Sivan is the third month on the Jewish calendar counting from Nissan.
Like the rest of the Hebrew months, its name was adopted during the Babylonian exile, and means, "fixed date" or "time." The name also alludes to Mount Sinai and miracles.
In the month of Sivan, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, when the Torah was given by G‑d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai more than 3,300 years ago. Every year on the holiday of Shavuot, we renew our acceptance of G‑d’s gift, and G‑d “re-gives” the Torah.
Read more...
Rosh Chodesh Sivan is distinguished as the day on which the Jewish people arrived and camped before Mount Sinai.
The Torah describes this with the phrase “Israel camped before the mountain” (Exodus 19:2), where the verb vayichan (“camped”) is stated in a singular form, in contrast to the other verbs in the narrative. This describes how the entire people camped “as one person, with one heart,” expressing true unity.
This paved the way for the Giving of the Torah, celebrated on Shavuot, a two-day holiday, beginning at sundown of the fifth of Sivan and lasting until nightfall of the seventh of Sivan. (In Israel it is a one-day holiday, ending at nightfall of the sixth of Sivan.)
See more on our Shavuot site
The word shavuot means “weeks.” It marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot. The mitzvah to count each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot—known as Sefirat HaOmer—is a period of introspection and self-refinement, as we prepare ourselves to receive the Torah anew on Shavuot. Each day of counting represents another step in this spiritual journey.
The giving of the Torah was a far-reaching spiritual event—one that touched the essence of the Jewish soul for all times. Our sages have compared it to a wedding between G‑d and the Jewish people.
Shavuot also means “oaths,” for on this day G‑d swore eternal devotion to us, and we in turn pledged everlasting loyalty to Him.
