Saturday, May 19, 2012

Christmas Trees And Shavuaot

I was surprised to learn that once a time there was a tradition to put trees (and not just branches) in synagogues during Shavuot:

מגן אברהם: "נוהגין להעמיד אילנות בבית הכנסת ובבתים"
(ס"ק ה)

However the custom was put a stop to by the Vilna Gaon (Gra) due to the similarity to Christmas trees. I for one am all for adding some real trees to my local synagogue. I'm willing to forego the flashing lights, and stars at the top. 

(you can see sources here)