Shavuot falls seven weeks after Pesach / Passover and commemorates the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mount Sinai, and is also a thanksgiving for the harvest.
Meaning and Significance
Contents
How it Was Practiced in Rhodes
On the island of Rhodes a velada ceremony took place on the first night, where men and boys stayed awake throughout the night and studied and chanted special prayers and songs in Ladino and Hebrew, usually in someone’s home. At sunrise women offered them delicacies such as bolémas de espináka (savoury spinach pastries), róskas (rolls), káskaval cheese and sotlác.
A Velada Vigil
The Sephardic tradition of studying sacred texts all night on Shavuot is known as velada in Ladino for guarding or watching. It stems from the Spanish verb velar (to watch over) as well as the Latin velare (to cover or conceal). On the island of Rhodes, the velada included chanting special songs and prayers in Ladino and Hebrew; in the morning, those who had kept the vigil would eat rose-scented milk pudding (sutlach) and savoury pies.
The Sephardic tradition of studying sacred texts all night on Shavuot is known as velada in Ladino for guarding or watching. It stems from the Spanish verb velar (to watch over) as well as the Latin velare (to cover or conceal). On the island of Rhodes, the velada included chanting special songs and prayers in Ladino and Hebrew; in the morning, those who had kept the vigil would eat rose-scented milk pudding (sutlach) and savoury pies.
In the synagogue the next morning, congregants sang the ketubbah de la ley (marriage contract between the Torah and the Jewish people) in Hebrew. The following day they sang it in Ladino. Prior to the afternoon service on the first day of Shavuoth they sang the first half of the book of Ruth and the positive commandments of the Azharoth; on the next day they would read the second half of Ruth and the negative commandments of the Azharoth.
Ketubbah de la Ley sung in Ladino accompanied by the words
The homes of the Sephardim in the east Mediterranean are decorated in greenery, flowers and especially roses, which is why this holiday is often described as Festival of the Roses. A special festive sweet bread shaped into seven layered loaves is often made, called los siete cielos, meaning seven heavens. It is said that it represents the passage of the soul’s ascent to eternal life and the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot. A dairy and vegetable meal is usual fare for this holiday.
Sources and References
- Marc D. Angel, The Jews of Rhodes (1978).
- Stella Cohen, Stella’s Sephardic Table (2012).
- Elsie Menasce, The Sephardi Culinary Tradition (1984).