Shavuot is commonly associated with the practice of staying up all night to study the Torah, but it’s just as well-known for another tradition: dairy consumption. The first day of Shavuot is typically devoted to eating dairy foods — most often cheese and blintzes, but dishes like cheesecake, quiches and bourekas are also popular Shavuot eats.
But where does this practice come from, and what does it mean? Other Jewish holiday traditions, like eating matzah on Passover and apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah, have clear origins: commemorating when the Israelites left Egypt, and welcoming in a sweet new year. But theories about how the dairy-eating tradition came about range from interpretations of the Torah’s text to what happened after Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai.
“There really isn’t a specific reason that we eat dairy on Shavuot, no matter what anyone tells you,” said Rabbi Joshua Gruenberg of Chizuk Amuno Congregation. “Somehow, the custom of us all eating dairy began, and after the fact, we went in and tried to figure out why.”
One popular explanation is the fact that the Israelites were promised a land “flowing with milk and honey,” as written in Exodus 3:8. This combination of foods is referenced several other times throughout the Torah, as well as in the Song of Songs, which likens Torah study to these two things.
Noting this particular explanation, Chabad of Downtown’s Rabbi Levi Druk said, “What better way to celebrate than to enjoy some sweat dairy treats?”
Chabad.org offers another explanation for why milk is associated with Shavuot. Honey and milk both originate from places that are considered tamei, or spiritually unclean. Both start out as bodily secretions from bees and cows, respectively. But through processes like refinement and pasteurization, they become tahor, or spiritually clean.
Yet another potential reason for eating dairy on Shavuot derives from the story of when Moses received the Torah. The Jewish people had been presented with a whole new set of rules by God that they had never thought to follow before. As such, many of the things they had used and eaten before receiving the Torah did not abide by their new kosher laws, and this included the meat they had been eating.
In an article written for aish.com, Rabbi Shraga Simmons points out that people may ask why the Israelites could not have simply slaughtered new animals and prepared them according to kosher laws. But this is overlooking the fact that the Torah was received on Shabbat, which disallows people from slaughtering animals and cooking them. It is thought that they turned to dairy during this time because it did not need to be cooked before it
was eaten.
In an interview with the JT, Gruenberg noted that this is his personal favorite theory and the one he subscribes to.
Druk also said that, when the Torah was given, the Jewish people ate dairy until they were able to kasher their meat utensils.
One Torah commentator cited by Simmons theorized that this may have been the first time that the Jewish people ate dairy products.
“There is a second, expanded definition of ever min hachai [the halachic law preventing the consumption of limbs from live animals], which encompasses all products from a live animal — including milk. It is this definition which is prohibited to Jews. Thus it was not until the giving of the Torah, with its reference to ‘land of milk and honey,’ that dairy products became permitted to Jews,” he explained.
An interesting wrinkle in this tradition comes from more modern genetic findings. The National Institutes of Health estimate that between 60-80% of Ashkenazi Jews are lactose intolerant. Jewish people are far from the only ethnic group with an increased rate of lactose intolerance — the highest rate is present in East Asian and Native American populations — but it’s noteworthy because the Jewish people still celebrate a holiday that involves eating mainly dairy.
Fortunately, there are plenty of lactose-free food options as well as lactose intolerance-relieving medicine, so people can still celebrate Shavuot with traditional food without worrying about making themselves sick.
“For the lactose intolerant, thank God we live in an age where food technology has given us lactose-free options,” Druk said. “If those don’t work, it is important to remember that there are many ways to celebrate Shavuot, and enjoying the yom tov any way you can is a mitzvah. Most importantly, don’t forget the spiritual aspects of the holiday, hear the reading of the Ten Commandments and relive the giving of the Torah.”
Ultimately, though, eating dairy on Shavuot is just a fun tradition, and there are plenty of ways for people to observe the holiday if they cannot eat dairy.
“This is really just a custom. It’s something that is in no way required if anyone is concerned,” Gruenberg added. “You have many ways to celebrate the spirit of Shavuot without following it down to the letter.”
