BS"D
STRUGGLE AND SUPPLICATION: SHAVUOT
Shira Smiles shiur 2017/5777
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The holiday we generally refer to as Shavuot has in fact several names each
reflecting a different aspect of the holiday, either spiritual or agricultural.
However, one common name seems to have no relevance today, Chag Habikurim/the
holiday of the first fruit. Certainly Torah is eternally relevant and
cultivating the land, especially in Eretz Yisroel, remains relevant, but how is
bringing the first fruit to a Beit Hamikdosh that no longer exists relevant
today, and why are the bikurim associated with Shavuot, asks Rabbi
Hofstedter? Further, asks Rabbi Revibo, if the purpose of the holidays is to
forge a connection between Hashem and Bnei Yisroel, why is Shavuot mandated by
Torah as only one day while the other two foot holidays are seven days each?
In addition to the bikurim, there is another related offering unique to
Shavuot, the offering of the two loaves of bread made from the new harvest of
wheat. According to the Sefat Emet, the two loaves represent two equally
important aspects of the holiday and of our commitment and relationship to
Hashem. One loaf represents the Torah with its obvious connection to this day
on which we received the gift of the Torah. The second loaf refers to tefillah/prayer,
no less essential but often emphasized less in our zeal for learning Torah on
this night and day.
As with so much of the Torah, the two loaves are symbolic of the nourishment
that sustains every Jew. Rabbi Kanatopsky z”l explains the symbolism
beautifully. There are two streams that flow parallel and are necessary for
maintaining a full and fulfilling Torah life, truth and beauty. One of the
loaves represents the truth of halacha, the adherence to the mitzvoth of
the Torah. The second loaf, representing beauty, is symbolic of the emotion and
heart of the Jew. It is the aggadah that adds so much to our
understanding of Torah, and shira/tefillah/song and prayer that adds the
heart. The Gemarrah finds allusions to these two streams in acronyms for
Anochi in the first of the Ten Commandments, one acronym focusing on Ne'eman/truth/integrity/strictness,
while the other acronym focuses on ne'emah/pleasantness. (Ne'eman
spelled with aleph; ne'emah spelled with an ayin.)
The models for these two parallel streams are the two people most associated
with Shavuot, Moshe Rabbenu who brought the Torah down to us from heaven, and
David Hamelech who was born and died on Shavuot and who was our poet laureate,
singer and musician through his Psalms and through his harp. The Torah is
referred to as Torat Moshe, and David was the embodiment of tefillah,
calling himself tefillah/Ani tefillah. Each mitzvah that a Jew does,
continues Rabbi Kanatopsky ,z”l must include not only the dry elements of
halachah, but also the emotional joy of connecting to Hashem.
It is in the merit of these two individuals and the models they would teach
that the world was created, notes the Gemarrah. Rav said the world was created
in the merit of David and Shmuel said it was created in the merit of Moshe. How
are we to understand this?
Rav Roth z’l in Sichot Eliyahu cites the Torah command to be careful
lest we forget what we saw at Sinai. While the Torah is of utmost importance,
the experience itself must also be remembered. We saw thunder and lightening,
we heard the shofrot, we saw the heavens opening up and visions of the angels,
we heard Hashem Himself speaking to us, and we saw Moshe entering into the deep
fog as he approached Hashem to receive the Torah. The experience taught us not
only to believe in Hashem, but also to believe in Moshe as His faithful servant
and as the truthful transmitter of His word. It taught us that while the world
was created with Ten Utterances in the beginning, it is maintained since then
through these Ten Utterances from Sinai. We see that the hidden element of the
physical existence of the world (ha Olam) is its spiritual component.
Nothing is random. Just as Hashem has created it, so does He maintain it. Each
year Shavuot concretizes this notion.
Rabbi Lifshitz in Peninei Chen takes this idea one step further. The
people saw and heard all the pomp at Sinai. But at the center was the ashan
v'arafel, the smoke and dense fog. It was precisely within this dense fog
that Hashem was to be found. Moshe entered this darkness, and there he
encountered God. This is what we must never forget, that in the darkest of
times, we can see Hashem and move forward through the darkness with the light
of Torah as our guide.
In fact, on Rosh Hashanah in the brachah of Shofrot, the liturgy
speaks of the sounds of the shofar at Sinai and states, "You revealed
Yourself b'arfalei tohar/in thick clouds of purity (clarity)." How
could one get clarity in such darkness? The Talna Rebbe clarifies this seeming
paradox. The Torah was given in darkness and under pressure because we are
meant to accept the Torah even when we feel it as a yoke, heavy and
challenging. [I remember hearing how women in shtetls in Europe often went to
cold lakes to immerse themselves in the mikvah. Or men who didn't come to work
on Shabbat were told not to come back on Monday c.k.s.] But it is when we break
through the darkness that we can see Hashem with clarity. After all, the Torah
itself says that the dark evening precedes the light of morning. And in the
dark times of our lives, we can still connect to Hashem through our Rabbis and
Torah Sages.
Rabbi Biederman takes us back to the scene at Sinai. Before Hashem speaks the
Ten Commandments, the Torah writes that "Hashem spoke these words,
saying..." Certainly if Hashem spoke these words, He said them. The word
"saying" seems superfluous. Whenever that additional word is used, we
are meant to find some additional meaning in it. The point the Torah wants us
to remember, says Rabbi Biederman quoting the Noam Elimelech, is that in all
our words, in whatever darkness we find ourselves, we must always remember that
this is the God Who took us out of Egypt, the God Who loves us, and Who
presents seeming challenges out of this love, even when the goodness is hidden
from us.
Rabbi Biederman then cites the Chasam Sofer on Megillat Ruth to prove
his point. When Naomi and Ruth return to Beit Lechem, all the townspeople are
out. They barely recognize Naomi and ask if this can really be Naomi. She
responds, "Do not call me Naomi/Pleasant. Call me Mara/Bitter..."
Most of the commentators explain that all the townspeople were out to accompany
Boaz as he went out to bury his wife who had just died. According to the Chasam
Sofer, Naomi felt the death of Mrs. Boaz as a severe blow to herself. She had
hoped that since Boaz was a relative, Naomi could call on his wife to approach
Boaz for help on her behalf. Now that the wife had passed, Naomi felt it was
improper to approach Boaz directly. Who would help her now in her abject state?
But although Naomi could not see it, Hashem was already setting the stage for the
salvation of Naomi and of Ruth and indeed of all of Bnei Yisroel. The death of
Mrs. Boaz was not darkness for her, but the beginning of the light, so that
Boaz could marry Ruth and create the future Davidic Dynasty.
Yom Habikurim teaches us that the natural world all comes from the Creator.
There is only one reality. Everything is tailor made for my benefit, even if I
cannot see it, even if I cannot bring Bikurim today, writes Rav Hofstedter. But
this helps explain why Shavuot is only one day. Rabbi Tatz cites the analogy
presented by Rambam. When one is lost on a path in total darkness and cannot
see which way to turn, one momentary flash of light will be enough to find the
right direction. Shavuot notes the Darchei Mussar, is that flash of light that
helps us find our way through the dark, intersecting paths of life. It helps us
find God in the darkness, just as Moshe approached God through the thick fog at
the top of the mountain.
Let us now move on to discuss the second personality representing the second
aspect of the holiday, David Hamelech representing prayer and song. As Rabbi
Meislicsh reminds us, David identifies himself in Tehillim as the embodiment of
prayer, "Va'ani Tefillah," David writes. Our prayers on
Shavuot are extremely powerful and are accepted in heaven. After all, Shavuot
represents the marriage of the King with His beloved Bnei Yisroel, and, just as
a mortal king would bestow gifts to his subjects on such a special day,
continues Rabbi Meislisch, so is our King inclined to bestow gifts on this day.
All we need do is ask. And one of the most powerful prayers on this day is the
blessing of Ahavah Rabbah recited before the Shema. This blessing
incorporates so many of our requests for spiritual growth: "Be gracious
and teach us, have mercy upon us and instill in our hearts to understand and
elucidate, to learn, to teach,... to fulfill all the words of Your Torah,...To
love and fear Your Name..."
We no longer have the Beit Hamikdosh where we can bring our bikurim,
pray, and enjoy our special connection with Hashem. Moshe Rabbenu understood
that such a time would come, notes Rabbi Schorr in Halekach Vehalebuv.
Therefore Moshe instituted the three daily prayers that would serve to maintain
this relationship even when we no longer had this special place. Shavuot is the
call of Tefillah as well as the call of Torah. Offering our prayers would
substitute for offering the first fruit. Since David Hamelech is the embodiment
of Tefillah, we harness his power in our prayers on this day of his birth and
death. Because of this, some have the custom to recite all of his Sefer
Tehillim (either individually or as a group) on Shavuot.
Tefillah is also connected directly to Har Sinai, thereby maintaining its relationship
to Torah. At the foot of Sinai, immediately preceding Matan Torah, Bnei
Yisroel brought a Korban which then became the paradigm for part of the
inauguration ceremony of the Mishkan, and then part of the daily ritual
in the Beit Hamikdosh as the Korban Tomid. When we pray, since prayer is
our substitute for these rituals, continues Rabbi Schorr, we should be arousing
within ourselves the same emotions of love and awe we felt at Sinai.
The Mussaf Amidah of Shavuot has the same power as Neilah on Yom
Kippur and as the Shabbos Mincha, writes Rabbi Pincus. We ask the
Hashem purify our hearts and make His words sweet in our mouths. It is not a
choice between Torah and Tefillah, between Moshe and David that makes Shavuot
so powerful; it is the combination of the two.
While Moshe entered the darkness at the top of the mountain and approached
Hashem there, writes the Talna Rebbe, David Hamelech approached the darkness
and challenges throughout his life, and sought comfort by approaching Hashem.
His songs and Psalms come from the depths of darkness, but speak of hope and
light as he looks to Hashem for salvation.
Rabbi Feuer in his Tehillim Treasury explains David's ability to sing
God's praises and express thanks in so many dire situations. David is
identified with his harp, and a harp's strings must be taut if they are to
produce music. But they will only produce music when they are plucked even more
tightly. So David thanked Hashem for his adversity, for to him the adversity
was the very source of his strength and talent.
Dovid Hamelech uses three "prayer personalities" in Tehillim,
notes Rabbi Feuer. There is Tefillah le'ani/A prayer of the afflicted
man, Tefillah leMoshe/A prayer of Moshe, and Tefillah leDavid/A
prayer of David. Rabbi Feuer notes that while we all must assume the humble
posture of the afflicted man in all our prayers, circumstances and
personalities may influence how we pray. A prayer of Moses is more
intellectual, perhaps even understanding a degree of the cosmic effect of
prayer as the Men of the Great Assembly intended. On the other hand, a prayer
of David is emotional, full of trembling, passion and rapture. Every Jew
carries within his soul all three elements that have the power to draw him
closer to God in every circumstance and situation.
The two loaves we offered Hashem in the Beit Hamikdosh on Shavuot continue to
be two gifts He gives us, the gift of Torah and the gift of Tefillah. The bond
these create between Hashem and Bnei Yisroel is one that we and Hashem both
cherish, and that we must continue to work on to keep it strong.