AMiR, Alef - Mem - Yud - Resh (cognate with the Arabic title "AEmir") translates as "uppermost", most typically the upper most branch in a tree. Trees are important in the Jewish calendar. This year, 5759/1999, we recieved an interesting mail from Amir Farhi who maintains his own site, TreeTop Technologies, the name of which should be no mystery by now!

In his e-mail to us, Amir writes that he was born 30.05.71, which was Shavuot, the last day of the Omer --and why he was called Amir. Amir (Farhi) asked us to place him in the Shavuot date, and we felt this to be most fitting, so here he is!

A brief dvar on being counted by our e-mail friend, Yehuda:

"There are people that wander through life. They don't understand where they have been and have no real plans on where they are going.

Counting the Omer says "I am here." I know what stages I went through to reach this place. I also have a final goal and I know what steps I must take to reach it."

This year we decided to reach out to our community. 50 days later, we realize that "counting" is a two-way street. Our search to give was also a desire to join into our community. However, we also realized that our community is not merely Israel, nor the Jewish people. And while it is in some ways much more --while being much smaller, than the Internet, the Internet is a fitting metaphor.

The Internet is a place where every culture and condition is welcome. However, any given culture, lacking other cultures could not be understood as "culture", but merely "all there is". This realization, for us, spurred a new cultural revolution. Without giving up "our" Jewish heritage and culture, we have created an associated culture which is more accessible, reflecting the fact that we no longer live in an exclussively Jewish world ---be that a shtetl, ghetto, or State of Israel. Like the Internet, we are well integrated. We hope that this integration has been used to put the best face on Jewish culture (this is not a religious site, though we would be happy to recommend good sites of any stream over e-mail). We hope that we have broadened the view of Jewish culture, on-line culture, and the spirit of interacting between the two.

We are searching, and we thank each AMiR/A who pointed us in his/her particular direction. We have counted you, and you in turn, have counted us by sharing the little pieces of yourselves you sent along. That was sweet and beautiful of you. We wish you a wonderful and peaceful Shavuot that will continue throughout the year!

Zarele & Gracie

Shavuot, hebrew for "weeks" is also known as "The Feast of Weeks" and "Pentecost", which is a Greek word meaning "fiftieth" (Remember: the counting of the Omer begins the day after (first day of) Pessah and continues for 50 ending on Shavuot. Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is also a time to celebrate the first fruits of the wheat harvest (Leviticus 23:15-17 and Deuteronomy 16: 9-10) and is refered to as the "Feast of the Harvest" or "Day of the First Fruits". This day is also recognized as the anniversary of the gift of the Torah given at Mt. Sinai.

In the Temple period, a procession would move through Jerusalem, the people taking baskets of "first fruits" to the Temple. Today, in our homes, we maintain the custom of decorating with greenery and flowers, reminding us that Mt. Sinai was covered in green. In synagogue, the "Akdamat", a prayer praising G-d and thanking Him for giving us the Torah, is chanted.

The Torah is called "Milk & Honey", and, according to tradition, the Torah was given to Israel on Shabbat, a time when animal slaughter is prohibited. For these reasons, Shavuot meals are customarily dairy and fruits, symbolizing the harvest. There are seven species of "First Fruits" mentioned in Torah:

Some Shavuot peripheria:

This holiday is also the day of the judgment of trees.

Tradition states that Moses' reed basket was pulled out of the Nile on Shavuot.

The book of Ruth is often read at this time, since it is set during the harvest season.

It has been suggested that King David was born and died on Shavuot.

Tu b'Shvat, 15 Shvat or the Rosh haShana l'Ilanot, is the New Year of the Trees. Trees planted on Tu b'Shvat bear fruits for the Pessah seder and the Sukka. In the days of the Temple Tu b'Shvat marked the end of the (tree produce) fiscal calendar. Many families celebrate a special seder for this holiday which has it's own Aggadah.

Tu b'Shvat by Yonatan Resef

Tu b'Shvat on JCN