Greenery in Synagogue on Shavuot
May 12, 2009 This morning, we studied Professor Daniel Sperber’s explanation, in his sefer Minhagei Yisrael, for the custom of spreading greenery through the synagogue on Shavuot. Prof. Sperber cites the Rema’s reference to the well-known custom of placing greenery in synagogues and houses. There are many reasons given for the custom, and a debate on its appropriateness.
(1) The Levush and the Chida (in his Birkei Yosef) say the custom is a remembrance of the giving of the Torah. There was plant life at the foot of Mt. Sinai, as we know from the prohibition of permitting animals to graze there (Shemot 34:3). (2) Rav Shem Tov Gaguine (in his Keter Shem Tov) said, in the name of the Atik Yomin, that the custom is a remembrance of the giving of the Torah, because Shir Hashirim 5:13 says “his lips are like roses,” and the Midrash interprets this to mean that with every declaration by G-d at Mt. Sinai, a sweet-smelling fragrance wafted through the world. Rabbi Kermaier noted that this Midrash implies that we should use flowers rather than greenery. (3) The Magen Avraham cited the Mishna (Rosh Hashana 1:2) (see footnote 2 on PDF file) saying that in the season of Shavuot we are judged on the fruits of the trees and we should pray for their welfare. (4) The Bnei Yissachar cited Vayikra Rabbah 23:3, which compares the people of Israel to a rose and the world to an orchard. The king wanted to destroy the orchard, but spared it when he saw the beautiful rose inside it. So, too, Israel, by accepting the Torah, saved the world. The Vilna Gaon was opposed to the Ashkenazic custom of bringing trees and greenery into the Synagogue, because of the association of trees with the celebration of a non-Jewish holiday. But the Orchot Chaim supported the custom, arguing that there are valid Jewish reasons for its observance, so we are not mimicking another faith. (5) Prof. Sperber adds that we can associate the custom with the mitzvah of bringing bikkurim (first fruits), which commences on Shavuot. He concedes that no one reason for the custom is dispositive, and it is possible that the practice grew out of a combination of reasons, with perhaps the most compelling reason being the Mishnaic argument of the Magen Avraham. (6) Finally, Prof. Sperber tentatively suggests another possible reason. In 1940, Yaakov Mann published a lost volume of Midrash, which he called the Midrash Chadash al HaTorah. That volume, interpreting the injunction of Shemot 19:11 that the people of Israel had to prepare for the giving of the Torah on “the third day,” asked why the third day? It answered that on the third day of creation, the trees and grasses came into existence (Bereishit 1:11). Just as the physical necessities of life were created on the third day, the Torah itself is called a tree of life (Mishlei 3:18) and was given on the third day. Prof. Sperber speculates that this word association could have been in the minds of the medieval sages who began or propagated the custom. Even if this is not the source of the custom, this reason can provide another element of support for it.
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