On Shavuos we commemorate our receiving
the Torah from Hashem at Har Sinai, however, the holiday is not just
about the past. Chazal teach us that each Shavuos we are actually re-accepting
the Torah on ourselves! Therefore, we must prepare for this in the proper way. In
order to prepare ourselves for a real acceptance of the Torah, let’s go through
in short what actions we must take in order to be ready to accept the Torah.
The Sichos Mussar explains that when
Bnei Yisrael came to Har Sinai, there were three things they needed to work on
before they could accept the Torah; these three things are what we need as well
to accomplish for our own acceptance.
The first principle is to strengthen our
will in learning Torah. We see many instances in our history of individuals who
have embodied this principle, starting with Yaakov Avinu and the fourteen
straight years he spent learning in the Yeshiva of Shem and Aver. It is
important to note that this principle is not just a virtue of learning, but a
prerequisite to being able to accept completely the yoke of Torah upon
ourselves.
The second principle is to use the trait
of humility. Chazal teach us that the reason the Torah was given in the desert
was to show Bnei Yisrael that Torah does not truly take hold of a person unless
they lower themselves and treat themselves like a desert. Just as a desert does
not have much to show off to others, so too we should not act as if we have
what to show off. The most famous set of arguing Tannaim in the Mishna are the
schools of Hillel and Shamai. In terms of deciding the halacha, we decide like
Hillel besides for only a handful of cases where we decide like Shamai. The Gemarah
in Eiruvin (13b) says that the reason for this is because when they taught the
lesson in the school of Hillel, first they would say what Shamai taught, and
only then would they say over what they learned from Hillel. Because of this
show of humility, they merited that the halacha should be like them.
The final principle to accepting the
Torah is the unity of Bnei Yisrael. The pasuk says by the giving of the Torah, “ וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר ” “And
Yisrael camped there opposite the mountain” (Shemos 19:2). The pasuk uses
the language of a singular individual to describe the encampment of the entire
nation to signify that they were all united together. The medrash teaches us
that upon seeing this strength of unity, Hashem decided that right then
was the time to give Bnei Yisrael the Torah.
The Arizal teaches us that on Shavuos we are judged on how much of
a desire for Torah we will have over the next year. Rav Aharon Kotler explains
that we must treat this day like Rosh Hashanah in the sense that just like on
Rosh Hashanah it’s not enough to do teshuvah, rather we must also take upon
ourselves certain actions to do throughout the year in order to establish ourselves
as good people. So too on Shavuos we must take certain actions in order to show
how much we really desire to make the Torah a part of our lives. By using these
three principles, we can begin the process for becoming true acceptors of the
Torah and make it an even stronger part of our lives.
Chag Sameach!
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