(16) Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which God shall choose; on the Festival of unleavened bread (Pesach), and on the Festival of Weeks (Shavuot), and on the Festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot); and they shall not appear before the LORD empty;
...ונוהגין לשטוח עשבים בשבועות בבית הכנסת והבתים זכר לשמחת מתן תורה ונוהגין בכל מקום לאכול מאכלי חלב ביום ראשון של שבועות ונראה לי הטעם שהוא כמו השני תבשילין שלוקחין בליל פסח זכר לפסח וזכר לחגיגה כן אוכלים מאכל חלב ואח"כ מאכל בשר וצריכין להביא עמהם ב' לחם על השלחן שהוא במקום המזבח ויש בזה זכרון לשני הלחם שהיו מקריבין ביום הבכורים:
We have the custom to spread out plants on Shavuot in the synagogue and in houses, as a memory for the happiness of the receiving of the Torah. We have a custom everywhere to eat dairy food on the first day of Shavuot. And it seems to me that the reason is: It is like the two foods that are taken on the evening of Pesach, a reminder of the Korban Pesach and a reminder of the Korban Chagiga, so too we eat a dairy food followed by a meat food, and we bring with them two loaves on the table in place of the Mizbeach, and thus there will be a reminder of the two loaves that were brought on "The day of the Bikkurim."
(17) And I have said: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
רמי
בר יחזקאל איקלע לבני ברק חזנהו להנהו עיזי דקאכלן תותי תאיני וקנטיף דובשא מתאיני וחלבא טייף מנייהו ומיערב בהדי הדדי
אמר
היינו זבת חלב ודבש
א"ר יעקב בן דוסתאי
מלוד לאונו שלשה מילין פעם אחת קדמתי בנשף והלכתי עד קרסולי בדבש של תאינים
אמר ר"ל
לדידי חזי לי זבת חלב ודבש של צפורי והוי שיתסר מילין אשיתסר מילין
אמר רבה בר בר חנה
לדידי חזי לי זבת חלב ודבש של כל ארץ ישראל
Rami b. Ezekiel once paid a visit to Bene-berak where he saw goats grazing under fig-trees while honey was flowing from the figs, and milk ran from them, and these mingled with each other. ‘This is indeed’, he remarked, ‘[a land] flowing with milk and honey’.
R. Jacob b. Dostai related: From Lod to Ono [is a distance of about] three miles. Once I rose up early in the morning and waded [all that way] up to my ankles in honey of the figs.
Resh Lakish said: I myself saw the flow of the milk and honey of Sepphoris and it extended [over an area of] sixteen by sixteen miles.
Rabbah b. Bar Hana said: I saw the flow of the milk and honey in all the Land of Israel.
(Soncino Talmud)
...כי בעת שעמדו על הר סיני וקבלו התורה [כי בעשרת הדברות נתגלה להם עי"ז כל חלקי התורה כמו שכתב רב סעדיה גאון שבעשרת הדברות כלולה כל התורה] וירדו מן ההר לביתם לא מצאו מה לאכול תיכף כ"א מאכלי חלב כי לבשר צריך הכנה רבה לשחוט בסכין בדוק כאשר צוה ה' ולנקר חוטי החלב והדם ולהדיח ולמלוח ולבשל בכלים חדשים כי הכלים שהיו להם מקודם שבישלו בהם באותו מעל"ע נאסרו להם ע"כ בחרו להם לפי שעה מאכלי חלב ואנו עושין זכר לזה:
...when Bnei Yisrael stood at Har Sinai and accepted the Torah (when the 10 commandments were revealed, and through this all the parts of the Torah were also revealed to them, like what Rav Sadya Gaon writes: that the 10 commandments contain the whole Torah) and they went down from the mountain to their homes they found nothing to eat immediately except for dairy foods because for meat they would need much preparation to slaughter properly with a checked knife like Hashem commanded... And to clean out the strings of forbidden fats and blood, and to rinse and salt (the meat). Also to cook in new vessels because their previous vessels had been used to cook meat (that they now discovered was actually trief) had been used in the last 24 hrs (which is what is forbidden Biblically) so their old vessels were forbidden to them, therefore they choose on account of the time to eat dairy foods and we do this as a commemoration of this.
(7) Thou art all fair, my love; And there is no spot in thee. (8) Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, With me from Lebanon; Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions’dens, From the mountains of the leopards. (9) Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, With one bead of thy necklace. (10) How fair is thy love, my sister, my bride! How much better is thy love than wine! And the smell of thine ointments than all manner of spices! (11) Thy lips, O my bride, drop honey— Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. (12) A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
(2) Your lips drip. [With] explanations of Torah.
Reason 4: The Magic Number
Rav Menachem Mendel of Ropshitz
The gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew word for milk, chalav, is 40. We eat dairy foods on Shavuot to commemorate the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving instruction in the entire Torah. Moses spent an additional 40 days on Sinai, praying for forgiveness following the Golden Calf, and then a third set of 40 days before returning with a new set of stone tablets. The numerical value of chalav, 40, has further significance in that there were 40 generations from Moses who recorded the Written Torah, till the generation of Ravina and Rav Ashi who wrote the final version of the Oral Torah, the Talmud.
(16) A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of peaks (Givunim) is the mountain of Bashan.
Rabbi Dovid Meisels
Further, the gematria of gevina (cheese) is 70, corresponding to the "70 faces of Torah."
(ז) וּפָרָ֤ה וָדֹב֙ תִּרְעֶ֔ינָה יַחְדָּ֖ו יִרְבְּצ֣וּ יַלְדֵיהֶ֑ן וְאַרְיֵ֖ה כַּבָּקָ֥ר יֹֽאכַל־תֶּֽבֶן׃
(7) And the cow and the bear will graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Rabbi Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays
Just as Passover evokes the future universal redemption, so Shavuot evokes the future universal covenant. The prophet predicts that even carnivorous animals will turn vegetarian [...] hence follows the anticipatory dairy meal of Shavuot.
Fresh Ricotta Recipe from Epicurious
YIELD: Makes about 2 cups
INGREDIENTS
2 quarts whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Special Equipment
Large sieve and fine-mesh cheesecloth
PREPARATION
- Line a large sieve with a layer of heavy-duty (fine-mesh) cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.
- Slowly bring milk, cream, and salt to a rolling boil in a 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
- Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain 1 hour.
- After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered; it will keep in the refrigerator 2 days.
APRIL 2006 When creative director Richard Ferretti came to Gourmet two and a half years ago, he brought along a recipe for homemade fresh ricotta. It is more delicate in flavor than any store-bought version and has a lovely dry curd. Some of us make it at home often because it takes just a few minutes of active time. Topped with honey and cinnamon, it's also great for dessert.