The Second Day

Shavuot is over. Both days.

My daughter called from Jerusalem where she lives and we caught up on all the activities there – hers, her husband's, and those of their six children. It was fascinating, but she had to hold it all in for a day because in Israel the holiday is only one day long, so she couldn't call us even though it was a regular day for her.

There are several holidays like that – which we in the galut (diaspora) observe for two days while Israelis fulfill their obligations in one. The difference has ancient roots. There was a time when the new month was determined by visual observation of the moon. And that was certified by a court in Canaan (now Israel) with the news of the new month spread to other locations by bonfires on mountain tops and later, because there were non-believers who lit fires to cause confusion, by messenger.

Messengers, however, take time, and it turned out that the news arrived in some localities after a particular holiday and it couldn't be observed properly. A practical system arose. People started celebrating the occasion on two days, based on counting for the previous month. Because the lunar month was sometimes twenty-nine and sometimes thirty, and individuals didn't know which day to observe, this solution ensured that the right day would be honored – whichever it was.

After a while, however, a fixed calendar was developed that allowed everyone to know which day was which without any message from the Holy Land. That didn't change much, though, because the celebration of two days had become a tradition in the galut, and traditions have a standing almost as determinative as laws.

And that's the way it is today. Some holidays that are one day long in Israel last for two days everywhere else. (Rosh Hashanah, the new year, is observed for two days even in Israel, but the reasoning will not be discussed here.) Israelis, who are outside their country, celebrate for one day no matter where they are, and non-Israelis, two days, even when they are in Israel. Traditions are strong.

But this one is wrong. The two-day rule arose as a recognition that the place was far enough away from the site of declaration of the day that a way had to be found to compensate for the problem. (The decision by some to observe a single day now that we have a fixed calendar will also not be discussed.) It had nothing to do with the people. And in Canaan, or Israel, knowledge was based on the fact that the date was determined there, and people knew immediately. Where they were was the deciding factor, not who they were.

Traditions are important to a People, but it's better when they are understandable, when they make sense. This one doesn't. The determination of the date was based on location, not the identity of the observer. 

It would make much more sense if the tradition were similarly based on location. Israelis, when outside of Israel, would observe for two days and others, when they were in Israel, would shorten their usual pattern of celebration to a single day. They would be following the historical basis of their tradition.

It is also usual for someone who is not at home to follow the traditions of the community in which he finds himself. This idea would also mitigate for a change to a geographical pattern, rather than one that is based on origin. If the community observes for two days, so should the traveler, irrespective of his home. And the same is true of one day. The community's traditions should be respected.

Another reason is given for the difference. It is based on the idea that the level of spirituality is higher in the Holy Land than outside, and that the level of spiritual elevation that can be obtained in Israel in one day takes longer outside the land, because there is less surrounding inspiration. This too, however, relates to the place rather than the person. Even using this reasoning it makes more sense for the traveler to follow the patterns of the community in which he finds himself. It's logical.

But what does logic have to do with religion and tradition. No change will occur because that's the way it's “always” been, and that's the way it always will be. At least I hope so.