|
I like to think of the counting of the Omer as representing both our anticipation and our spiritual preparation for the giving of the Torah. At our Pesach seders, we celebrate our liberation from slavery in Egypt. Then, we spend the next seven weeks counting the Omer, counting the days until the anniversary of receiving Torah, in the desert as a now-free people - the anniversary of entering into a sacred covenant with HaShem.
What does it mean to be spiritually prepared to receive Torah? I ask that as an invitation for reflection, as a question with no specific answer, as I believe it is different for each one of us. We could think about Torah as either the literal Torah or as life wisdom. With either of these definitions, what does it mean to each of us, in this time leading up to Shavuot, to be open to receiving the wisdom that is given to us, whenever it is given?
What do we have to do, inside of ourselves, spiritually, to prepare ourselves?
Before the Israelites received the Torah at Mount Sinai, they were given instructions from Gd through Moshe to, as it says in Exodus 19:10-11 and 19:15, stay pure, wash their clothes, refrain from sex, and be “ready” (נְכֹנִ֖ים) - or “established, stable, directed aright” - for the day when Gd would come down to all the people at Mount Sinai. When Gd came to the people after this spiritual preparation, the meeting was extremely intense.
“On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. […] Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for Adonai had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. [...] The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, Gd answered him in thunder” (Exodus 19:16-19).
The Torah continues with a fascinating verse that, some commentators say, conveys the drama of the scene as completely overwhelming for the senses. It begins, “וְכׇל־הָעָם֩ רֹאִ֨ים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹ֜ת” - “All the people saw the thunder.” Saw the thunder? How can you see a sound? Some render this experience as the entire collective experiencing sensory overload at this moment.
In our lives today, we may not experience the receiving of Torah as sensory overload, or as dramatic and intense, as it was at Mount Sinai. Sometimes, receiving wisdom from on high - or from our fellow humans - may be dramatic and intense, maybe even fear-inducing. Other times, it might be subtle, soft, gentle. Other times, it might be surprising. Sometimes, it might feel like a gift; sometimes, definitely not. Receiving life wisdom may give us immediate insight, direction, clarity, and ease. Or it may come with hard work before we can integrate our learning. And, of course, everything in between.
As we prepare to enter Shavuot, I want to invite us all into the intentional openness that it takes to receive and integrate life wisdom. How can we keep ourselves open, like a vessel ready to receive? How can we prepare?
With that in mind, some words from Rashi, the famous French medieval commentator, on Exodus 19: “The commands of the Torah should be to you each day as something new, as though Gd had only given them to you for the first time on the day in question.” I love this from Rashi! Rashi seems to be saying that every day, each day, we are to study Torah as if we are receiving it anew that very day from Mount Sinai. That is, this openness to learning and receiving applies on Shavuot, certainly. And - actually - it applies every single day of the year.
I look forward to studying with you all at the all-night Tikkun Leil Shavuot, and in the days and weeks to come!
Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Aliza Schwartz
Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern
| 
