From Mt. Sinai to the Upper Room: In Preparation for the Pentecost

Why do we read in the second chapter of Acts of the Apostles: “While the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled…”? Is it simply an anticipation of the name of the festival that would soon be born with the descent of the Holy Spirit? No, the reference is to a Jewish festival already existing in the time of Jesus. Jesus, like all Jews, had celebrated throughout his life the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem; one of the most important feasts for Judaism, which fell precisely in the days recounted in Acts of the Apostles. It’s the festival of the Shavuot, which in Hebrew means “Weeks”. Christian Pentecost has its roots in this Jewish holiday celebrating the gift of the Torah to the people of Israel received through Moses on Sinai fifty days after his exit from Egypt.

Below is a video that takes us back to the roots of this feast, emphasizing the common points of the two Pentecosts, and how Christian Pentecost differs from the Jewish one. To learn more see the presentation of it among Simone Castaldi, specialized in Judaism and Jewish-Christian dialogue: