Weekly Dvar Torah: Post Shavuos Thoughts

The cheesecake was delicious, the blintzes out of this world, and the ice cream was something we could only dream about. The Shul was beautifully decorated and the reading of the Ten Commandments was very well attended, and the children had a blast. Bottom line, the holiday was exceptional on every level.

So what did we hear in the story about what happened during Matan Torah?

G-d Himself descended on the mountain; it was the most spiritual and loftiest moment in history, and yet what did we see? A “Disney” performance like none-other. Thunder and lightning; ear shattering sounds, fireworks and lots of smoke.

What did G-d say in the ten commandments? Honor your father and mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet what belongs to others. Simple common-sense stuff.

We were instructed to study Torah, by uttering the words with our mouths, just meditating does not fulfill the Mitzvah of studying Torah. And we were instructed to perform Mitzvos not with our hearts and our feelings, but we must do them in real action with our hands and our bodies.

The question arises, why all this pomp and pageantry at such a lofty moment? Why talk about such simple mundane, and even low-level instruction, at such a lofty moment? Why is it important that we utter the words of Torah when we could just think them and meditate on them? Why do we have to keep Mitzvos in a physical manner, when we can just meditate on them on a high spiritual level? A G-dly lofty moment should be manifest in a spiritual way. The commandments spoken at this moment should be of high-level spiritual connection to G-d. G-d’s wisdom should be studied in a spiritual manner. And G-d’s commandments should be observed in a spiritual way as well.

This whole picture seems so un-G-dly, and unspiritual. In fact, it seems to be the exact opposite, to the other extreme. It seems to be so materialistic and simple. For this we don’t need such a revealing moment of G-d Himself descending unto the mountain.

First let’s analyze what was so new about Matan Torah, that wasn’t before.

The Talmud teaches that our forefathers always studied Torah. Avraham, Yitzchock and Yaacov, all studied Torah in the Yeshiva of Shem and Eiver. So, in reality the Torah was already part of the Jewish experience long before the year 2448. So, what’s the big deal about the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai?

If you will notice, the Ten-Commandments start by G-d saying “I am your L-rd who took you out from Egypt, the house of slavery”. If G-d wants to tell us of His greatness, He should say “ I am the G-d who created the entire world ex-nihilo, something from nothing”. What’s so special about the exodus, that G-d uses this as his credential to display His greatness?

G-d came to teach us all about the significance of Torah. Don’t think of the G-dly Torah, as something lofty and spiritual. Yes, it truly is lofty and spiritual, and if G-d wanted it to remain that way he would have given it to the angels.

But G-d said no, I’m giving it to slaves who just came out of the slave-house. I’m giving it to the imperfect person, the one who is capable of murder, theft, and adultery. I want My Torah to permeate and penetrate the world all the way down to the bottom of the pit. I want to have you help Me elevate the world all the way from the bottom. Because when I created the world some holy sparks got lost, and because they came from a very high place they rolled and fell very very far, all the way down to the bottommost place. And by keeping My Torah all the way at the bottom, you will elevate from the lowest and the farthest and you will lift the entire structure and bring it back up to Me.

Hashem is talking to people who have a slave mentality. He is talking to people who have an evil inclination capable of doing the worst things. G-d is showing us that He can be found even in “Disney” displays. If you want to keep my Torah it must be observed with the physical and the mundane. Sticking to the lofty and spiritual will not do the job, and will not justify the purpose for the creation of the world.

And that’s why the most precious moment of Matan Torah, was when the Jewish people declared “Naase V’Nishma (we will do and we will hear)”, prefacing the listening by declaring first “we will do”.

Shouldn’t they have said, let us hear and then we will do it? You can’t do it before you know what to do. But herein lies the greatness of this statement, the Jews connected with the idea, that this loftiest event, is all about action, about doing, therefore we talk about the “do” before we even get to hear.

Matan Torah is all about, doing, doing and doing. It is about transforming the physical and the mundane. It is about reaching down all the way to the lowest part of the world, and elevating it to complete G-d’s plan for this world of His.

And when the job is done, G-d will welcome us with redemption and glory. Mission accomplished.

Have a down-to-earth Shabbos
Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Yosef Katzman