Edited by B. Silberstein
This week’s Parasha initiates the fourth Book of the Torah, BaMidbar. At its outset, there is a sense of anticipation as Bnei Yisrael (Children of Israel) prepare for the final stage of the Exodus, entry into and conquest of the Land G-d promised to our Fathers.
However, it doesn’t take long for matters to unravel. Problems develop, and the final straw is the calamity of the spies. It is disappointing and somewhat difficult to comprehend that the generation who experienced the great miracles accompanying the Exodus did not merit to inherit Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel).
The Festivals and Their Purpose
Parashat BaMidbar is usually read prior to the festival of Shavuot, which we will BeEzrat Hashem (with G-d’s help), celebrate next Friday. Each of the major festivals has its own specific Mitzvot. On Pesach (Passover), we are commanded to renounce Chametz (leavening) and to eat only Matzah. The basic obligation is to recount, relive, and reenact the journey from Egyptian bondage to our miraculous redemption.
Sukkot commemorates the Divine Providence that accompanied Bnei Yisrael on their trek through the wilderness. As the Torah says:
“In Sukkot you shall dwell for seven days; all citizens of Yisrael shall dwell in Sukkot. So that your generations shall know that I housed the children of Israel in Sukkot when I took them out of the land of Egypt…" (VaYikra 23:42-43)
Thus, each holiday has a specific theme and the Mitzvot we perform give expression to its central idea.
Shavuot, however, is different. It does not contain any Mitzvah that represents the purpose of the Chag (holiday). So what is the objective of this holiday? More specifically, what is it that we should seek to accomplish on this day?
The Completion of the Exodus
Shavuot is not a completely independent festival. Its date is determined by the 49-day count that begins on the second night of Pesach called Sefirat HaOmer. The purpose of the Exodus was to liberate Bnei Yisrael from bondage. However, this was not fully achieved until Bnei Yisrael stood on Mount Sinai and uttered the words that changed history, “We will do and we will listen." (Shemot 24:7) It is only through adherence to Torah, its wisdom and code of behavior, that man achieves genuine human freedom. In that sense, Shavuot is the culmination of the liberation process begun on Pesach.
The Nature of Revelation
However, while the events underlying Pesach and Sukkot required Bnei Yisrael to perform some activity, that is not the case for Shavuot. At the Great Revelation, Bnei Yisrael’s role was to listen and accept. No action was demanded of them. Only by agreeing to preserve and study the Torah, and observe the Mitzvot, did Bnei Yisrael enter the Covenant and become Hashem’s Chosen Nation.
Thus, there is no specific Mitzvah connected to Shavuot. However, the holiday is defined in our prayers as “the time of the giving of our Torah." The key words in that phrase are our Torah. The Creator of the universe gave the Torah to Am Yisrael (Nation of Israel), and its proper observance forms the entire objective of our national existence.
Those of us who were born Jewish are not ordinarily described as Jews by choice. The Jews who stood at Mount Sinai accepted the Torah for themselves and for all future generations.
A Personal Matan Torah
I believe that it is vitally important for each and every Jew to experience his own, personal, Matan Torah (giving of the Torah). Our mission on Shavuot is not to perform any particular Mitzvah, but rather to contemplate the full significance of the Great Revelation and to adopt the Torah as our guide to life. We are, in effect, to reaffirm our identity and commitment, thereby transforming ourselves into Jews by choice. Only in this way can we truly define the holiday as “the time of the giving of our Torah."
Reading BaMidbar reminds us that the generation that left Egypt, despite all the wonders they experienced, did not merit to enter Eretz Yisrael. Miracles, however great, are not sufficient to create lasting spiritual transformation. Only the absolute and wholehearted acceptance of the Torah, and the determination to live by it, can enable Am Yisrael to become a “Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation." (Shemot 19:6)
May we merit to attain it.
Shabbat Shalom, Yom Yerushalayim and Chag Shavuot Sameach.