practice.

"Lot was tormented with the filthy conduct of those without Torah." -2 Peter 2:7

One of Yahusha's most trusted disciples and leaders of The Way said this. The conduct of those without Torah is tormenting to the righteous. Believers should be saddened when someone disobeys the Word.

"Sin is the transgression of Torah." -1 John 3:4

Decades after the Messiah, sin was still defined by violating the commandments of YHWH. This is no different today. More on how the New Testament defines sin here.

"All the Scriptures are given by YHWH and are profitable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting of faults, and training in righteousness." - 2 Timothy 3:16

There was no "New Testament" when Paul wrote this. He is talking about the whole of the Old Testament, including YHWH's instructions. He still viewed them as the measures for what sin is, knowing truth, and righteous living.

"Acting contrary to the Torah insults Elohim himself." -Romans 2:23

YHWH is insulted when we are unwilling to keep his commandments.

"Keeping the Torah of YHWH is everything." -1 Corinthians 7:19

Yes, the instructions of YHWH like Sabbath guarding, clean eating, and the feast days. Paul tells us these should be of the utmost importance to us.

"Be doers of the Torah, and not hearers only deceiving yourselves." -James 1:22

A person believes lies when they decide it's important to study Scripture but that they are not required to implement it in their lives. While they may be deceived by this, YHWH is not.