Melbourne Jewish community Day of Prayer for Israel and the Melbourne Jewish community

Shavuot (Pentecost) Leviticus 23:15-22 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD. 18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD.

Shavuot (Pentecost) 19 Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.’”

Various names associated with Shavuot CHAG SHAVUOT (Feast of Weeks) CHAG HA BIKKURIM (The Day of the Firstfruits) CHAG HA KATZIR (The Harvest Feast) ZEMAN MATTAN TORATENU – (The Time of the giving of our Torah) Pentecost (Greek word) The Festival of Harvest (wheat) The Festival of First fruits   The First Fruits of the wheat (Bikkurei Ketzir Chittim)   The Day of Assembly (Yom HaK'hal) Hag HaAtzeret (Atzeret shel Pesach) Season of the Giving of Torah ( Zaman Mattan Torateinu)

Shavuot (Pentecost) EXODUS 19:1 "IN THE THIRD MONTH AFTER THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE GONE FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, THE SAME DAY CAME THEY INTO THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI." TWO LOAVES OF BREAD, CALLED THE SHETEI HA-LEHEM WERE WAVED BEFORE THE LORD

Shavuot (Pentecost) THERE WERE TWO LOAVES TO REPRESENT JEWS AND GENTILES. BOTH ARE EQUAL STATUS BEFORE GOD, BOTH HAVE BEEN REDEEMED AND MADE ONE IN THE BODY OF MESSIAH AS IT SAYS IN Ephesians 2:14-17 “For he Himself is our Peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” and in Ephesians 3:6 “This mystery is that through the gospel the gentiles are heirs together with israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."

Shavuot (Pentecost) THE STORY OF RUTH TOOK PLACE DURING HARVEST TIMES RUTH WAS AN ANCESTOR OF KING DAVID, WHO TRADITIONALLY HAD DIED ON SHAVUOT THE BOOK OF RUTH RECORDS HER CONVERSION TO JUDAISM SO IT IS AN APPROPRIATE READING FOR THE FESTIVAL WHICH COMMEMORATES THE GIVING OF THE TORAH AND THAT RUTH'S LOYALTY IS SYMBOLIC OF ISRAEL'S LOYALTY TO THE LAW IT IS ALSO CUSTOMARY TO ADORN THE SYNAGOGUE WITH PLANTS, FLOWERS AND TREES ON SHAVUOT BECAUSE, AS TRADITION HAS IT, SINAI WAS A GREEN MOUNTAIN AND SHAVUOT IS JUDGMENT DAY FOR TREES, WHETHER THEY WILL BE FRUITFUL OR NOT. SOME RABBIS DISAPROVED OF THIS CUSTOM BECAUSE OF ITS SIMILARITY TO A CERTAIN CHURCH FESTIVAL - VIZ. CHRISTMAS.

Shavuot (Pentecost) THE MESSIANIC FULFILLMENT OF THE FEAST OF PENTECOST.   SHAVUOT WAS FULFILLED BY THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH. Acts 2:1-4 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them.”

Shavuot (Pentecost) Acts 1:4-5 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Shavuot (Pentecost) Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but One who is more powerful than i is coming after me; i am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

WHY DO WE NEED TO BE BAPTISED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT? Shavuot (Pentecost) WHY DO WE NEED TO BE BAPTISED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?   BECAUSE WE AS HUMAN BEINGS ARE UNABLE TO LIVE UP TO THE HOLY STANDARDS THAT ARE SET IN THE LAW. THERE ARE 613 LAWS IN THE TORAH, WHO CAN KEEP ALL OF THEM, NO-ONE.

Shavuot (Pentecost) Ezekiel 36:26 – 27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.”

Shavuot (Pentecost) AND THE SAME RUACH HAKODESH THAT FILLED THOSE EARLY BELIEVERS HERE TODAY WANTS TO FILL EACH PERSON…