Shavuos - 5774

Shavuos - 5774

Rabbi Hal Miller

There is no specified date in the Torah for Shavuos, while all the other

festivals are fixed. There are no mitzvos to do, as there are on other

holidays. It is only one (or two outside of Israel) day long, where the

others last a week. There isn't even consistency with regard to its name--we

find seven different names in the Torah for his day. Why does the holiday even

exist?

Perhaps it marks the end of the intestinal difficulties we faced almost two

months ago with all that matza. Maybe we should call it the "cheesecake

holiday". Ask most non-Jews or non-practicing Jews, and they'll tell you

something about Pesach or Succos. Most of them won't even know of this

holiday. What does the festival of Shavuos signify?

Maybe I'm a little odd, but this is my favorite occasion on the entire year's

calendar. As much as I love lasagna and cheesecake, I could make those dishes

any time of the year, so that can't be the real reason.

I see Shavuos as a time for reflection and renewal. Not about baseball, not

about work, but about my Torah learning, and in the end, my relationship with

the Creator of the Universe. By the end of the holiday, I am exhausted, partly

because I stay up all night learning, and partly because of the new energy I

have infused into that relationship. I admit that some years have been easier

than others to accomplish this. When I've had trouble, I've used this formula.

- appreciate what is all around

- remind myself of what is truly important

- find new ways to learn Torah

- appreciate what is all around

In the mid-1800s, Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch led the battle in Europe to

fend off the "revisionists". Those folks tried, as have many before and since,

to throw away all of the rules and 'restrictions' of Judaism in an attempt to

water it down enough to satisfy the masses. They specifically wanted to enable

Jews to assimilate into the local cultures. Rav Hirsch took the stance that no

effort would be too much to stop this and to keep Judaism Jewish.

Once, in the middle of a huge machlokes with his opponents, he decided to take

a vacation to an Alpine retreat. His supporters were stunned. "The Rav cannot

possibly go away at such a time! We will be unable to keep the movement alive

without him!" He replied, "The movement will live or die without me, I am only

a tool of the Ribbono Shel Olam. On the day when I pass from this world, He

will confront me, and He will ask, 'So, My friend Shimshon, tell Me what you

did in this world to earn your place in the next world.' I will list all the

Torah study, all the lectures, all the various works I have done, and He will

nod at each. Then He will ask me, 'But My Alps--did you see My Alps?'"

What Rav Hirsch taught by this is that Hashem created beauty in this world, in

many forms. He did not do so for His benefit, but for ours. It is for us to

appreciate, for us to marvel at, but specifically to remind us who it was who

created all of this beauty. It's hard not to believe in G-d when looking at

Multnomah Falls or a litter of puppies, Diamond Head over Waikiki Beach or a

field of wildflowers.

There is, of course, a limit to all this enjoyment. In Pirkei Avos [3:9] we

read, "Rabbi Yaakov said that one who walks on the road while reviewing Torah

but interrupts his review and says, 'How beautiful is this tree', 'How

beautiful is this plowed field', Scripture considers it as if he bears guilt

for his soul." At first glance, this seems to be saying that we should not

look at nature and beauty, but there is another explanation. Had one said 'How

beautiful is G-d's work that He made this tree', then perhaps the Mishnah

would not have had a problem with the interruption. The issue here is whether

we recognize the beauty, or we recognize the One who created that beauty.

Beauty for its own sake is worthless in the grand scheme. But that does not

mean that beauty is worthless.

- remind myself of what is truly important

Go to a shopping mall and look around. Watch television. 'Surf the web'. You

are bombarded everywhere with messages telling you what "should" be important

to you. It isn't just in advertisments, although that's precisely their

purpose. Nearly every television show, drama or comedy, is telling us by the

examples it provides what the producers think our lives should look like.

Most of those examples fit one or more of the "Three R's", Rest, Relaxation,

and Recreation. Sexual innuendo, if not outrightly displayed, can be found

everywhere. Advertising slogans abound: "If it feels good, do it." "He who

dies with the most toys, wins." "Grab for all the gusto you can." "Zoom zoom."

For entertainment 'value', most of this secular campaign concentrates on poor

morals, materialism and power. They stress "political correctness", as though

this recent trend is somehow a major improvement over centuries of social

development.

If something is correct, it's correct. If something is wrong, no amount of

restating it with pizzazz will make it right. King Solomon said in Koheles,

"There is nothing new under the sun", and that applies to social more`s as

much as it does to the knowledge which he sought. Some people respond to the

barrage of garbage by cutting the source out completely. This is the "throw

the baby out with the bathwater" approach. While effective, it has drawbacks.

Not only do we lose the benefit of the technology, we make it even more

attractive to our children because of the 'forbidden' and 'curiosity'

aspects. There has to be a better way.

Those goals that our modern society presses so hard upon us are not valid

goals. They are not the purpose of life in this world. They are not important,

no matter how much Madison Avenue or Hollywood tell us they are. We need to

train ourselves and our children what is truly important, and how to tune

out the rest to remain on track with our real goals.

So what is truly important?

I put before you three goals to help us answer this question. Are there others?

Of course. Anyone can come up with a list. If we follow these, will our lives

be a success? I'd like to think so.

1) self improvement, tikkun hanefesh, tikkun haolam

Pretty much everybody asks now and then, "why are we here?" If G-d didn't

need us why did He create us? If all we do is live a while then die, what have

we accomplished? Picture yourself on a spectrum scale, with one end being

'waste' and the other being 'fulfillment'. We start somewhere near the middle.

G-d likes to see His creatures move toward the "fulfillment' side, the farther

the better. Why, we can only guess, although in our pitiful level of human

intellect it seems reasonable. But He created us and gave us this assignment:

move to the 'fulfillment' side. On your own. What's more, once you've done

some of that, the whole world needs to do the same thing collectively. As a

Jew, you've been assigned a second goal of pushing the entire world along

that spectrum as well as yourself. Couldn't ask for more purpose than that.

2) mitzvos now, rather than in eternity where we cannot add to our mitzva

count

Our position in the World To Come is determined by what we do in This World.

To simplify, the more mitzvos we do here, the better off we'll be there. When

we live here, we don't necessarily see the impact our actions have on that

count of good or bad deeds. Once we pass from this life, we will not be able

to add to our score of mitzvos--what we compile here is what we will spend the

rest of eternity with. If that isn't enough to scare someone into doing more

mitzvos, I don't know what will. It certainly motivates me. Don't put off

until tomorrow that which you can do today.

3) passing along the mesorah/tradition

Once we have figured out what we need to do for ourselves, we must look

beyond. What do we owe the rest of the community? What do we owe our

children and future generations? We have to teach, and to lead by example.

How do we achieve these goals? Learn AND practice Torah. That brings us

to the next section.

- find new ways to learn Torah

We are supposed to learn Torah "all the time". For a few of us, that is

exactly what we do. For most of the rest of us, that proves somewhat

impractical. Our Sages discuss this in many contexts. In Pirkei Avos we

read [4:16] "Rabbi Yehudah said, Be meticulous in study, for a careless

misinterpretation is considered tantamount to willful transgression." This

means that we must put serious effort into the study we do. But it only

seems to apply to actual study. In [3:21], "Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says,

If there is no Torah, there is no way of the earth. If there is no way of

the earth, there is no Torah. If there is no wisdom, there is no fear of G-d.

If there is no fear of G-d, there is no wisdom. If there is no knowledge,

there is no understanding. If there is no understanding, there is no

knowledge. If there is no flour, there is no Torah. If there is no Torah,

there is no flour." From this we see that there must be a balance in the

world, that some things are interdependent. Learning Torah alone, without

earning a living, results in no valid Torah learning. Conversely, earning a

living without Torah is no living.

Rav Hirsch tells us that when we reach final judgment before G-d, He will ask

us "what did you learn" and "how many times did you learn it". This indicates

that once is not enough. Credit for learning may also be earned by repeating

the learning of the same verse or section. Each time we go through, we gain

new insight. Each time we should look through different commentators.

This gives us some how-to tips. Select a few simple verses, memorize them, and

repeat them whenever a spare moment occurs. Write a couple on a small piece of

paper and put it in a pocket, for quick review whenever there is a lull in

the activities of life (other than, of course, bathroom times.)

Further, buy books or join mailing lists. Each time one reads another

commentator, one is bound to pick up some new astonishing idea. I keep a book

in the car for those few moments in the waiting room of the dentist or doctor.

Even one paragraph is better than none, and certainly better than some of the

materials in the average waiting room. It also keeps the dread of what's to

come out of my mind for a bit.

Choose a friend to study with, even if it's just a few minutes a week, and

'religiously' dedicate that time. Once you start allowing it to slide, the

slippery-slope effect takes over. Start small and stick to it. Do this even if

you already have a tight schedule of other learning. You can always dig out a

couple minutes for something you consider valuable. Make this valuable.

So, how does Shavuos fit in? How does this become a "reflection and renewal"?

When we are involved in the details of something, we often lose sight of the

larger picture. This is reflected in such cliches as "when you're up to your

backside in alligators, it's hard to remember that your original intention was

to drain the swamp", and "can't see the forest for the trees". We spend the

entire year working hard at both our livelihood and day-to-day living, and

learning Torah. Do we ever stop to think, "what does all this mean?" Sometimes

someone else will happen along, observe for a bit, then make an 'obvious'

comment on something that is both right in front of our nose, and yet is

entirely outside of our vision.

A good example is Yisro, the father-in-law of Moshe. He comes along when he's

heard all that G-d has done for Moshe and the Jews. He watches Moshe doing

his daily tasks. He says, "hey, you know this leadership method doesn't scale

well?" Moshe says, "wow, you're right!" Things change. Interestingly, this

revelation happens right about the time of the revelation on Mount Sinai

(there is a difference of opinion on precise timing.) What does Shavuos

commemorate? Precisely that Sinai revelation.

Interestingly also, of all the holidays, Shavuos is the only one with more

than one or two names. In fact, it has seven. Yisro also had seven names.

There seems to be a tie between Yisro and Shavuos. What do we learn from

Yisro? Can we learn it out with regard to Shavuos as well?

Yisro was the "step back and reflect" figure for Moshe. He was the interested

bystander or observer. He helped Moshe pull back and realign his direction

and efforts. When Yisro spoke and then left, Moshe was stronger and more

capable of success than he had been before. Why did Yisro leave? His mission

was accomplished. That mission is what is relevant here.

The Sfas Emes wrote an essay on Shavuos, that he entitled something to the

effect of "Communal Renewal". He cites the Arizal's words that the Exodus

was "not only a physical liberation but also, and primarily, a spiritual

emancipation from Egypt's forty-nine gates of impurity. This is why our

freedom is not complete each year after Pesach until we undergo the

purification of the forty-nine day period of sefirah." The Torah commandment

to count from Pesach to Shavuos sets up a period for reflection. It pulls

us out of our daily routine, even if just for a moment each evening when we

perform the mitzvah of counting 'Omer'. For that moment, we recognize that

this is a special time. For that moment, we think about what has gone by and

what is about to come. In that moment we determine to correct our shortcomings

and improve our future.

In modern western society, a "vacation" is looked upon as a right, a benefit

for the employee, and an opportunity to travel or work around the house. In

Judaism, a "vacation/holiday" is a duty, a chance to look backward as well as

forward, a time to reflect and to resolve. Yisro was Moshe's 'vacation'.

Rav Hirsch went to the Alps. Shavuos comes at the conclusion of the sefirah

count to ensure that we put into action the renewed effort in Torah, the

necessity of which we have recognized during our reflections since Pesach.

Turn that Alpine beauty into Torah. Enjoy the music with a sense of awe of

what G-d's power has given us. Give reason to what you see around you.