Trying to figure out Shavuot for the first time can feel strangely confusing.
There aren’t a lot of clear “requirements,” but there are plenty of customs – and somehow that makes it harder, not easier. You end up wondering what actually matters, what you’re ready for, and whether anything you’re doing even counts.
If you’re celebrating at home, especially without a community, that feeling gets even stronger.
This is where a lot of people get stuck – not because they don’t care, but because no one has really shown them what this looks like in real life.
In this video, I’ll walk you through simple, practical ways to celebrate Shavuot at home so you can start where you are and build from there.
If this is the part that feels hard – figuring out what to do and how to actually live it – that’s exactly what we work on inside Bayit Builders.
Doors are open now through May 14. Learn more here!
Transcript below.
Transcript:
The first time I tried to observe Shavuot, which you might know as Shavuos, I felt completely overwhelmed.
Cheesecake, all night learning, expectations that I didn’t really understand because in some ways this holiday seemed too easy. There were so few requirements, but lots of customs, and I felt a lot of pressure to “do it right.”
So if you’re new to Shavuot or Jewish holidays in general, you are not alone. Jewish tradition is beautiful, but let’s be real. It can also be exhausting when you’re trying to figure it out for the first time, especially when you’re by yourself.
So if you’re trying to figure out how to do Shavuot at home, especially without access to a Jewish community, I’m gonna walk you through a few simple rituals you can actually do.
And if you want ongoing, practical support like this, my membership Bayit Builders is open to new members right now through May 14th, 2026.
So a lot of people feel like holidays only “count” if you’re in a synagogue.
But a lot of Jewish life, especially when you’re newer in building a Jewish life from scratch, happens in the home.
Maybe you’re interested in converting to Judaism, or maybe you were born Jewish and you’re interested in exploring your tradition further. But if you haven’t plugged into a local community yet, maybe you live far away from one… it can be hard to get the information and resources you need.
And then you’re not sure what counts, and you feel like you’re doing everything wrong. Which let me tell you, that is how most of us start. So don’t feel bad. You are extremely normal.
I have a video about the basics of Shavuot that I’ll link up here and down in the description below. But in a nutshell, Shavuot today is generally about celebrating the Jewish people receiving the Torah from Hashem (G-d). Not just historically, but also in how it applies to our life today.
So as you start applying Torah to your life, you don’t have to do it perfectly, especially when you’re just beginning. You don’t need to do everything we’re listing below. Every step counts. Don’t let yourself get stuck in all-or-nothing thinking that if you can’t do everything, you might as well do nothing because it’s a waste. Nothing is wasted. Every mitzvah you do matters.
Doing one small thing is still real and valid and important. Start where you are. Do the best you can with the resources you have. That’s where we all are.
So we’ll start with the mitzvah that actually starts the holiday of Shavuot: Lighting candles. Like all holidays and Shabbat, we light candles to welcome in the holiday. I’ll link down below to some instructions on how to light candles. It helps you mark the holiday and create a separation from the normal everyday world. It says “something is different tonight.” And it’s a really great mitzvah to do if you don’t have the bandwidth for much.
Two: Shavuot is what we call a Yom Tov, a holiday. Um, but we mean that in a legal way of “a holiday that has certain restrictions on work.” Different Jews define that work differently. But there are elements of a Yom Tov that you can bring into your practice, even if you don’t intend to be fully observant of the holiday.
First, we eat holiday meals with challah (bread) and either grape juice or wine. These don’t have to be fancy meals. They should just be a little nicer than your normal fare.
Maybe you make your favorite recipe, maybe you put out the tablecloth, maybe you stop and get a bouquet of flowers to put on the table. Maybe you add dessert. There are lots of ways that you can just make it just a little bit nicer.
In most of the world, Shavuot is a two day holiday. Inside the land of Israel, it’s a one day holiday. But most of the people I’m talking to, you’re gonna be celebrating two days. So dinner and then lunch on the two days of Shavuot.
Three: people generally attend synagogue and hear the reading of the 10 Commandments. If you don’t have a synagogue, you can still read the 10 Commandments. I’ll link down below to a copy from a trusted Jewish translation.
Four. Another important mitzvah of a Yom Tov is resting. Yes, it is a mitzvah to take a nap. Relax, chill out. Read a book. Take a walk in nature. Have sex. It’s a mitzvah to be happy.
Five, read the Book of Ruth. Many people also read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot. It’s a short book in the Torah. It’s the most famous story of a conversion to Judaism. It’s a beautiful story, you might like it.
I’ll link down below to a trusted Jewish translation of that as well. Because if you don’t already know, Christian translators throughout time have often translated things very differently from how Jews would translate it. So you always wanna be getting your sources from Jewish sources.
Six, learn something. There is a tradition on Shavuot called Tikun Leil Shavuot. It is a tradition of staying up all night long and learning Torah until sunrise. And if you have access to a Jewish community, they will almost certainly be hosting an event like that. It’s a lot of fun if you get the chance to go. Especially at 3:00 AM when everyone is just wild-eyed and, um, hopped up on so much sugar. And you can study all night at home if you want. But not all of us have the energy anymore to stay up till 3:00 AM. You can just learn a little. Maybe you could go to 10 o’clock or 11 o’clock. Even 10 minutes counts.
Seven: dairy. A lot of people have the tradition to eat dairy foods on Shavuot. The quintessential Shavuot dish is cheesecake or Blintzes. So pick some up at the grocery store. ‘Cause store-bought is always fine. Or you could make a pasta or you could make some other dairy dish that you love.
And if you’re vegan, no one’s gonna check if you actually eat dairy. It’s a custom, you don’t have to do it.
Eight. It’s also a custom to decorate with greenery or flowers. You could decorate your home, get that bouquet I mentioned earlier, or you could just channel the feeling by taking a walk in nature, appreciating the season we’re in right now. Because all our Jewish holidays are tied to the season they’re in. So take some time to appreciate this late spring, early summer season.
And that’s a pretty good list to get you started.
So if you’re realizing that this is the part that feels hard for you: figuring out what to do, how to do it, and what actually matters. That’s exactly what we work on in my membership Bayit Builders. Remember that the doors are open now through May 14th. Check out the link below for more details.
And next I want you to watch my video explainer about Shavuot. Chag sameach!
