It is rather strange that Shavuot is celebrated as Zman Matan Torateinu, the time of the giving of our Torah. Even if one accepts the view that the Torah was originally given on the sixth of Sivan, the day we celebrate Shavuot – a proposition debated in the Talmud (Shabbat 88b) – there would seem to be little reason to make that the focus of the holiday.
On the day the Torah was given it was the Aseret haDibrot, the Ten Commandments that were received. While additional parts of the Torah were given at Sinai, they were given over a period of what was likely several months[1]. Parts of the Torah – the laws of inheritance for example – were given as a result of events in the desert and hence it was only 40 years later that the Torah was actually complete. Only on the very last day of his life did Moshe finish the writing of the Torah. “Moses wrote down HaTorah hazot, this Teaching and gave it to the priests, sons of Levi, who carried the Ark of G-d’s Covenant, and to all the elders of Israel” (Devarim 31:9).
To celebrate the receiving of just the 10 Commandments would risk the danger of people saying that they are the essence of Torah and the rest of the Torah is of secondary importance. It was for this reason that the Rabbis instructed that the daily recitation of the 10 Commandments be removed from the siddur (Brachot 12a).
Moreover, the Torah itself while describing the giving of the Ten Commandments in great detail, neglects to mention the date we received the Torah. Clearly the date is not very important. “Do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children the day you stood before the Lord your G-d at Horeb (Devarim 4:9-10). We are to remember and celebrate the receiving of the Torah – every day of the year.
From the perspective of the Torah, Shavuot is the day we celebrate the end of the grain harvest in the Land of Israel and acknowledge G-d as the One who sustains us. The Omer offering brought on the second day of Pesach marked the beginning of the grain harvest and the shtei halechem, the two loaves of bread brought on Shavout marked its conclusion. Unlike Pesach, Shavuot would only have an agricultural motif.
With the exile from the Land of Israel Shavuot was little more than a relic of a bygone era, even a sad day reminding us that we no longer worked the land. In a stroke of genius our Sages found new meaning in the day by shifting its focus to Matan Torah.
While the Torah does not give us the exact date of the giving of the Torah we do know it was given soon after leaving Egypt, very near or actually on Shavuot. And while that may not have been the original intent, after the historical tragedies suffered our Sages understood that celebrating the receiving of the Torah could offer hope and inspiration to the people[2].
At the same time there is another reason, beyond the historical, why our Sages chose Shavuot as the day to celebrate the receiving of the Torah.
The Torah given on Shavuot was broken a mere 40 days later as worship of a golden calf replaced worship of G-d. The covenant between G-d and the Jewish people was at risk and there was no guarantee that the Jewish people would survive. Only because of Moshe’s audacity[3] were they saved. There seems to be little to celebrate. Surely, Yom Kippur the day we actually received the Torah we now possess, would be a more appropriate date. Or possibly Simchat Torah, the day we complete the reading of the Torah. Those dates do celebrate Torah but it is only Shavuot that is referred to as Zman Matan Torateinu.
By choosing Shavuot as the day to celebrate the receiving of the Torah the Sages are teaching the crucial message of Divine forgiveness.
The Torah is a very demanding book and we all fail at times. That is what it means to be human. At times the failures will be huge and yet no matter how low we sink we can always recover and rise even higher. We were given the Torah precisely to help guide us.
“There is none righteous in the land who does [only] good and does not fail” (Kohelet 7:20). Sinning is a chance to grow, to learn from our mistakes and move towards the path of righteousness. This is why a ba’al teshuva, one who has sinned but has resolved not to repeat the same mistake is on a higher level than a tzadik gamur, a completely righteous person (Brachot 34b).
There are few greater sins than that of the golden calf. Yet sin dare not immobilize us. We can grow and G-d will forgive. “He will atone for the Sanctuary, from the impurities of Bnei Yisroel and from their rebellious sins for all their transgressions. He shall do likewise for the Tent of Meeting, that dwells with them in the midst of their impurity” (Vayikra 16:16). G-d dwells amongst us even, especially, when we sin. Like a loving parent G-d never abandons His people.
On Shavuot we celebrate the great gift of Torah, even as we know we will be unable to fully live up to its demands. We can rejoice in the knowledge that the G-d is always there for us.
[1] The Jews arrived at Sinai in the third month of the first year and departed on the 20th day of the second month of the second year, nearly a full year later.
[2] While I am hesitant to compare the two, I cannot help but think a similar idea exists with Mother’s Day. While every day should be Mother’s Day, for many it is important to have a day where we especially acknowledge our mothers – who after all are partners with G-d in our creation. Hopefully these special days inspire us to show greater love of Torah and respect to our mothers.
[3] “’Now leave Me be, that My wrath will be enraged against them and I will consume them; and I will make of you a great nation’ (Shemot 32:10).
Rabbi Abbahu said: Were the verse not written it would be impossible to utter, it teaches that Moses grabbed the Holy One, Blessed be He, as a person who grabs his friend by his garment and he said before Him: Master of the Universe, I will not leave You be until You forgive and pardon them” (Brachot 32a).
[4] Interestingly, this is also a teaching of Rabbi Abbahu. Perhaps the reason we can 'grab G-d by the shirt' and demand forgiveness is because a repentant sinner is on a higher level than a tzadik gamur
