Shavuot as the Date of the Giving of the Torah

The book of Exodus states that the Israelites arrived at Sinai in the third month (Exodus 19:1), which is the month of Sivan. The rabbis calculate that the Torah was given on the sixth or seventh of the month. When new months were determined based on witness testimony to the new moon (before the calendar was fixed in the fourth century CE), either of those dates could coincide with Shavuot, giving the festival additional significance as the time of the giving of the Torah.

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The book of Exodus states that the Israelites arrived at Sinai in the third month (Exodus 19:1), which is the month of Sivan. The rabbis calculate that the Torah was given on the sixth or seventh of the month. When new months were determined based on witness testimony to the new moon (before the calendar was fixed in the fourth century CE), either of those dates could coincide with Shavuot, giving the festival additional significance as the time of the giving of the Torah.

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