Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
We generally consider Shavuot zman matan Torahteinu, the time the Torah was given to us. Yet, as Rav Mattisyahu Salomon zt”l points out, the first Tablets containing the Ten Commandments, the condensed version of the Torah, were shattered. Only the second set of Tablets which Moshe brought down to us on Yom Kippur remained intact. What then are we actually celebrating on this day, and how should we celebrate?
In our holiday tefillah, we say, "Atah bechartanu.../ You have chosen us from all the peoples; You loved us and found favor in us; You exalted us... and You sanctified us with Your commandments. You drew us close..." This special closeness, brought with observance of our holidays and mitzvoth, gives us the strength to serve Hashem until that service becomes second nature, writes Rav Dessler zt”l.
This was Hashem's gift to us at Sinai, writes Rabbi Mandlebaum, citing Ramchal, for at Sinai we became separate and distinct from other nations, a difference we acknowledge and are grateful for with our daily blessing, "...that He has not made me a gentile." By bringing us close to Him, He gave us the strength to serve Him, He clung to us with love, giving us the strength to observe His mitzvoth, making us a "Nation of priests" that is tasked with bringing sanctity to a world in need of repair. Our attendance at Sinai was a life changing event that changed our national identity even before we actually received the Torah. It was at that moment that the defining characteristics of a Jew were imprinted on our DNA and is handed down from generation to generation. Every year, we have the ability to strengthen these traits.
Rabbi Wolbe zt”l citing the Gemorrah, explains these three defining characteristics of a Jew: We are bishanim, humble and able to feel shame, rachmanim, merciful and empathetic, and gomlei chasasim, practitioners of acts of loving kindness. These three characteristics are the pillars of the world's existence. If we are to form the necessary connection with Hashem, we must recognize our own insignificance in comparison to His greatness, remaining modest in all our interactions. Further, we must identify with His traits of mercy and empathy. Finally, as He gives to all and everything constantly in loving kindness, so must we also find ways to give and support others.
These three traits, continues Rabbi Wolbe, stand in direct opposition to the three cardinal sins. Without humility and modesty, one can begin the descent into improper sexual behavior. If you are estranged from God, [have no sense of parental connection, like from the womb] you can deny God and look for strange gods to worship [including all kinds of -isms. CKS] Finally, with the sense of ego and entitlement that does not see the needs of the other, in the extreme case, one may even be led to murder.
Every year on Shavuot, these qualities of humility, compassion, and doing acting with kindness toward others are highlighted, and present us with the opportunity to focus our attention on them. The Torah itself is a Book of Kindness, beginning and ending with kindness. And Megillat Ruth is at its core a book dedicated to kindness.
In the first half of the Megillah we are presented with the absence of kindness, even among the highest echelons of society, and the retribution on Elimelech and his family as a result. Conversely. writes Rabbi Lipowitz zt”l, we see how the lowest can rise to great heights in the merit of kindness. In addition to the great kindness of Ruth in following her impoverished mother in law and caring for her, there are many small acts of kindness throughout the Megillah. The Megillah transforms the image of a nation where "everyone did what was right in his eyes" without regard to anyone else to a people that sees other people and cares for their needs.
Ruth, the convert, reminds us that we were all converted to Judaism at Sinai. Our souls left us at each of God's utterances, and we were reborn as His people with a gene that sensitizes us to others and the desire to help, writes Rabbi Zuker in Orot Hamoadim. In fact, it is on Shavuot that we are commanded to bring a minchah chadoshoh, a new offering as the newborn people, for on this day we were presented with this gift from Above, writes the Slonimer Rebbe in Netivot Shalom.
The Matnas Chaim quoting the Ramchal identifies the two gifts Hashem gave us at Sinai as the strength to keep the mitzvoth, and, through them, to change and repair the world. And this ability is available to us every day, writes the Sifsei Chaim, not just on Shavuot, for we say that Hashem "gives us the Torah [in the present tense, every day]." Shavuot is meant to reignite the passion for Torah.
In Siftei Chayim, R. Friedlander zt”l uses Shir Hashirim to add another layer of meaning to this interpretation: "...On the day of his wedding, the crown that his mother gave him..." In our tradition, the "wedding day" is often interpreted as the day we accepted the gift of Torah and symbolically became betrothed to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. In this interpretation, while Hashem sustained the world for 26 generations until matan Torah completely through His chesed, once Bnei Yisroel received the Torah, Bnei Yisroel received the crown and would sustain the world, would bestow chesed on the world as a mother sustains her child. Although Hashem rides over all the expanses of earth, He is allowing Himself to be influenced and guided by the horses upon whom He rides, upon the actions of Bnei Yisroel. In this way, it is our Torah study that sustains the world.
Indeed, each of our actions is extremely powerful. Rav Dessler points to Naomi's arguments to dissuade Ruth from converting. Naomi informs Ruth of the four different death sentences, each for a different sin. Naomi is teaching Ruth, and us, that each of our acts is judged independently, each with specific ramifications, both positive and negative, and Ruth agrees to it all to accept death and burial according to Torah law.
We can see how Hashem rewards even the smallest positive acts. The Gemorrah Sanhedrin records how Nebuchadnezzar, the destroyer of our Beit Hamikdosh, took four steps to give honor to Hashem. He was rewarded that his empire would last for four generations. [In another example especially relevant to Shavuot, according to our Menorah, Ruth was the daughter of Eelong, King of Mo av. How did he merit being an ancestor of King David? When the Judge Thud told Eelong that he had a message from Hashem, Eglon stood up to honor Hashem. Although Ehud killed Eglon at that moment and freed Bnei Yisroel from Moabite oppression, Eglon merited continued kingship through his daughter Ruth's descendant, David. CKS] No action is small or insignificant.
Rabbi Weissblum urges us to realize our greatness, that we impact not only ourselves, but the entire world. We are each a pilot of the plane of the world, and we carry the safety of all the passengers in our hands. We are also familiar with the metaphor of the passenger on a boat drilling a hole under his own seat. It may be his seat, but everyone else in the boat with him is endangered by "his" hole.
Torah and mitzvah observance is not a job that we attend to only at specific times or days; it is a calling that is our essence, our raison d'etre. When we realize that this is who we are, we dedicate ourselves to mitzvah observance, to constantly looking for opportunities to serve Hashem. Every year we are called upon to rededicate ourselves to this mission. While we may earn our living as a doctor, a teacher, a farmer, a housewife, we should define ourselves not by that profession, but by that which compasses our entire being; as the prophet Jonah told the sailors as the ship was about to capsize, "Ivri anochi, I am a Jew." That identity should be everything. If I recognize my exalted mission as a Jew, writes Rabbi Mintzberg zt”l, I will feel how special I am, that I have the privilege of serving in the palace of the King.
The mitzvoth of the Torah teach us to be givers. Rabbi Mattisyahu Slomon cites the agricultural mitzvah of shikchah. If the reaper dropped one or two stalks of wheat, he must forget it and leave it for the poor. Translating this into modern, urban society, if we drop some amoney in the street, while we need not leave it, if we cannot find it, we console ourselves with the hope that someone who needs the money more than we do will find it.
Hashem introduced Himself to us at Sinai. But a relationship cannot develop in a vacuum. Hashem gave us the mitzvoth so that we could form connections with him, writes Rabbi Bernstein in The Call of Sinai. Each mitzvah brings us closer to Him. In this context, Hashem calls the Torah a song, for it is music that creates an emotional bond with both the musician and the listener. Every time we study Torah, we are strengthening that connection. Each of us has a unique instrument we play in Hashem's orchestra, and understanding our unique role in Hashem's symphony should inspire and elevate us. It is not what we have received at Sinai, but what we have become through the Sinai, writes Rabbi Biederman.
After thanking Hashem for choosing us, loving us, exalting us, and bringing us closer to Him, we segue into "Yaaleh veyovo, May the memory of ourselves, our forefathers, Moshiach ben David, Yerushalayim rise up and reach You..." This is the entire purpose of Shavuot, writes Rabbi Mattisyahu Salomon in Matnas Chaim, to lift us up and bring us closer to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Therefore there are no additional mitzvoth specific to Shavuot as there are for the other holidays.
Megillat Ruth gives us no prophecy, nor any laws. Why is in included in the Holy Canon? Rabbi Rotberg suggests that the message here is that when people connect to each other with integrity, loyalty, and truth -- that in itself is Torah and brings us closer to Hashem. Don't underestimate any of your actions. Every time we perform a mitzvah and acknowledge that it is as Hashem commanded, we are forging another connection to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, writes Rabbi Garfinkle.
As Rebbetzin Smiles often reminds us, so many of the simple things we do routinely are mitzvah worthy, if we can just reframe them in that way. When we invite someone to our home, we should acknowledge that we are performing hachnosat orchim. Even when we prepare dinner for our family, we are feeding not only our children but Hashem's children. The opportunities are endless.
Rabbi Mansour shows us how simple this idea actually is. Citing the Ariz"l, Rabbi Mansour tells us that the most important word in the entire Amidah prayer is at the end of the first brachah, "Be'ahavah, with love." With the pronunciation of that word, one should commit to doing at least one unselfish act strictly for Hashem during that day. Perhaps you will pause during the busy day specifically to give a collector some charity, or stop to smile at someone who appears to be sad. Make a point of doing something with mesirat nefesh, with self sacrifice of one's time, ego, or money for the sake of Hashem and our mutual love.
Shavuot teaches us about the strong bonds of love between Hakodosh Boruch Hu and Bnei Yisroel. Every time we perform a mitzvah or treat another person with respect and appreciation, we are strengthening our bond with Hashem. May the time come soon when that closeness will be fully realized with the arrival of Moshiach ben David, descendant of Ruth, and the building where we can bring the offering, the korbanot, that represent that closeness.