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Yom Tov Shevuos - Learning Torah is for Right Now!
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On Shevuos, we have the custom of eating
dairy products. One of the reasons for this custom is because the Torah is compared
to milk, as it says (Shir Hashirim 4:11) “Honey and milk underneath your tongue.”
The Torah is in fact compared to several things, milk and honey being just two of
them. Rashi gives us a beautiful hint that he mentions several times (Devarim 11:13;
ibid. 26:16; ibid. 27:9). He cites the verse, “Every day, the Torah shall be like
new in your eyes.” The word “chadashim – like new” is an acronym for the Hebrew
words milk, honey, oil, wine, and water. These are the five things to which the
Torah is being compared. Once again, we must ask why on Shevuos we eat only dairy,
and not the other foods to which the Torah is likened.
The custom of eating dairy
on Shevuos conveys a powerful message: the other food products – honey, oil, wine
and water – do not spoil. They can be put away for a long time. In fact, some of
them get better with time. Milk, on the other hand, must be consumed while fresh.
Otherwise, it turns sour and can no longer be used. Today is Shevuos. We have just
received the Torah, and we are being reminded that Torah is compared to milk. We
should “consume” it immediately! Every day, the Torah shall be like new in our eyes.
We should not put it away to learn some other time, but we shall savor it this very
moment! This message can be seen in the verse (Shemos 19:5) “And now if you will
listen…” Rashi explains: “If you will listen now it will be sweet for you from now
onward.” If you listen to the Torah right now, if you do not put it away for when
you will have more time to learn, it will be sweet for you like fresh milk.
Today,
on Shevuos, is the yartzeit of Rabbi Chaim Avrohom Duber, known as the “Malach.”
He lived in New York at the beginning of the past century. He said that if a person
learns diligently during the three days before Shevuos, he can acquire a special
hasmada – diligence for Torah study – for the entire year. And those who realize
now, on Yom Tov, that they did not learn diligently before Yom Tov, what should
they do? They should live by the verse, “And every day shall be like new in your
eyes.” We can start anew every single day. Now especially, when by eating dairy
we are remembering the power of “now,” we can indeed make a fresh start and renew
ourselves spiritually.
Another reason for eating milk on Shevuos is because milk
is a baby’s first food. Milk is the most wholesome source of nutrition for newborn
infants. The other food products, honey, wine and oil, are not given to infants.
Even water is not considered necessary for babies who are fed milk.
The Torah is
our single source of nourishment. Every Jewish baby is born with a share in the
Torah. You do not have to be an adult to benefit from the Torah’s light. Torah is
our birthright, our inheritance. The angels learn Torah with every Jewish baby while
still in the womb. Therefore, every Jew remains attached to the Torah forever. We
can never be parted from the Torah!
On Shevuos, we have the custom of staying
up all night studying Torah. Our Rabbis tell us that the Jewish people went to sleep
before receiving the Torah, and they slept in late the following morning. Moshe
Rabbeinu actually had to wake them up so that they should be present during Matan
Torah. In order to rectify this mistake, we are up all night studying.
Why indeed
did Bnei Yisroel go to sleep before receiving the Torah? How could they sleep late
on such a day? Would we ever miss a sibling’s wedding by sleeping late? How could
the Jewish people do this?
The Torah has four parts, the most advanced part being
sod – the deep secrets hidden in the Torah. This level of Torah cannot be mastered
when one is steeped in materialism and physicality. A person must first achieve
a higher level of existence in order to master the secrets of the Torah. Truly great
people were able to perceive many of the Torah’s secrets during their sleep. While
their bodies, their physical beings, were at rest, their souls were able to climb
higher and discover a deeper level of Torah.
It is known that the holy Chozeh of
Lublin kept his eyes covered for seven full years. When he removed the covering,
his eyesight was weak, yet he was called the Seer because of his awesome ability
to see things going on all over the world. His abilities were rooted in the world
of atzilus – beyond the physical.
We can assume that this was what Bnei Yisroel
aspired to. They wanted to receive the Torah along with all of its secrets. They
thought that in their sleep they would be able to master the deeper, mystical parts
of the Torah that cannot be learned when awake.
However, the verse tells us that
“Moshe went out to greet Hashem.” Moshe wanted Bnei Yisroel to accept the Torah
in the physical world. Otherwise, if future generations will fall short of their
ancestors’ accomplishments and no longer be able to grasp the secrets of the Torah,
they will be left without the Torah, G-d forbid. It was imperative that Bnei Yisroel
accept the Torah while awake, while fully rooted in the physical world.
This is
hinted at in the verse, “And Hashem lowered Himself on Mount Sinai.” Hashem descended
to the physical world and gave us the Torah right here, in a form that human beings
can accept.
By staying up the entire night of Shevuos, we are proving that we can
live in both worlds. Although we are indeed physical beings, we are studying Torah
all night, putting aside our bodies’ desire for rest. True, we are not mastering
the Torah’s deepest secrets during our sleep, but we are mastering the Torah’s beautiful
words while awake during the wee hours of the morning!
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