Perhaps less known than Passover, the High Holidays and Sukkot, Shavuot is a Biblical Holiday celebrating a most Biblical event—the giving of the Torah (Bible) at Sinai. So how do you make this sometimes overlooked holiday into a super spiritual experience? Here are our eight tips:
1. Take Off Work
That's right! Like other Biblical holidays, Shavuot is a yom tov, marked by desisting from many creative activities, with the exception of some food-prep-related tasks. So make sure to tell your boss you'll be away for those two days.
2. Cook Up Dairy Delights
A favorite Shavuot custom is enjoying dairy treats (discover the reason here), which run the gamut from traditional blintzes to Italian creations with names that are difficult to spell and almost impossible to pronounce. So prepare dairy delights for some of your holiday meals. Pro tip: Plan your meals so that you have an easy six hours after eating meat before eating dairy.
Take a Look at Our Shavuot Recipe Offerings
3. Candle-Lit Dinners
On both nights of the holiday (Sunday and Monday nights in 2025), we eat our dinner to the soft glow of our holiday lights. Note that you must set aside a pre-existing flame from which to light your candles on Monday night.
4. Pull an All-Nighter
On the first night of Shavuot, many have the tradition to remain awake until dawn studying Torah. One reason is that by staying up and learning, we rectify the fact that our ancestors slept in the morning the Torah was given. While many synagogues provide a smorgasbord of lectures and talks, the original custom is to read a text known as Tikkun, which excerpts from Torah, Tanach, Mishnah, Kabbalah and the 613 mitzvot, so that you get a compact tour de force of the entirety of Torah.
5. Hear the 10 Commandments
On the first day of Shavuot, in synagogues all over the world, we will read the verses in Exodus that tell of G‑d descending onto Mount Sinai and communicating the 10 Commandments. Every single Jew was present at that moment—and every single Jew should make the effort to show up to synagogue when we experience it again. Special perk: Most Chabad centers offer ice cream and dairy at the post-service reception.
6. Read Up on Shavuot Heroes
Shavuot has many heroes: Moses, who served as our intermediary when we received the Torah; Ruth, whose story of loyalty and conversion is celebrated on this day; and King David and the Baal Shem Tov, both of whom passed away on this holiday.
7. Memorialize Your Loved Ones
The second day of Shavuot is one of four annual times the Yizkor memorial prayer for our dear departed ones is recited in the synagogue.
8. Walk to a Neighboring Synagogue
Early on in his leadership, the Rebbe began an initiative that continues to this day. He encouraged people to visit other synagogues on festivals, in order to share joy and inspiration near and far. Is there a synagogue within walking distance that you rarely go to? Attend services there on the second day of Shavuot, and you may see others doing the same.
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