מכתב יד של ר' שמואל שמעלקי מניקולסבורג מובא באמירת תורה
דכולי עלמא בשבת ניתנה תורה (שבת פו:)
אמרו רז''ל: לא ניתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי המן (תנחומא בשלח ס' כ).
הענין כי משה קיבל תורה, ובבהירות שכלו קיבל הכל בזמן הערבעים יום, כמאמר רז''ל שהיה לומד ושוכח עד שניתן לו במתנה (תנחומא כי תשא ס' טז). ואמרו רז''ל: אין אדם עומד על דעת רבו עד ארבעים שנה (עבודה זרה ה:).
ולכן הוצרך להמטיר להם לחם מן השמים, שהוא השפיע להם השפעות השבת, שזה היה מזון רוחני - השגת התורה נשתלשלה למזונות, וכן מבואר בזהר שגם מזונות בזמן הזה של תלמיד חכם לאו מגשמיות אינונ אלא משפע שנשפע בו מזון דק ורוחני (ח''ב סע:). והוא בחינה מן רוחניות התורה, "כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה האדם כי על כל מוצא פי ה' יחיה האדם" (דברים ח:ג), שהוא הדיבור של הקב''ה שבו נברא. ודיבורו הוא התורה המשפיעה לכל, נמצא מאכלו הוא רוחניות התורה.
וזהו: שלשה שאכלו על שולחן אחד ואמרו עליו דברי תורה כעילו אכלו משולחנו של מקום (אבות ג:ג) . . . שהכל הוא תורה . . . שנשתלשל לאדם תלמיד חכם השפעות התורה במאכלו, ועל ידי מאכלו משיג התורה, ומאכלו הוא עסק התורה. ולכן נקרא שולחן, שולח נ' שערי בינה, שהקב''ה שולח לאדם התעוררות המעורר ומזכך עצמו החמישים שערי בינה של התורה . . .
וזהו: אלו האכילנו את המן ולא נתן לנו את התורה דיינו, שהיינו משיגים עם אכילת המן התורה. ואילו היה מאכיל את המן בלבד, היה די בזה - ודי למבין.
From the Manuscript of R' Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg Translated by R' Arthur Green
Everyone agrees that the Torah was given on Shabbat (Shabbat 86b)
Our sages taught: "Torah was given only to those who eat the manna" (Tanhuma Be-Shalah 20).
Moses received the Torah. In the great clarity of his mind, he indeed took it all in within those forty days. Our sages said that he kept learning and forgetting it until it was finally given to him as a gift. They also said that it takes forty years for a student to truly understand his teacher's mind.
This was why God had to rain down food on us from heaven. He makes Shabbat flow down upon us, giving us spiritual sustenance as a gift. Understanding of the Torah comes to us as "food" as well. The Zohar says (2:60b) that even now food that is consumed by a true sage is not just corporeal, but includes a subtle spiritual essence. That spirit derives from Torah, since "man does not live by bread alone, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of Y-H-W-H" (Deut. 8:3). This refers to the divine word by which the food itself was created. That word is the Torah, which flows on to us all; we are nourished by the spirit of Torah.
This is the meaning of "Three who sit at the table and speak over it words of Torah, it is as though they ate at the table of the Everpresent" (Avot 3:3) . . . Everything contains Torah . . . The true sage can attain Torah through his food; the eating itself is engaging with Torah. The word shulhan ("table") can be derived from "sends fifty"), the fifty measures of wisdom that God ends to awaken us to purify ourselves . . . .
This is also the meaning of "Had He fed us the manna but not brought us to Mount Sinai, it would have been enough" (Passover Haggadah). We would have acquired Torah as we ate the manna. Just being fed the manna would have been enough.
Discussion Prompt 1: How might you learn "Torah" from your food? Have you ever learned anything from your food? When? Might this teaching affect the way you eat?
Dicussion Prompt 2: Might this teaching enhance or sanctify eating? Distract or detract from it?
Moses led the people out of the camp to greet God... (Exodus 19:17). It is recorded in Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer that Israel was sleeping and he (Moshe) said to them, "get up." This is codified in Magen Avraham in the Laws of Shavout. It appears that the reason that Israel overslept was that God brought the Torah to each and every nation to see if they might accept it; however, they declined and told the Blessed Holy One, "get away from us," as recorded in Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer. The Israelites thought that the process would become quite drawn out, maybe some of the nations would accept the Torah. In reality, the nations had no interest in hearing about the contents of the Torah from God and there was no delay. But the Israelites thought it would go on for quite a while so they slept in.
Discussion Prompt 1: Note how R' Levi Yitzhak, famed for his defense of the Jewish people, spins a seemingly negative story positively. Really, they thought the other nations would give the Torah a long, hard look. Query: Is it naive to view the negative behavior of others in a justifiable, positive light? Is it always appropriate? When? Why or why not? Can you recall a time when you judged others negatively where you might have spun the story differently?
Discussion Prompt 2: Often, items on our calendar seem as though they'll be delayed for reasons beyond our control. The Israelites, facing just such a delay, decided to sleep in. What is your habitual reaction when you find out an event or meeting will be delayed? Has it ever caused you to "sleep in" and ultimately show up late for revelation? What positive approaches or strategies might you develop for life's inevitable delays?
בנוסח הבקשה הוא יפתח לבנו בתורתו וישם בלבנו אהבתו ויראתו. עפ"י הגמ' וי מאן דלית לי' דרתא ותרעא לדרתא עביד. כי כל החכמה והתורה רק פתח לכנוס ליראת ה' היא אוצרו. וע"י שנפתח לבות בנ"י מכח התורה יכולין אח"כ לקבל היראה והאהבה . . . . .
The liturgical text of the request is "May he open our heart to His Torah, imbuing our heart with the love and awe of Him . . . ." In the language of the Gemara, "Woe unto the person who lacks a courtyard but nonetheless makes a fence for the courtyard." For all of the wisdom and the teaching is only a gate to enter into the awe of Hashem; that is his storehouse. Through the opening of the hearts of the children of Israel by the power of the Torah, only afterward can they then receive the awe and the love . . . .
בנוסח הבקשה יפתח לבנו בתורתו וישם בלבנו אהבתו ויראתו מפורש בעליל מאמר רבותינו ז"ל חבל למאן דלית לי' דרתא ותרעא לדרתא עביד. כי כל התורה רק הכנה לפתוח הלב לקבל אהבה ויראה. כי תכלית התורה תקון הנפש הבא בכח התורה. ולכן קבעו מגילת רות בשבועות להודיע כי לא המדרש עיקר רק המעשה וע"י עסק התורה נתקן נפש האדם ויכול לתקן אח"כ כל מעשיו לטוב ודברי תורה הם אור זרוע לצדיק וצריך האדם לעבוד בזה האור עד שיוציא מכח אל הפועל תיקון מעשיו לטוב והוא התולדה והפרי. וזה הרמז חיים הם למוצאיהם. מי שמוציא כח דברי תורה אל הפועל:
The liturgical text of the request, "May he open our heart to His Torah, imbuing our heart with the love and awe of Him . . . ." is explicated clearly by he saying of the Rabbis, may their memories be a blessing, "Woe unto the person who lacks a courtyard but nonetheless makes a fence for the courtyard." For the entirety of the Torah is just preparation designed to open the heart in order to receive love and awe. The point of the Torah is the perfection of the soul that stems from the power of the Torah. Therefore, they instituted the reading of Ruth on Shavout in order to proclaim that study is not the main thing, only action. Through engagement with Torah, the soul of a person is perfected and they can then repair all of their actions for good. Words of Torah are "light sown for the righteous" - a person ought to work in this light until the repair of action for good is brought from potential to actualization, which is the result, the fruit. This is the hint of the verse "They are life for those who find them (motzaeihem)." [This refers to] whoever brings out (motzi) the potential in the words of Torah into reality.
Discussion Prompt 1: R' Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, known as the Sefas Emes, gave the same sermon in back to back years, presumably suggesting the importance to him of this fundamental lesson in prioritization. He claims that the purpose of Torah study is to cultivate character, which in turn leads to tangible action. In your opinion, what is/are the purpose(s) of Torah study? Why do you choose to study Torah? When you don't, what else replaces its function?
Discussion Prompt 2: Assuming, arguendo, the purpose of Torah study is to cultivate better character leading to better action, what might this suggest about what texts or subjects we ought to be prioritizing? R' Yisrael Salanter famously emphasized the importance of having the heart feel what the mind knows. How do you actualize the lessons you learn? What techniques do you find effective in causing behavioral change? Individually? Communally?
In Shulchan Aruch (Chapter 497), Magen Avraham questions how we can call Shavout "the time of the giving of our Torah", for we follow the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda who says that the Torah was givin on the 7th day of Nissan (see there), but for us, Shavout always occurs on the 6th of Nissan. It seems to me that the answer is as follows: It's written (Shemot 13:10) "and you shall guard this observance for all of your days (miyamim yamimah)." The idea is that we'd have to understand how we call Pesach the time of our freedom, Shavout the time of the giving of out Torah each and every year; a tremendous amount of time has already passed. The idea is thus. Each year at the time that we, the children of Israel, fulfill the commandment of the blessed Creator, that is to say the commandment of relinquishing chametz and eating matzah on Pesach, and the rest of the related commandments, then great enlightenment is awakened for us in His abundant kindness, just as was the case for our ancestors on Pesach; therefore, we can call Pesach the time of our freedom. On Shavout, the time of the giving of our Torah, when this [enlightenment] is awakened for us, it is the time of freedom and the time of the giving of the Torah according to our good acts and the fulfillment of his commandments. Behold, the exodus from Egypt occurred by the hand of the Blessed Holy One in His glory, and similarly, the giving of the Torah was by the mouth of the Blessed Holy One, and just as He lives forever and sustains for eternity, so to His words live and sustain forever. Therefore, through the fulfillment of His commandments, we awaken in each and every generation this enlightenment on Pesach, the time of our freedom. And on Shavout, the time of the giving of our Torah, we find that we receive holy enlightenment sourced in the great enlightenment of our ancestors at the time of the exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah. We find that the first days that were at the actual time of the exodus from Egypt or the giving of the Torah are influencers and are called male. In our days, Passover and Shavout are receivers and are called female. Behold, the word yamim is masculine and the word yamimah is feminine. This is the [hidden] meaning of the verse "and you shall guard this observance miyamim - masculine, yamimah - feminine. In other words, you should receive great enlightenment each year from the enlightenment of our holy ancestors at the time of the exodus and the giving of the Torah.
Discussion Prompt 1: The call to revelation each year is powerful and somewhat countercultural. Our climate is often largely an intellectual one, not a prophetic one. Do you experience revelation like our ancestors of yore? When? How? Do you believe that others do? Who? Why? How might we cultivate spiritual revelation? Ought we? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Discussion Prompt 2: The end of the teaching draws on the kabbalistic archetypes of male (influencer, active), and female (receptive, passive). Leaving aside issues of gender essentialism for the moment, in what ways does the revelation of the first Shavout energize your current observance? What about all of the Shavouts that have existed between the first Shavout and now? What role does tradition play as a spiritual force in your holiday observance?