Shavuot - 5781

Shavuot - 5781

Rabbi Hal Miller

God said to Moshe, Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and

they shall wash their clothing. Let them be prepared for the third day, for on the

third day God shall descend in the sight of the entire people on Mt. Sinai. You

shall set boundaries for the people round about, saying, Beware of ascending the

mountain or touching its edge, whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.

​Shemot [19:10-12]

The Torah calls this holiday by different names: Chag HaKatzir (harvest festival), Yom HaBikkurim (day of the first fruits), and Chag HaShavuot (festival of weeks). Chazal add a fourth name, Yom HaAtzeret (the day of restraint). What was Chazal telling us that we do not already know from the other names? In Vayikra [23:21], we read, "This very day shall be celebrated as a sacred holiday." During the year, those who daven ma'ariv early rely on the bedtime Shema, but if they are staying awake on Leil Shavuot, they will not have that to rely on. Meshech Chochmah tells us that we may not begin this particular holiday nor daven ma'ariv until we are certain it is night, so the kiddush will be on that very day and the sefirah count will be completed, thus we restrain ourselves from starting early. Rav Menachem HaBavli writes, "On Shavuot a mincha chadasha is brought to thank God for restraining the accusing angels who wanted to prevent the giving of the Torah." When God took the people out of Egypt with signs and wonders, He could have given them the Torah immediately. When He took them through the Reed Sea, He could have given it to them then. He knew He was going to do so, yet He held Himself back for seven weeks.

The people departed Egypt, went through the sea, and followed God's lead through

the desert, right to the base of Mt. Sinai. They knew that God was going to speak to

them now, and were anxious for that to occur. Why do our verses above from the first

day's Torah reading delay the Revelation for yet another three days?

From this smattering of examples, we see that restraint has some connection to this

festival. Why, and why did Chazal view this aspect as so important that it warranted

a new name for the holiday?

Sfas Emes gives what appears on the surface to be an odd answer, but it has

significant mystical overtones. Pesach marks the beginning of the harvest season,

Sukkot marks the end. Both are worthy of great reverence and celebration. But

Shavuot comes right in the middle. True, it marks the changeout of what produce is

ready for harvest, but that does not seem as important as the beginning or end, yet

Sfas Emes says this proves that "he who stands in the center is the most worthy".

Numerous commentators note that in preparation for receiving the Torah, the people

wanted to get a good night's sleep, and in fact overslept, making God wait. For this,

Magen Avraham says, "By restraining ourselves from sleep we make up for the

shortcoming of our forefathers."

Others look at the boundary mentioned in our verses. In the Gemara Sukkah [51b]

we read, "fix a boundary around the mountain and make it holy." This is expounded

to mean, fence in the yetzer hara and use it for holy purposes. Let the yetzer hara

give you strength to serve God. The yetzer hara became powerless when the Jews

said na'aseh v'nishma. Chazal imply that Shavuot teaches us to restrain our urges,

not because they are bad, rather because by controlling them, they are valuable.

Sometimes a boundary can be viewed as restrictive. Sometimes, it is in fact expansive,

giving us the ability to accomplish something we might not have otherwise been able

to do. "If you will restrain your foot on the Shabbat" [Yeshayahu 58:13] sometimes

seems limiting--preventing work, preventing watching television, whatever, but the

commandment means that one day a week you get to relax and remember Who it is

who created you, and hopefully something about why. Without this restraint, most of

us would not pay attention to the real reason we exist in this world, and would fail in

achieving our personal purpose. Shavuot serves to remind us that "do whatever I want"

does not necessarily do us any good.