Edition 36
Feb.-March 2001   Adar 5761 Vol. 4 Edition 2 		HOME | letter from the editor | readers' forum | shoot - Q&A | classified ads
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SEVEN Table of Contents

Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers (detail)
Marc Chagall, 1912
(According to a Yiddish saying,
doing something with seven fingers,
means doing it well).

Dear readers,

According to tradition, Shavuot, the Feast of the Harvest, was observed seven weeks after the second day of Passover by bringing the firstfruits of the land as an offering to the Temple in Jerusalem. Shavuot is the Hebrew word for weeks, from the rootword sh-v-a (seven). The Bible stipulates that these offerings (bikkurim) were to be brought only from the seven species of the Land of Israel, despite the fact that Israel was blessed with many other choice products (see Nogah Reuveni's article). Under the inspiration of these thoughts, we chose to devote Edition 18 to SEVEN.

Enjoy this month the following articles:

The seven commandments of the sons of Noah, by Moshe Greenberg
Sabbath curiosities: things you didn't know about the seventh day of the week
Pitfalls of the seven species of the Land of Israel, by Nogah Hareuveni
Seven charges R. Akiva gave to his son Joshua
The gift of seven years: A rabbinic tale about Elijah the prophet
The seven-branched menorah: an evolving Jewish symbol, by Ida Huberman
Magical procedures times seven, by Joshua Trachtenberg
Shiv'a: Seven days of mourning, by Anita Diamant
Shemittah: remission of debts every seven years, by Jeffrey H. Tigay
A Hebrew lesson: rootword sh-v-‘a

Enjoy also our expanded Shavuot edition with articles covering the origins, customs, and art of the festival.

Wish you a Hag Sameah, a joyous festival of Shavuot....


SEVEN Table of Contents

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