.זכור את־יום השבת לקדשו ,ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל־מלאכתך ‘ויום השביעי שבת לה
SHABBAT LASHEM
SHAVUOT
6 TH & 7 TH SIVAN 578O 28 TH , 29 TH & 3O TH MAY 2O2O VOLUME 3O ISSUE 35
בס”ד
THE VOICE OF BNEI AKIVA UK
LIVING IN THE PRESENT ELI GORDON SHEVET NE’EMAN
The first and last of the Three Foot Festivals have both an agricultural significance as well as a specific historical reason for existing. Yet, for some perplexing reason, the Torah only provides Shavuot with an agricultural reason, mentioning no connection at all to what we know it to be – the day of Matan Torah. Why is this and are they in fact connected at all? Shavuot is mentioned in five different parshiot, each time referring to its agricultural aspect using names such as Katzir (Shemot 23:16), Bikkurim (Bamidbar 28:26) and K’tzir Chitim (Shemot 34:22). Upon further study of these parshiot, we can begin to see that perhaps there are multiple other reasons for celebrating Shavuot, even without the reason of Matan Torah. Shavuot is the celebration of the harvest, a collection of grains which is pivotal to the human diet - it makes perfect sense that we would thank Hashem on this day. If this is the case, then could it be a mere coincidence that the day of Matan Torah and Shavuot happen to fall out at the same time? We see time after time that the Torah is perfectly capable of providing us with the exact date (and sometimes even the time) of when an event happens. However, we arrive at Shavuot and we are none the wiser. Shemot 19:1 tells us that the Bnei
Yisrael arrived at Har Sinai in the month of Sivan, but does it elaborate? No! Rashi translates the words “bayom hazeh” to mean on the first of the month, however we still don’t know how many days pass before the actual giving of the Torah. A sugya in Masechet Shabbat 86b shows the calculations of the rabbis which determines the date to be the 6th or 7th of Sivan (depending on whether Sivan was a full month that year), yet the Torah still neglects to provide an exact date. So why does the Torah not provide us with this information and why has there still not been any connection made between Shavuot and Matan Torah? Two of the most important points in Jewish history are Yetziat Mitzrayim and Matan Torah. For two moments so tightly linked we are commanded to commemorate them in vastly different ways. The Torah provides many different mitzvot linked with Yetziat Mitzrayim both on Pesach (matzah, Maggid etc) in addition to all year round (tefillin, Shema etc). With Shavuot, there is no mitzvah with any clear purpose to commemorating the giving of the Torah. The Gemara in Masechet Pesachim 68b shows Rabbi Elazar making the connection between the celebration of the harvest and the giving of the Torah. Perhaps this omission of dates and timing of Ma’amad Har Sinai are deliberate and there is something to be learnt. Perhaps we are not meant to treat this momentous occasion as a set-in-stone point in our hiscontinued on next page