Shavuot
6-7 Sivan 5762
May 17-18, 2002
Daf Yomi: Baba Batra 58-59


Guest Rabbi:
Rabbi Binyamin Hammer
Director of Rabbinic Services, NCYI;
Rav, Young Israel of New Hyde Park, NY

In our tefilot during the chag of Shavuot, we are faithfully reminded that unique to this holiday is "Zman Mattan Torateinu" - the time when Torah is given. Referring to Mattan Torah in the hoveh - present tense, teaches us that Shavuot is not an event that occurred, "Once upon a time... in the year 2448 after creation, the Torah was given�. Torah learning and living has neither basis in "that which my parents and grandparents did," nor in family minhag - custom, that we respectfully keep in the memory of our loved ones.

Rather, Shavuot is a continuously evolving reality which requires us to view the great revelation on Har Sinai as a perpetual occurrence, which is achievable by every Jew in any given generation. Thus, our responsibility to uphold the Torah and its commandments is equally the same as it was for our ancestors 100, 1000, and 3000 years ago.

Following this reasoning, the question arises, "What is the uniqueness of Shavuot?� If Talmud Torah - the learning and transmission of Torah, is but one of 613 mitzvot, not unique to any particular generation, then why do we have a festival that celebrates that which we are obligated to perform day and night, 365 days a year? Sukkot and Pesach obligate us to live in booths and eat matzah for the limited days of the holiday as did our ancestors during that period of time - What about Shavuot?

The Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Mordechai Gifter, zt"l, writes, "One of the 613 Mitzvot is that of Talmud Torah, the study and propagation of Torah to hand down, to commit Torah to our children from generation to generation. It is, however, not sufficient to hand down the word of Torah alone. The Ma'amad Har Sinai, the original form of its being given to Klal Yisrael, must be sensed by each generation. Only then is it Torah."

Now we can understand the uniqueness of Shavuot. On this chag, we celebrate not merely Torah learning and living, but also its very source of transmission, HaShem at Har Sinai. This is the root of our mesorah - heritage. Without a clear understanding of this fact, to dominate our whole being as we learn and teach, we are transmitting words and thoughts of mere mortals. But living Ma'amad Har Sinai, maintaining this knowledge for ourselves and transmitting it to others is the essence of who we are. In this way, our teachings transcend human limitations and reach the loftiest heights of true Torah Mi'Sinai.

A well known Ma�amar Chazal states that every question that has ever been and will ever be asked in every generation, HaShem taught to Moshe Rabbeinu on Har Sinai. Let's try to fathom this concept: Since the revelation at Sinai, there have been tens of thousands of responsa for the countless millions of Jewish men and women committed to Torah throughout all of the trials and tribulations that is our history, as well as for those who have yet to be born. Indeed, when inquiries into Torah come from a sincere expression of the heart; when the intellectual pursuit of Torah scholarship is rooted in the desire to seek the truth, Torat Emet - such endeavors are worthy to be asked on Har Sinai and receive answers that are Divinely rooted.

Regarding the billions of past, present, and future discussions; from the fundamentals of learning Aleph-Beis, to the most difficult passages of the Talmud, Shavuos teaches us that they are one continuum - all Torah Mi'Sinai. This transmission to Moshe Rabbeinu at revelation teaches us how much HaShem respects our learning of His Torah. How much more so, we must respect each others Torah learning.

Tonight we usher in Shavuot, not a holiday of memory but a memorable Holy Day. Let us enter the Beit Midrash - our houses of study, or turn our homes into one. Our learning on this night connects us in ways that defy physical dimensions of time and space. Spiritual growth from such an experience is far reaching. It can be, for all of us, as great as the moment of revelation.

Chag Sameach.