Shavuot: The Absolute Bonds Between Israel and Torah

by Rav Zalman Baruch Melamed, Rosh Yeshivat Beit El, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel. (part of a talk delivered last year in Yeshivat Beit El)

The Sages of the Talmud asked: In the Torah's account of Creation, the sixth day is termed Yom HaShishi, as if to say "The Friday" – as opposed to the other days, which do not have "the" in their names. Why is this? And the answer is that this alludes to the "special" sixth day – the sixth day of the month of Sivan, on which the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai. The lesson is that Creation was made contingent upon Israel accepting the Torah: "G-d said to His creations: If Israel accepts the Torah [given on The Sixth Day], fine, but if not, I will return you to your original state of tohu vavohu, nothingness (B'reshit 1,2)."

That is to say, the essential aim and intent of the world is that it must have Torah and that G-d's light must illuminate the world – and therefore, it must be that the Nation of Israel will be in the world to accept the Torah. Israel is the nation imbued with the natural Divine unique spark suitable for the Torah. Just like it is totally inconceivable that the world will not have Torah, so too it must be that there will be people who are worthy of accepting it and via whom the Torah will appear in the world. This is Am Yisrael.

When we approach the Torah with this understanding, that Israel is innately harmonized with Torah – all of our Torah study will take on valuable significance. There is a great difference if it is our nature to study the Torah and fulfill its mitzvot, or if we just choose to do so on our own. If the latter, it means that there is no permanence to our connection with Torah; our choice could conceivably change. But if this is a matter of nature – nature does not change. Without our unique innate Divine spark, our acceptance of the Torah would not have been absolute – leaving the fate of the entire world in doubt, as we saw above.

… The Talmud also teaches that G-d forced upon us the acceptance of the Torah, by symbolically turning Mt. Sinai upon us and threatening not to remove it if we did not agree to receive the Torah (Shabbat 88a). Why is this? The Maharal of Prague explains that this signifies the permanence and absoluteness of the bonds between Israel and Torah and that they can never change. They are not dependent upon our behavior, or our consent; they are simply there, rock-solid and unchangeable. True, Israel said, "We will do and we will listen" (Sh'mot 24,7), and this is correct: Israel has a fundamental desire to keep the Torah. But G-d wished to inform us that this is not just a voluntary matter, but is something much more intrinsic and eternal than we thought; it is bigger than just our consent.

With this introduction and preparation, we can correctly approach our renewed acceptance of Torah on this upcoming Shavuot festival. Just before the Stand at Mt. Sinai, G-d told us that we were to be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" and a "treasure to Me among all the nations" (Sh'mot 19) – and with this understanding, we were given the Torah and instructed, "I am the Lord your G-d Who took you out of Egypt" (Sh'mot 20).

May we merit, with G-d's help, to renew our covenant with G-d and deepen it, and may G-d help us to celebrate Shavuot in the Beit HaMikdash in the most complete and full manner, together with all of Am Yisrael – and then the Divine Presence will appear in the greatest and most sublime manner, in the rebuilt Holy Temple, speedily in our days!