Shavuot - שבועות

Tonight is Shavuot, the festival which celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. In Parshat Yitro, we read of how the events unfolded that momentous day.

When writing about Parshat Yitro previously, I have noted the fascinating phrase, "וכל העם רואים את הקולות - And the people saw the thunder". Noting that the faculty of vision is one which can be extremely misleading, I wrote:

"We can’t presume to know anything about anything by looking at it. The only way to know for sure is by listening to something, by slowly and closely analysing it. But at Har Sinai, when we were in such close proximity to Hashem, we experienced a return to the state of Adam HaRishon whereby our senses all told us the same thing, whereby they all told us the absolute truth. In this context we can understand the concept of Am Yisrael seeing the Kolot [thunder], because their hearing and their seeing were no different from one another. We can now understand that which normally has to be heard, (as in Sh’ma Yisrael – the knowledge of Hashem,) was so obvious and clear that Am Yisrael could clearly perceive through even the most deceiving of the senses." (Source)

That is one explanation. In this D'var Torah, I would like to mention another so that we can regard this occurence from a different perspective.

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein has an intiguing D'var Torah that sheds light on this phenomenon. There is a Midrash (I can't find the original, but it is cited in Yalkut Shimoni and certainly appears in the Mechilta) that reads thus: "בשם רבי: "להודיע שבחן של ישראל שכשעמדו כולן לפני הר סיני לקבל את התורה היו שומעים את הדיבור ומפרשים אותו". We read here that Rebbi taught that at Har Sinai, when the Jewish people heard Hashem speaking to them, they didn't just hear the words but also interpreted them on their own. The source for this is found in Deuteronomy 32:10, where it says "יסובבנהו יבוננהו", which means "He encircled him, He made him comprehending".

We take the passage above to mean that Hashem made man an intellecual, reasoning and interpretive creature. As such, when we were given the Torah at Har Sinai, we didn't merely enjoy the uniquely magnificent sound and light show in a passive manner. When we read of the incredible spectacle that occured at Har Sinai that day, total silence shattered by blasts of the shofar, iluminated by crashes of thunder and roaring lightning, it would be easy to imagine the onlooking Jewish people as regarding things in a manner somewhat resembling a theatre audience.

It would be easy to simply take in what was happening, such was the awesome scale of this "show". Instead, the people took more than a simple passive role and instead took on a crucial role, participating in receiving the Torah. This is powerful lesson to us all - we never simply receive something in this world. The Torah is not a static entity with no relevance to us. We all have a deep connection to it and it remains up to us to engage with the Torah.

From Jerusalem, wishing you a stimulating and challenging Shavuot

Shavuot - שבועות

Shavuot is a festival that goes by many names. Known variously as Atzeret, Chag Habikkurim, Zman Matan Torateinu, Chag Kaztzir and Shavuot, it has many dimensions which can be explored and interpreted in differing ways. Previously, I have looked at the relevance of the name Chag Habikkurim, (a highly recommended read if you have an extra five minutes,) and this year I plan on exploring the connection between the names Zman Matan Torateinu and Shavuot.

The underlying question behind this D'var Torah is simple: the festival of Shavuot is known primarily for one thing – the giving of the Torah. But the name that refers to this, Zman Matan Torateinu, is not actually to be found anywhere in the Torah. We only refer to this festival that way in our prayers. Nowhere can we find a biblical source for this name. On the other hand, we routinely call this festival by the name Shavuot, which means 'weeks'. Problem is, the weeks that we are referring to are the previous 7 weeks during which religious orthodox Jews are careful to count the Omer. Why are we referring to something in the past?

In the Yalkiut Lekach Tov, it is written that Rav Elyah Lopian poses the first part to this question in his sefer, Lev Eliyahu. There, he asks how is it that the Torah doesn't refer to this festival as Zman Matan Torateinu, but rather as Shavuot?

The answer may be drawn from a famous teaching in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers). In the sixth chapter, we read, "שהתורה נקנית בארבעים ושמונה דברים/ That the Torah is acquired in 48 qualities." The text there then goes on to outline each one of these 48 qualities. Rav Lopian explains that the terminology "the Torah is acquired" teaches us that Torah isn't simply something that is ours – we must be active in our pursuit of it. We must acquire Torah, it is not ours by right.

An intriguing aspect to the two names Zman Matan Torateinu and Shavuot is that while one is that both are defined by time [1]. Zman Matan Torateinu literally means "The time of the giving of our Torah," and Shavuot means "Weeks". But there's a major difference between the two names; while the former is less subject to time (Torah is an eternal blessing, one that is unaffected by the passage of time,) the latter refers to seven very specific weeks.

To answer the question above, we must refer to the historical chain of events that led up to the giving of the Torah. As we know, the Jews were living in exile in Egypt prior to the giving of the Torah. They had sunk to the 49^th level of impurity and, by the grace of God, were whisked out of Egypt in the nick of time. But although the Jews were then on course to receive the Torah, they could not do so straight away. 50 days elapsed between the date of the exodus itself and the giving of the Torah. Why was this? The answer is simple and fits in perfectly with the quote from Pirkei Avot, above: they had to acquire the Torah so that when it was "given" to them on Shavuot, they had already earned it to some extent. The Jews took each day as a step in building up, ascending 48 levels. On the 49^th day, they went over their work in the biggest revision session the world had ever seen, and then on the 50^th day, we received the Torah. (We failed the exam, but that's another story!)

Having connected the two names, it could well be that the reason why the Torah doesn't refer to Shavuot by the name of Zman Matan Torateinu is because we could only call it that after having been through the essential cleansing and rebuilding period of the seven weeks (Shavuot) before it. When the Torah refers to Shavuot, it also refers to the giving of the Torah at the same time. Only through the preceding Shavuot could we reach that final goal of receiving the Torah

Wishing you a Chag Sameach


[1] Idea found here: http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/9a/The_Three_Names_of_Shavuot.php

Shavuot - שבועות

Tonight is the fiftieth day of the Omer and as such, we celebrate Shavuot. Shavuot is known by many names, including: Z'man Matan Torateinu (The Time of the Giving of our Torah), Atzeret (Assembly), Chag HaKatzir (Festival of the Harvest) and Chag HaShavuot (Festival of the Weeks). I have even heard Shavuot referred to by the colloquial "חג עוגת-גבינה," (Cheese-cake Fesival!)

There is one other name for Shavuot, too - Chag Habikurim, the Festival of the First Fruit. This particular name derives from the times of the Bet Hamikdash and the mitzvah of bringing the first fruit in the fields of Israel to ripen to the Kohanim as an offering.

The basic concept behind Bikurim is this; farmers in Israel who grow any of the seven kinds of fruit or grain have an obligation to keep an eye out for any freshly ripened fruits in their fields. When the very first fruit in the field is ripe, the farmer ties a red ribbon around it and makes a declaration confirming that it this particular fruit is Bikurim. He then takes this fruit (and more fruit with it, if he wishes) to the Bet Hamikdash, makes a declaration there and turns it over to the Kohanim.

Three years ago while staying up all night learning Torah for Tikkun Leil on Shavuot night, I read a lovely D'var Torah by the Sfat Emet on this particular topic. The Sfat Emet teaches that the concept of Bikurim allows to understand the purpose of Tefillin more. Up until this point, I had never really felt much connection with the mitzvah of putting on Tefillin - what kind of sense is there in wrapping leather strips and boxes to one's arm and head? And what kind of spiritual function is there in this? It all seemed rather ritualistic to me. In this context, you might understand that the Sfat Emet's teaching was really welcome. He explains that upon examining the mitzvah of Bikurim we may gain insight as to how Tefillin functions. So let's do that!

There are a few specific aspects to the mitzvah of Bikurim - first of all, it can only be performed with the very first fruits in the field to ripen. Second of all, we mark it by tying a red ribbon around it. Thirdly, we make a statement to declare it's status as Bikurim. As a whole, it is obvious that the idea behind Bikurim is taking something that we would otherwise be proud of and claim to be attributed to our own "hard work," subduing our own ego and correctly accredit it's true source.

Now let's look at the procodure for the Tefillin. Firstly, Tefillin is a mitzvah that was given exclusively to the Jews - the first nation to accept God and all His laws. Second, we use black leather straps to mark ourselves off as belonging to God. Third we make a statement called "V'eirastich."

Now for the fun but - let's draw the parallels between Bikurim and Tefillin. The concepts of the Bikurim and Tefillin are remarkably similar - both mark off something as belonging to Hashem. More than this, in each case we take something and tie it around the item being marked off. Significantly, when we wrap Tefillin around our arms and head, we are instructed to take care that the straps are completely black. Similarly, the mitzvah of Bikurim must be performed with a red ribbon. In both cases, we use visually strong colours to mark off God's property.

The action of tying the ribbon around the fruit and over wrapping the tefillin around head and arm is also significant - in Jewish spiritualism, the concept of a circle is very powerful and is often connected to bonding and marriage. In fact, when men put on tefillin, they read the verse:

"וארסתיך לי לעולם וארסתיך לי בצדק ובמשפט ובחסד וברחמים וארסתיך לי באמונה וידעת את ה - And I will betroth you unto Me forever, and I will betroth you unto me with righteousness, justice, lovingkindness and compassion, and I will betroth you to me with faith and knowledge of God."
הושע ב-

Maybe know we can understand the underlying concept of the Tefillin by marking ourselves as Hashem's property, in much the same way as Bikurim. To complete the picture, we should also bear in mind the fact that Chag HaBikurim takes place at Shavuot, which is also called Zman Matan Torateinu - the time that when our Torah was given to us. Just as the Bnei Yisrael stood around Mount Sinai in a circle, so too a bride encircles her husband at their Chupa seven times. And maybe now we can understand the significance of tying the Tefillin Shel yad around the arm in seven circles.

Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did, wishing you a Chag Sameach!