Let’s take unity to the next level
Rabbi Shalom Rosner, who made aliya from the United States and is a rabbi in Beit Shemesh, writes that when it comes to terrorism and wars, we excel in solidarity. On Simchat Torah, Hamas wanted to kill all of us, regardless of our political or religious affiliation, and so we united. An external threat has always increased our sense of mutual responsibility.
This is important, but our stature when we stood together at Mount Sinai heralded a revolution. On Sunday evening, we will be celebrating Shavuot, the festival that calls upon us to rise to the next level — that of authentic unity, unity for its own sake.
When the Torah was given, we were not running away or hiding from anyone. We did not come together because of Nazis, antisemites, Hezbollah, or Hamas. We simply gathered joyfully at Mount Sinai and there, received our identity. We heard the Ten Commandments and declared in unison: “Na’aseh V’nishma” (We will do and we will understand).
Our identity is not about what we fear but about what we embrace, as negative thinking gives way to positive affirmation. After all, our sustaining, everlasting unity is based on our magnificent common story and our glorious common destination.
Which Fingerprints Are Yours?
Whoever is reading these words has their own fingerprints, different, unique, unmatchable. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, Israel’s first Chief Rabbi, explained that each person’s connection to the Torah is equally unique, and creates its special light.
On the holiday of Shavuot, when we receive the Torah anew, we are likely to think that our part in the story is not so critical. Indeed, there are approximately fourteen million Jews in the world, and many of them are wiser and more righteous than we are, so why are we so important?
Rav Kook writes: “The light that is created from one person’s connection to the Torah is completely different from the light created from another person’s connection to the Torah. And so each person expands the Torah when he studies it.”
In other words, each soul that learns Torah creates a unique connection and gives birth to new light in the world that never existed before and, otherwise, would never exist at all. We cannot just copy someone else’s work, and we cannot be satisfied that others are learning Torah. Each person must create his own special light.
Do You Want the Gift?
We hear a lot about the significance of Torah in different contexts in our public dialogue, but have we ever heard it described as a gift? Here is a thought for the Shavuot by Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus:
“If someone wears a beautiful watch on his wrist, he is often asked where he bought it. But if we see a poor person holding a diamond worth five million dollars, we will not ask ‘Where did you buy it?’ but rather, ‘Who gave you that gift?’ because we wouldn’t imagine that he bought it himself.
The holy Torah is a most valuable gift. As long as we study it and do good deeds, it will carry on giving. All that is required of us is one thing: desire. To want and appreciate the gift! Our obligation on Shavuot is nothing more than to want the Torah, to see its importance. A person will agree to give his friend a precious diamond only if he knows that his friend will appreciate and look after it. He will not give the diamond to someone who will play with it in the sand.
“Every year, on the eve of Shavuot, the Holy One blessed be He travels the world and asks each one of us: Are you interested in receiving the Torah? Do you want it? And we answer: Yes. ‘Naaseh venishma’ (we will do what it instructs and we will understand —later). Despite our limitations, if we really want it, we will be gifted an abundance of Torah on Shavuot.”
Connected in Learning
What is the significance of learning Torah? What happens when we learn? Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, of blessed memory, an eminent leader of American Jewry, explains the following:
“When I sit down to learn, I immediately find myself in the presence of a group of devoted sages, learned in tradition and values. The relationship between us is personal. The Rambam is on my right, Rabbeinu Tam is on my left. Rashi sits at the head of the table and makes clarifications to which Rabbeinu Tam objects. The Rambam makes a ruling and the Raavad challenges it. All of them are in my little room, sitting around my table.
They look at me with affection, play with me through sevara (logic) and Gemara, encouraging and strengthening me. Learning Torah is not just a didactic exercise, not just a formal, technical preoccupation that involves exchange of information and inventive thinking. Learning Torah is an unparalleled experience of friendship through many generations, of connection between spirits and unity between souls of different eras. Those that passed on their Torah wisdom and those that receive it are united in the same historic sanctuary of ideas.”
Learning for the Sake of Learning
“All the Torah that millions of Jews throughout the world learn during the festival of Shavuot could be condensed into a single computer file, not too large, to be quickly accessed at any time,” writes Rabbi Manny Even Yisrael. “So what’s the point of learning the material over and over again? Why do people sit in front of these texts, especially when they receive nothing, no degree or certificate, in return?”
The rabbi’s answer is also good advice to all of us on the day after the giving of the Torah:
“The Torah offers us something new: learning for the sake of learning. In a competitive world, this is indeed something exceptional. The Torah is not information; it is our identity. The Torah demands not only the head, but the heart and soul, too. The Torah connects us to ourselves and connects us to the One who gave it. The real challenge comes the day after Shavuot. How do we maintain this connection?
At Mount Sinai, after the giving of the Torah, the Children of Israel became confused and made a golden calf. Today, we need to think how to leverage the festival of Shavuot in a positive way. Day after day, we counted the Omer, but exactly like a couple that excitedly prepared for their wedding day, we could find ourselves the day after the wedding settled into a dull routine. I suggest that we all find a part of the Torah to which we are especially connected that gives us strength and meaning, and commit to learning that particular part of Torah, even on a small scale, on a regular basis, throughout the year.”
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin, Janine Muller Sherr
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