We tend to associate the holiday of Shavuot with that of Pesach. One can cogently argue that Shavuot is the culmination and conclusion of Pesach. The Torah does not give it its own date, rather it tells us to count 49 days from Pesach and celebrate Shavuot on day 50.
Outside of special sacrifices there are no special mitzvot on Shavuot – similar to the seventh day of Pesach. Not surprisingly, these two holidays are thematically connected. Pesach marks the beginning of the barley harvest – hence the bringing of the Omer sacrifice of barley – and Shavuot marks the beginning of the wheat harvest – hence the bringing of the “shtei halechem” – two loaves of bread made of wheat, as a communal sacrifice.
Fascinatingly, whereas the Torah prohibits sacrifices of chametz, the shtei halechem is an exception and must be chametz – once again linking it to Pesach. The more modern association of Shavuot with Matan Torah marks Shavuot as the goal of Pesach, with the physical freedom attained on Pesach a necessary pre-condition of our covenant with G-d.
However, for the past 58 years it is Yom Yerushalayim that is most closely – chronologically and perhaps even thematically – linked with Shavuot. It occurs exactly seven days prior, seven being a number of great significance, especially during the time period of sefirat haomer, the counting of seven sevens.
If Shavuot celebrates the receiving of the Torah Jerusalem is the place from which Torah emanates. “Ki mitizion teze Torah udevar Hashem MiYerushalyim, Out of Zion shall come Torah and the word of G-d from Jerusalem” (Yishayahu 2:3 and Michah 4:2). Jerusalem is the seat of the Sanhedrin who in the words of the Rambam, “are the essence of the Oral Law. They are the pillars of instruction from whom statutes and judgments issue forth for the entire Jewish people”.
Both Jerusalem and Torah are not limited to the Jewish people. We may have a special covenant with G-d but all are created in His image and thus Torah and Jerusalem are relevant for all. Ki mitzion appears twice in Tanach. In both Yishayahu 2:3 and Michah 4:2 it is the concluding part of what the nations of the world will say. “And many nations shall go and say: ‘Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, And to the house of the God of Jacob; And He will teach us of His ways, And we will walk in His paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem”.
It is for this reason that the Torah was given in a desert, in no-man’s land, as (many of) the messages of the Torah are relevant for all. In a similar vein our Sages assert that the Temple is “a house of prayer for all nations”[1] (Yishayahu 56:7).
Interestingly, the name Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Torah. All we are told is that when we arrive in the Land of Israel we are to worship G-d “in the place that G-d will choose to rest His Divine presence”. That place is not revealed for many years.
In a similar vein we are never told the date the Torah was given. The holiday of Shavuot as described in the Torah is a purely agricultural festival with nary a word about receiving the Torah. And the actual date the Torah was given is the subject of Talmudic debate (Shabbat 86b).
“Vayichan sham Yisrael tachat hahar, and the Jewish people encamped under the mountain” (Shemot 19:2). Noting the use of the singular vayichan, he encamped, as opposed to vayachanu, they encamped, our Sages note that the people came to Sinai, “blev echad k’ish echad, with one heart like one person”. They were united as never before – and sadly as never since.
This unity of the people is not just something nice but a, perhaps the, foundational principle of the Torah.
Unity does not mean uniformity. But it does mean is that we are all working towards the same goals, those articulated by G-d Himself as He explains why Avraham was chosen to form a special nation, “For I know that he will command his children and his household[2] after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice” (Breisheet 18:19). By practicing righteousness and justice, we fulfil G-d’s charge at Sinai that “you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Shemot 19:6). We may debate the best way to be a just and righteous people, but we must debate together.
The Meshech Chochmah (Shmeot 14:24) notes that G-d’s relationship with the individual is very different than that of His relationship with the people of Israel. Individuals are judged as to whether they keep the miztvot of the Torah – on actions or inactions – whereas the community is judged not on actions but on values. G-d can tolerate the Jewish people worshipping idols – “He dwells with them in the midst of their impurity” (Vayikra 16:16) – but He cannot tolerate division, dispute and acrimony. Hence the generation of the flood had their fate sealed because of thievery not because of adultery and the Second Temple was destroyed due to the sin of sinnat chinam, hatred and apathy towards another Jew, not because of idolatry.
It is not enough to keep the laws of the Torah. “Rabbi Yocḥanan says: Jerusalem was destroyed only because they followed the laws of the Torah…but did not act lifnim meshurat hadin, go beyond the letter of the law" (Bava Metzia 30b). No society can exist if people insist on every legal right. Legal and moral, while related, are not one and the same.
By definition accepting the Torah means the coming together as one people. There are mitzvot for men and mitzvot for women, for kings and farmers, for those who own property and those who don’t, for those living in Israel and those who don’t[3], for those in government, in the army and travellers. The Torah was given to the Jewish people as a people and only if we are one can we possibly observe it.
Jerusalem and Torah are the twin divine prizes. But they require Jews to stand united always ready to help one another despite the differences we have.
Parshat Bamidbar is always read on the Shabbat between Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot[4]. The parsha, in great detail, describes the marching formation the Jewish people were to take as they prepared to soon enter the land of Israel. Unfortunately, that journey was stillborn, and all were to die in the desert. Instead of marching in unison there was complaining, division, rebellion, and gossip.
Our generation has been blessed with the return of Jerusalem to the Jewish people. But there are no guarantees it will remain in our possession. The best insurance policy is to ensure we remain a united nation sharing a mission even if we may disagree how to best achieve it. But if G-d forbid those disagreements lead to acrimony, to slander and the like…
Something to think about as we prepare for Shavuot and celebrate the receiving of the Torah.
[1] 2,000 years of exile; of persecution, pogroms and Holocaust has made Jews turn inwards and pay little attention to the universal aspects of Torah and Israel.
[2] While his children presumably refers to his Jewish children – at this point Avraham was childless – his household would refer to non-Jews, who while not part of the covenantal people are G-d’s children and must be educated to do justice and righteousness.
[3] “The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel among the nations only so that converts would join them” (Pesachim 87b)
[4] Interestingly, while this is always the case in the Diaspora when the 8th day of Pesach is on Shabbat, Bamidbar will be read one week earlier.