Shavuot. How is this revelation different from all others?

 As appeared on Jewish News Syndicate and my Times of Israel blog.

 

The major Jewish holiday of Shavuot represents the revelation when God communicated directly with the Israelites and gave them the Torah, including the Ten Commandments. This established Israelites as a people bound by a divine covenant.

An interesting observation was made by the late Sir Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (1948 – 2020) z”l, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom. In his book A Letter In the Scroll he states: “Christianity and Islam are also religions of revelation, but in neither does God reveal Himself to an entire nation. In one he appears to the ‘son of God,’ and in the other to his prophet. In neither does the revelation have the public character of Sinai, an experience shared by men and women, young and old, righteous and ordinary alike. The difference between revelation to a holy individual and to a nation as a whole is fundamental and defines the unique character of the Jewish project.”

Christians believe that the revelation of Jesus (born, lived, and died, a Jew), is that “God became human to reveal God's nature, will, and plan for salvation.” Therefore, as the ‘son of God’ his preaching began when he was about 30 years old in 29 CE, which was 1,991 years ago or 1,807 years after the start of Judaism.

The Prophet Muhammad’s series of revelations were when the angel Gabriel dictated the Qur’an (literal meaning “recitation”) to him. It is said to have started when he was 40 years old, and continued over the next 23 years, until his death. Thus, Islam began in 610 CE, 1,415 years ago, with his first revelation, or 2,725 years after the start of Judaism.

 

When we speak of Jews and Judaism, we should take into consideration a unique triangular concept: the Jewish people (the Children of Israel), the Jewish religion (The Torah revealed and given to us on Shavuot at Mount Sinai), and the Jewish nation (the ancient Biblically declared Promised Land, where Jews have always lived, and re-established the modern sovereign State of Israel). Let’s look at this timeline through history.

 

The Jewish people began with founding fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (later given the name Israel) and founding mothers Sarah, Rachel, Leah and Rebekah. When Abraham was 40 years old (1773 BCE/3,798 years ago), he rejected idolatry, believing in monotheism. This was the beginning of Judaism. His tribe of descendants became the Jewish people.

The Jewish religion begins with Moses and the giving of the Ten Commandments (plus the Torah, 613 mitzvot/commandments, as well as the written and oral laws) in 1313 BCE (3,338 years ago). It was then and there, at Sinai, that the Jews experienced this revelation, and all directly heard the voice of God. This event occurs just after the Israelites escape slavery in Egypt.

The Jewish nation comes to fruition when they end their wandering through the desert and enter the Promised Land, Israel. Joshua succeeds Moses in 1273 BCE (3,298 years ago), the Holy Temple is built (957 BCE/2,982 years ago), and the kingdoms of Juda and Israel were established. Since antiquity and culminating with the establishment of the modern State of Israel, Jews have been praying for a return to Israel.

 

Judaism is 3,798 years old as a people, 3,338 years old as a religion, and 3,298 years old as a nation. (To put these numbers into perspective, as of 2025, the United States is only 249 years old. The Magna Carta is 810 years old. The Titanic sank 113 years ago.)

Christianity and Islam have never hidden the fact that they are both based on Judaism. Specifically, Christianity includes the Torah (referred to as the “Old Testament”) as part of their foundational texts. In the Qur’an, Islam quotes stories of prophets and events, first described in the Torah, and claims that Mohammad was foretold in the Torah.

From the Christian point-of-view, further confirming the historic position between Jews and Christians, in 1986 Pope John Paul II stated: “The Jewish religion is not ‘extrinsic’ to us, but in a certain way is ‘intrinsic’ to our own religion. With Judaism therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers.” (Author’s italic emphasis.)

From the Islamic point-of-view, the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, himself a religious Muslim, said on January 1, 2015: “…the entire Islamic world [is] a source of anxiety, danger, killing and destruction for the rest of the world… It’s antagonizing the entire world! We are in need of a religious revolution. You imams are responsible before Allah. The entire world is waiting for your word …” As Cairo, the capital of Egypt, has historically been and continues to be recognized as a major center of Islamic learning, this plea takes on a significant weight.

From the Judaism point-of-view there is no proven threat to Christianity or Islam, even though through the ages, Jews all over the world and their land have been attacked by Christians and Muslims. Jews do not actively proselytize and do not engage in any outward conversion efforts. It is against Jewish law. And there is no empire building desire beyond the borders of the State of Israel.

 

Since Christians and Muslims admit that Jews are their elders and their religion’s foundational source, why aren’t Jews and Israel treated with more respect? Perhaps Christians and Muslims are in need of their own Shavuot revelation. Here is a short list that can honestly demonstrate their revelation that Jews can be revered and respected without impinging on themselves:

·       Catholic Church: support Israel more on the world political stage; pay the hundreds of millions in unpaid back taxes owed to the State of Israel; and perhaps open the Vatican Archives and, if found, return items belonging to the Jewish people stolen or acquired  from antiquity until the Holocaust.

·       The Muslim world: believe that Jews (and the rest of Western civilization) are not your enemy, and stop trying to destroy or conquer them under the Islamic concept of Dār al-Ḥarb ("Abode of War" – lands not governed by Islamic law); re-educate your youth and adults on tolerance and truth; and recognize that Jews have full sovereignty over their land (including Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, Hebron, Judea and Shamron).

 

Therefore, if the entire Muslim world would have a revelation such as the Catholic Church had, regarding hatred for the Jews and forced conversions, and if the Catholic Church would now both verbally support the Jews and Israel, and “come clean,” returning its hoard of stolen Jewish treasures, then a world existing in peace and harmony may be more than some ‘cheesy’ wish for the future.

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David S. Levine, MBA. Author “Revolutions: In Their Own Words – What They Really Say About Their Causes” and the forthcoming book “Prayer: In Their Own Words – Islam, Catholic, Judaism  – What Do They Pray For?” David is a former New York City advertising & marketing executive, and a retired adjunct professor from Rutgers University. Follow him on X (Twitter): @DavidsLevine.