Shavuot 2027 begins at sundown on Thursday, June 10, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, June 12, 2027. The holiday marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the wheat harvest.
Shavuot is the festival that closes the seven-week count from Passover, and the name means “weeks.”
It is the shortest of the three pilgrimage festivals and the one with the most distinctive customs: a night spent studying rather than sleeping, cheesecake and blintzes instead of a meat meal, and the public reading of the Ten Commandments.
English Bibles call it the Feast of Weeks, and it is also known as Pentecost, a Greek name that causes regular confusion with the Christian holiday of the same name, which falls on different dates.
This page covers the dates through 2030, what the holiday marks, why dairy is eaten, and how Shavuot and Pentecost relate.
Table of Contents
When is Shavuot?
Shavuot 2027 begins at sundown on Thursday, June 10, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, June 12, 2027.
The holiday falls on 6 and 7 Sivan outside Israel, and on 6 Sivan alone in Israel.
| Year | Begins at sundown | Ends at nightfall | Hebrew date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thursday, May 21, 2026 | Saturday, May 23, 2026 | 6 to 7 Sivan 5786 |
| 2027 | Thursday, June 10, 2027 | Saturday, June 12, 2027 | 6 to 7 Sivan 5787 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, May 30, 2028 | Thursday, June 1, 2028 | 6 to 7 Sivan 5788 |
| 2029 | Saturday, May 19, 2029 | Monday, May 21, 2029 | 6 to 7 Sivan 5789 |
| 2030 | Thursday, June 6, 2030 | Saturday, June 8, 2030 | 6 to 7 Sivan 5790 |
How long is Shavuot?
Shavuot lasts two days outside Israel and one day in Israel. Hebcal states the difference directly, and Chabad gives the same two-day and one-day split.
In 2027 the days outside Israel are Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12, which means the second day of the holiday is also Shabbat.
| Where | Length | 2027 dates |
|---|---|---|
| Outside Israel | 2 days | Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12, 2027 |
| Israel | 1 day | Friday, June 11, 2027 |
What is Shavuot?
Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the first grain harvest of the season.
Chabad states that “the Torah was given by G‑d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai on Shavuot more than 3,300 years ago,” and that “every year on the holiday of Shavuot we renew our acceptance of G‑d’s gift.”
My Jewish Learning describes it as “a springtime holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai” that also marks “the first grain harvest of the season.”
Britannica describes the holiday as one “that was originally an agricultural festival marking the beginning of the wheat harvest” and that “has been associated with Moses’ reception of the Torah on Mount Sinai” since the early centuries of the Common Era.
What the name means, and the count from Passover
“Shavuot” means “weeks,” because the holiday falls seven weeks after Passover. My Jewish Learning explains that the word “literally means ‘weeks,’ a reference to it falling in the calendar precisely seven weeks after the start of Passover,” and that Shavuot is “the culmination of the 49-day period known as the Omer.”
Chabad describes the holiday as celebrating “the completion of the seven-week Omer counting period between Passover and Shavuot.”
The arithmetic holds in 2027. The first day of Passover is Thursday, April 22, 2027, and the first day of Shavuot is Friday, June 11, 2027, exactly 50 days later.
| Stage in 2027 | Date |
|---|---|
| First day of Passover | Thursday, April 22, 2027 |
| Counting of the Omer | 49 days, from the second night of Passover |
| Shavuot, day 50 | Friday, June 11, 2027 |
Shavuot and Pentecost: are they the same?
Shavuot is called Pentecost in Greek, but the Christian Pentecost is a different holiday on a different date.
Britannica notes that Shavuot is known “by the name Pentecost, which references its timing 50 days after Passover,” and that it falls “on the 50th day after the second day of Passover.”
My Jewish Learning takes a firmer line, calling the holiday “sometimes mistakenly referred to as Pentecost, a springtime Christian holiday whose name means ’50.'”
The two sources are describing different things: the Greek name for the Jewish festival, and the separate Christian feast that counts 50 days from Easter rather than from Passover. The dates rarely line up.
| Source | Position on the name Pentecost |
|---|---|
| Britannica | Shavuot is “also by the name Pentecost,” from its timing 50 days after Passover |
| My Jewish Learning | Calling Shavuot Pentecost is a mistake, since Pentecost is a Christian holiday |
| Holiday | 2027 date | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Shavuot | Friday, June 11, 2027 | 50 days from Passover |
| Christian Pentecost (Western churches) | Sunday, May 16, 2027 | 50 days from Easter |
| Pentecost (Orthodox churches) | Sunday, June 20, 2027 | 50 days from Orthodox Easter |
Our Easter and Orthodox Easter guides cover the dates the Christian count starts from.
Why dairy is eaten on Shavuot
Cheesecake, blintzes and other dairy dishes are the traditional Shavuot foods, and Chabad notes that Shavuot “is the only holiday when dairy foods are traditionally on the menu.”
My Jewish Learning gives the most common explanation: after the Israelites received the Torah at Sinai, they found that the meat they had already prepared did not meet the kosher laws they had just been given, so “they ate the dairy food that was immediately available.”
| Custom | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dairy meals | Cheesecake, blintzes, dairy kugel |
| Why | The newly given kosher laws ruled out the prepared meat |
| How unusual it is | The only holiday with dairy traditionally on the menu |
Shavuot customs
The holiday’s customs are study, the Ten Commandments, the Book of Ruth, and flowers.
| Custom | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Tikkun Leil Shavuot | “On the first night of Shavuot, we stay up all night learning Torah,” a custom Chabad calls Kabbalah-inspired preparation to receive the Torah |
| Ten Commandments | “All must attend the reading of the Ten Commandments, men and women, young and old,” read on the first day |
| Book of Ruth | Read on the holiday, as the story of a convert who accepted the Torah |
| Greenery and flowers | “Many have the custom to decorate the synagogue and home with greenery and flowers in honor of Shavuot” |
| Yizkor | Memorial prayers, said on the second day |
My Jewish Learning dates the all-night study custom to 16th-century mystical circles, where it was framed as a “rectification for the ancient Israelites having overslept” on the morning the Torah was given.
It also explains the Book of Ruth reading: “Ruth’s arrival in Israel occurred around the time of the barley harvest, and her acceptance of Judaism was similar to the Jewish acceptance of the Torah.”
Shavuot greetings
“Chag sameach,” happy holiday, is the right greeting for Shavuot. Reform Judaism states that the greeting is “used only on the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.”
The Yiddish “gut yontiff” also fits the festival days. Unlike Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, where sources disagree or advise against it, Shavuot is one of the three holidays where “chag sameach” is the standard choice.
What Shavuot is not
Shavuot is not the Christian Pentecost, even though the Greek name is shared. The Christian feast counts 50 days from Easter and lands on Sunday, May 16, 2027, almost four weeks before Shavuot.
Shavuot is also not a fast, and it has no ritual object of its own: there is no shofar as on Rosh Hashanah, no sukkah as on Sukkot, and no seder plate as at Passover, which sets it apart from the other two pilgrimage festivals.
Finally, the date is not fixed to a Sunday. Shavuot falls on 6 Sivan whatever weekday that turns out to be, which in 2027 is a Friday.
Frequently asked questions
When is Shavuot 2027?
Shavuot 2027 begins at sundown on Thursday, June 10, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, June 12, 2027, according to Hebcal. The Hebrew dates are 6 to 7 Sivan 5787. Outside Israel the holiday runs two days, Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12, while in Israel it is one day.
What is Shavuot?
Shavuot is the festival that marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the first grain harvest of the season. Chabad states that the Torah was given on Shavuot more than 3,300 years ago. It is one of the three biblical pilgrimage festivals, alongside Passover and Sukkot, and it closes the 49-day Omer count.
Is Shavuot the same as Pentecost?
Shavuot is known in Greek as Pentecost, meaning 50th, because it falls 50 days after Passover, according to Britannica. The Christian Pentecost is a separate holiday counted 50 days from Easter, and My Jewish Learning calls the two a common mix-up. In 2027, Shavuot is June 11 and Christian Pentecost is May 16.
Why do you eat dairy on Shavuot?
The common explanation is that after receiving the Torah at Sinai, the Israelites found the meat they had prepared did not meet the kosher laws they had just been given, so they ate the dairy food on hand, according to My Jewish Learning. Cheesecake, blintzes and dairy kugel are the usual dishes. Chabad notes it is the only holiday with dairy traditionally on the menu.
What is Tikkun Leil Shavuot?
Tikkun Leil Shavuot is the custom of staying up all night studying Torah on the first night of the holiday. Chabad describes it as a Kabbalah-inspired preparation to receive the Torah. My Jewish Learning traces it to 16th-century mystical circles, where it was seen as a correction for the Israelites having overslept on the morning the Torah was given.
How long is Shavuot?
Shavuot lasts two days outside Israel and one day in Israel, according to Hebcal and Chabad. It begins at sundown on the eve of 6 Sivan and ends at nightfall on 7 Sivan in the Diaspora. In 2027 that is sundown on Thursday, June 10 through nightfall on Saturday, June 12.
Why is Shavuot called the Feast of Weeks?
The Hebrew word shavuot means “weeks,” because the holiday falls exactly seven weeks after Passover begins, as My Jewish Learning explains. English Bibles translate the name as the Feast of Weeks. The seven weeks are counted night by night in the Omer, which runs from the second night of Passover to the eve of Shavuot.
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