Shavuot, as with all Jewish holidays, is not about commemorating a past event. It is about accessing the unique spiritual energy inherent in the day. As we prepare to experience our opportunity of receiving the Torah from the Almighty, there is an important dimension of that experience that should be personally relevant to each of us.
The Midrash (Tanchumah Bamidbar 14) gives the following exchange between the Jewish people and the Almighty when the Torah was being given.
As G-d revealed Himself on Sinai, twenty-two thousand chariots of angels descended with Him. … and they were arranged in a system of banners… Since Israel saw them arranged in a system of banners, they began yearning for banners. They said “Would that we would be arranged with banners as they are.” … G-d said to them: You longed for banners. I promise to fulfill your request…” Immediately G-d showed His love for Israel and said to Moshe “Go and arrange them with banners as they craved. “
What was underlying such an exchange? What did they see in the banners of the angels that made them yearn to have it themselves?
The Jewish people are about to receive the Torah, an apparently very conformist system. Everyone has to keep Shabbat on the same day, everyone’s tefilin has to conform to the identical rules, and everyone has to eat Matzah on the night of Pesach. And on and on.
Then they see angels, arranged in banners. Banners are an identity symbol, and each angel had an individual identity. Every angel was assigned a unique task, no angel was assigned two tasks, and no task was given to more than one angel. Amazing individuality. In an apparently conformist system, the Jews longed for a similar dimension of individuality and uniqueness. G-d responded positively to the request, and arranged them in banners. איש על דגלו באותות, Each one encamped by his banner (Bamidbar 2:2).
How did arranging them in banners show G-d’s love for them?
Anyone who grew up with siblings certainly asked their parents the “dreaded question.” “Whom do you love best?” And when our children ask us that question, we usually respond, as our parents did, with “We love you all the same.” As children we didn’t buy it, and our kids probably don’t buy it either. But in fact it can and should be true. If we see each of our children as unique, we can love each one the same, loving what is unique and individual about each one. Assigning uniqueness to each Jewish tribe, each Jewish family, each individual Jew ensured that each one would merit special love from Hashem – for their uniqueness.
There is an often quoted statement that there are 600,000 letters in the Torah. The Shla’h Hakadoesh is the source for this quote. In fact, there are just over half that number of letters in the Torah. And in fact the Shla’h taught something very different. The correct lesson of the Shla’h can help us appreciate how we actualize the above lesson as we prepare to be recipients of the Torah. Here is the language of the Shla’h (Breishit Torah Ohr):
G-d, the Torah and man and interconnected…The Torah carries the imprint of G-d, and man carries the imprint of the Torah…The Torah is six hundred thousand letters, which are the six hundred thousand souls of the Jewish people.
Through man, the message of the Torah is communicated. And it is through the Torah that Hashem reveals Himself and His message in the world.
A letter in the Torah plays the role of joining with other letters to communicate. If each letter was the same, no message would be communicated. And if a letter was missing, the message would be incomplete, which is why a Sefer Torah missing a letter is not a kosher Sefer Torah. The Shla’h is teaching us that the message of the Torah is communicated through the 600,000 Jewish souls, each one playing the role of one letter of the Torah. (The fact that there were 22,000 chariots of angels accompanying Hashem when he descended on Sinai alludes the number of letters in the Aleph Beis, combining together to deliver the content of the Torah)
Each of us needs to view him or herself as playing a unique role in communicating the totality of what Hashem wants to reveal through the Torah. Each of us represents one of those letters, each one isn’t here to replicate another letter, while if our “letter” is missing, something of the message is being left out.
Empowering us with that task, recognizing our unique potential to fulfill that task – is the greatest demonstration of Hashem’s love for each of us. Let’s ensure that we accept that Torah with joy and commitment.
Chag Sameach.
