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Why is Shavuot Not in the Torah? by Rabbi Dan Rodkin
Q
I understand that the holiday of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah. If so, why is there no mention of this holiday in the Torah?
The Torah says: "You shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day [the first day of Passover], from the day you bring the Omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, namely, the fiftieth day, on which you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord ... And you shall designate on this very day a holy occasion it shall be for you; you shall not perform any work of labor". The holiday of Shavuot is not an independent holiday per se; rather, it is an extension of Passover. The stated purpose of the Exodus was the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai. However, as the Jews were not spiritually prepared to receive the Torah immediately upon leaving Egypt, they were told to embark on a forty-nine day period of spiritual refinement, at the conclusion of which they would receive the Torah. Therefore, technically Shavuot doesn’t even have a fixed date — it is the 50th day after the offering of the Omer sacrifice on the 2nd day of Passover. Today, with our perpetual calendar, Shavuot always falls out on the 6th of Sivan. However, when the months were determined by witnesses who saw the crescent newmoon, the holiday of Shavuot fluctuated, and could have been on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of Sivan (depending on the length of the months of Nissan and Iyar — 29 or 30 days). This confluence of events also has a deeper meaning. The chain of events – the Exodus from Egypt, the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and the counting of the days in between, are deeply connected, and are part of a process, a journey — on that we relive each year. The stated purpose of the Exodus (Passover) was to receive the Torah (Shavuot): “When you [Moses] take the people out of Egypt, you will worship G-d on this mountain”1. When G-d revealed Himself at the stroke of midnight to smite the Egyptian firstborn and
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redeem the Jews, the Jews were overwhelmed and inspired by this intense experience. They literally ran out of Egypt, leaving behind generations of cruel bondage and a lifestyle of immorality which they had adopted from their sinful taskmasters. But they were not yet ready to receive the Torah. Being inspired is very nice, but the inspired person hasn’t really changed; inspiration is merely a reaction to an external circumstance or event, and can quickly wear off when the inspiring event fades in time and fades from memory. The Jews had to spend seven weeks working on their character, refining themselves in preparation for receiving the Torah. According to Kabbalah, the person’s soul possesses seven primary character traits, and one week was devoted to each of these traits. Torah and its messages are timeless. Still today, the Omer period is a time for soulsearching; a time to work on being kind, gentle, and caring, and prepare for receiving the Torah—once again—on the holiday of Shavuot. This inner dimension of the journey toward the Torah may be the reason why there is no unique Mitzvah associated with the holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot is celebrated like all other holidays — no working, Kiddush, Challah, holiday prayers, etc. — but without a noticeably unique Mitzvah exclusive to this Holiday, which causes it to uniqueness be overlooked. Perhaps the uniqueness of this holidays is sufficient; there's no need for any "external" excitement. It is a profound lesson in general, and especially during these challenging times of relative social isolation. EM
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ASK THE RABBI: * rabbi@shaloh.org - fax: 617.787.4693 % 617.787.2200
Rabbi Dan Rodkin is the Executive Director of the Greater Boston Jewish Russian Center. You can Ask the Rabbi at rabbi@shaloh.org.
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