Where exactly does that custom of eating dairy on Shavuot come from?
Consider the festival of Shavuot, fast approaching on exit 49 of the Omer Freeway — the anniversary of the Torah covenant on Sinai, and arguably the most central of our festivals. Yet, of all the celebrations of the Jewish year, it most perfectly embodies the Mishnah’s confession that some prominent Jewish practices “hang like mountains by a thread, with little Scripture and a host of halachic rules.” (Hagigah 1:8). For starters, note the tricky question of the historical meaning of Shavuot. The Torah teaches that Israel received the Commandments on “the third month” (i.e., Sivan, Ex. 19:1). But it makes no mention of any celebratory anniversary festival. Compared to Pesach, explicitly commanded as an annual recounting of the Exodus miracles, the event of Revelation is chopped liver? Throughout the Torah’s festival calendars, Shavuot is linked to agricultural milestones, such as the Festival of Ingathering, the First Fruits Offering (Ex.23:16-19) or the culmination of the seven weeks (
