We have three pilgrimage holidays: Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. Each is a harvest holiday that is infused with deep meaning. Sukkot marks our re-entry into the world after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and our connection to nature. Passover recalls our redemption from slavery through Gods many miracles. Shavuot celebrates our receipt of Torah at Mount Sinai.
The first two have wonderful, and tangible, symbols that are attached to our home lives. Sukkot has the Sukkah together with the Lulav and Etrog. Passover has Matzah, the Seder, and the Seder plate. But the last, Shavuot, is devoid of any traditional home symbol or celebration; unless you consider the cheesecake to be a religious symbol. Don’t get me wrong. I am aware that, for many, eating a good cheesecake can be tantamount to a religious experience.
So, what gives? Why is there no homebound symbol attached to Shavuot?
I may have an answer. As I am writing this little message, it is the 18th day of the counting of the Omer. We count the Omer every evening for 49 days, starting from the second night of Passover, until we reach the holiday of Shavuot. Passover and Shavuot are, therefore, directly (and eternally) connected. We count-up from the first day until the 49th day. By doing it this way we are elevating ourselves toward receipt of the Torah.
Why do we need to elevate ourselves toward the receipt of Torah? Because, according to our tradition, the Torah exists for us, and we exist for the Torah. The Mishna in Pirkei Avot says of the Torah: Turn it over, and turn it over, for everything is found therein.(5:22)
How important is the Torah? The Talmud tells us that there were several things that God created before God created the universe. The first is the Torah. (Pesachim 54a) The Midrash, in Bereishit Rabbah, says: “The world and everything in it were created solely for the sake of the Torah….” You may wonder how the Torah could possibly have pre-dated creation; this is a topic for another time.
So, again, I ask: If the Torah is so important, then why doesn’t Shavuot have a home ritual or physical symbol to highlight the holiday? The answer is that it does! May I have a drum roll please……….. The home ritual and the physical symbol is the Torah.
Did you ever notice in the Shema, when we recite the V’Ahavta, it says:
These words which I command you shall be on your heart. Teach them diligently to your children, speaking of them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lied down and when you rise….Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The words and the teaching being commanded to be done at home, are the words and the teachings of the Torah. We don’t need a special home ritual or symbol for Shavuot, because Torah is already supposed to be present in our homes.
When Shavuot gets here, by all means, bake the cheesecake, make the noodle kugel, eat the blintzes but, at the same time, bring a little Torah to your home. Say the Shema or think about any of the Ten Commandments. Even better, if you are feeling a bit philosophical, recall the words of Hillel when he was asked to give the basic meaning of the Torah while the questioner stood on one foot. His answer? “That which is hateful to you, don’t do to others. The rest is commentary, now go study.”
It is a symbol, it is a foundation, it is a guidebook and, yes, it is a tree of life. May the Torah continue to be a part of all of our homes.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
