Unity, Identity, And The Torah Within
By Sivan Rahav Meir
Rabbi Shalom Rosner, who made aliyah from the United States and serves as a rabbi in Beit Shemesh, writes that when it comes to terrorism and war, we excel in solidarity. On Simchat Torah, Hamas wanted to kill us all regardless of political or religious affiliation, so we united. An external threat has always increased our sense of mutual responsibility.
This is important because when we stood together at Mount Sinai, we heralded a revolution. On Sunday evening, we will be celebrating Shavuot, the festival that calls upon us to rise to the next level of unity: unity for its own sake, true unity.
When the Torah was given, we were not running away or hiding from anyone. We gathered as a nation at Mount Sinai and joyfully received the Torah and our identity. We did not come together because of Nazis, antisemites, Hezbollah, or Hamas. We heard the Ten Commandments and declared in unison: “Na’aseh v’nishma—we will do and we will hear.”
Our identity is not about what we fear, but what we embrace. At Har Sinai we created an everlasting bond based on our magnificent common history and our glorious common destiny.
{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 own 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 did not exist before him, cannot exist without him, and would never have existed at all. When it comes to learning Torah, we cannot just copy someone else’s work or be satisfied that others are learning. Each one of us must create our own special light.
{Do You Want a Gift?
In our public dialogue, we hear a lot about the significance of Torah in different contexts, but have you ever heard it described as a gift? Here is a thought for 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 we study it and do good deeds, it will keep on giving. All that is required is one thing: our 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 it and look after it. He will not give the diamond to someone who will play with it in the sand and lose it.
“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. Na’aseh v’nishma—we will do what it instructs and we will understand—later. Despite our limitations, if we really want it, we will be given an abundance of Torah on Shavuot.”
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 who passed on their Torah wisdom and those who receive it are united in the same historic sanctuary of ideas.”
“All the Torah that millions of Jews learn throughout the world on the festival of Shavuot could be condensed into a single computer file, not too large, to be quickly accessed at any time,” writes Rabbi Meni Even-Israel. “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 as well. The Torah connects us to ourselves and to the One Who gave it. The real challenge comes the day after Shavuot. How do we maintain this connection? At Mount Sinai, after receiving the Torah, the Children of Israel became confused and made a golden calf. Today, we need to think about how to leverage the festival of Shavuot in a positive way. Day after day we counted the Omer, but like a couple that prepares for their wedding day with excitement, we risk finding ourselves the day after settling into a dull routine.
I suggest 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 part on a regular basis throughout the year, even on a small scale.”
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin and Janine Muller Sherr.
Read more by Sivan Rahav Meir at SivanRahavMeir.com.
