Speechless on Shavuos

. Rituals. Everywhere. Rosh Hashanah — shofar. Sukkos —  lulav, etrog, sukkah. Chanukah? Candles. Tu b’Shevat: trees. Passover: matzah. The Jewish calendar is filled with rituals. On Shavuos? Nothing. There are Talmudic tractates named “Shabbat,” “Rosh Hashanah,” “Sukkah,” “Megillah” (about Purim), “Pesachim” (plural of Passover). There is no Talmudic tractate on Shavuos. The reliving of the origin of national life (Passover) and the anticipation of Messianic redemption (Sukkos) require rituals, as do the High Holidays of judgement and forgiveness. Shavuos requires no rituals. Ultimately, ironically, the holiday of the revelation of the Word leaves one speechless. As the Akdamus poem, read only once a year, on Shavuos morning, says: [G-d’s] eternal strength allows no description, even if the heavens were parchment and the forests quills, even if […]