Milking the Custom of Dairy on Shavuot by Rabbi Donni Aaron

What do you call a cow that won’t give milk? –A milk dud.

What do you get when a cow gets stuck in an earthquake? –A milkshake.

What gives milk, goes “moo, moo” and makes all of your dreams come true? –Your dairy godmother.

As a people, we may have a reputation for being lactose intolerant, but we Jews love our dairy. Especially on Shavuot (this year observed May 25-27), many of us have great memories of blintzes, lokshen kugel (noodle pudding), and cheesecake. But while we fress (enjoy) the holiday meals, let us ponder some of the reasons given for the custom of eating milk products on Shavuot. Let us note that the very number of midrashim and clever interpretations themselves points to the probability that the original reason, if there ever was one, has been lost somewhere along the way. Since we associate the giving of the tablets of the Ten Commandments with Shavuot, I will provide ten suggestions. Please do not hesitate to share with me your insights!

Reason #1: The Torah Is Like Milk, and Milk Is LifeEnhancing Torah is likened to milk, as the verse says, “Like honey and milk [the Torah] lies under your tongue” [Song of Songs 4:11]. Just as milk has the ability to fully sustain the body of a human being (i.e. a nursing baby), so too the Torah provides all the “spiritual nourishment” necessary for the human soul. One midrash even suggests that Moses began nursing (i.e. drinking milk) on the same day that Shavuot is observed. When our ancestors became a committed people at Mount Sinai, they were as if newly born again. What do newborns drink? Milk! A mother’s milk provides the newborn with all the nourishment it needs. Torah, then, is like milk, for it encompasses within it all the sustenance that a person needs for spiritual vitality and growth. Thus, dairy foods on Shavuot alludes to the life-enhancing properties of Torah.

REASON #2: Milk helps to recall and recapture our innocence We suggested that just as milk nourishes babies, the Torah nourishes us. That image also suggests that at that holy moment at Sinai, we were all spiritual infants. There is something special and important in recalling and recapturing a sense of our own spiritual innocence.

REASON #3: Milk teaches humility Moreover, milk has traditionally been stored in simple glass or earthenware vessels, never in fancy or elaborate containers. Likewise, only one who is humble and not haughty will merit to fully appreciate and observe the Torah. Since milk connotes chesed (lovingkindness) and meat connotes din (judgment), we are to be nourished on milk as we accept the Torah (again) and begin again our journey to our individual and communal Promised Land.

REASON #4: MILK is 40 The gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew word for milk, chalav, is 40. Eating dairy on Shavuot recalls the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving instruction on the entire Torah [See Exodus 24:18]. The numerical value of chalav, 40, has further significance in that there were 40 generations from Moses who recorded the Written Torah, until the generation of Ravina and Rav Ashi who wrote the final version of the Oral Torah, the Talmud. Moreover, the Talmud begins with the letter mem–gematria 40–and ends with mem as well.

REASON #5: Recalling the Mountain In the book of Psalms [68:15], Mount Sinai is referred to as gavnunim, meaning “many peaks.” Some playfully associate this word with g’vinah, “cheese.” Therefore, eating dairy products on Shavuot can help us try to recall that mystical moment on Sinai. Further, the gematria (numerical value) of the word g’vinah is 70, indicating that endless multiple facets of Torah, reflected in each generation’s interpretations and contributions.

REASON #6: We did not know the kosher laws, but we wanted to learn One midrashic understanding suggests that on hearing the Torah at Mount Sinai we were struck that there were dietary laws. We were most unprepared. Yet we wanted to honor that moment at Mount Sinai. The simplest way to prepare a kosher meal is to prepare dairy. After the conclusion of that first Shavuot, our Israelite ancestors could make the entire camp kosher.

REASON #7: A hint to the past suggests we grapple with our future The sacrifices that were once offered on Shavuot are detailed in the Torah. The first four Hebrew words of that section [Numbers 28:26] spell out mei-halav, “from milk.” Since sacrificial offerings often were used for meals, this remez (“hint”) suggested that we at least start Shavuot dinner with a milk meal. The eating of milk on Shavuot, then, both hints at our rich, evolving history as a people and suggests that we must find our own way of sacrificing and living as we consider the meanings of Mount Sinai for our own time.

REASON #8: We affirm our devotion to Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) The land of Israel has been called a land “flowing with milk and honey” [e.g. Exodus 3:8]. We were first directed to Eretz Yisrael at Mount Sinai. Thus when we eat dairy on Shavuot, we recall our spiritual center, and we reaffirm our relationship to it–and to the people now restored on it in Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel.

REASON #9: We celebrate our abundance Spring harvest festivals among many cultures and ethnic groups characteristically feature dairy dishes, perhaps because cheese was produced during that season. Indeed, since cattle are in the peak of the nursing period, there is always a surplus of milk around the time of Shavuot. The best way to preserve milk was (and is) to make cheese–and eat it! In addition this surplus was considered to be a good sign of prosperity –the meaning, after all, of “a land flowing with milk and honey”–and therefore people celebrated eating dairy. When we eat dairy on Shavuot, then we too can celebrate our prosperity, but it is a prosperity of a rich heritage, replete with beautiful traditions, a history that borders on the miraculous, and legacy of personal caring and social justice. May this abundance continue!

REASON #10: We exercise self-control A spiritual life is gained by keeping a balance. Excess is counterproductive. Meat represents excess, while dairy connotes restraint. Eating dairy on Shavuot is a reminder that we receive Torah and the spiritual direction it offers by living a more sober, thoughtful existence. [See Abraham Eliezer Hirshovitz, Otsar Kol Minhagei Yeshurun, p. 201]. So I have proffered ten possible reasons why we should delight in dairy on Shavuot. I hope whichever one(s) resonate with you, that you will have a meaningful and delicious Shavuot.