For most American Jews today, Shavuot is not exactly a big-ticket holiday. Observance lags behind springtime Passover, and it pales in comparison to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the fall 'high holidays.'
But 150 years ago, Shavuot was the one day when everybody wanted to be in synagogue: It was a day to celebrate children.
As a scholar of American religion and Judaism, I have written about how the h…