בס׳׳ד
Gabe Baruch Mehler - Email [email protected]
5 Sivan 5780 - 5/28/2020
SHAVUOS Torah li’iluy neshama of my uncle Dovid Nechemya Ben Harav Baruch
THE LIVING TORAH
Intro: SMILE :) We have arrived at the momentous holiday of Shavuos after 7 weeks of growing and working on ourselves. The Torah was given only 3,300 years ago on Har Sinai to over 3 million Jews, but every year on Shavuos we renew our acceptance of it with pure joy. The Torah is the greatest gift ever given by our Creator and we must cherish it with complete love. The Gemara states in
Berachos 63b
שחביבה תורה על לומדיה בכל יום ויום כיום שנתנה מהר סיני
Each and every day the Torah is as beloved to those who learn it, as the (actual) day it was given on Har Sinai.
The more we put in the effort to feel this true love, the sweeter the Torah will be.
Judaism is not an all or nothing religion. Hashem made each and every person unique in many ways, but the Torah is what links us all together. The Torah wasn’t given to the angels who are Heavenly beings, but it was given to imperfect human beings. We must never underestimate ourselves or doubt our capabilities; Hashem wants us to succeed and doesn’t give us anything that we can’t handle. The Gemara states in
Avodah Zarah 17a
אין הדבר תלוי אלא בי
The matter is only dependent upon me
The more we understand that it is truly up to us if we want to be successful and build our relationship with Hashem, the greater this Shavuos will be!
What is the significance of reading Megillat Rut on Shavuos?
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We read this megillah because it emphasizes the tremendous sacrifices Rut made to accept the Torah and the amazing acts of kindness that she did. The Torah is all about kindness and working to become the best version of ourselves. The Gemara states in
Sotah 14a
דרש ר' שמלאי תורה תחלתה גמילות חסדים וסופה גמילות חסדים תחילתה גמילות חסדים דכתיב ויעש ה' אלהים לאדם ולאשתו כתנות עור וילבישם וסופה גמילות חסדים דכתיב ויקבר אותו בגיא
Rabbi Samlai taught that the Torah begins with an act of kindness and ends with an act of kindness. It begins with an act of kindness as it says “and the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin (clothes), and He clothed them (Breishis 3:21)”. It ends with an act of kindness as it says “and he (Moshe rabbeinu) was buried in the valley (Deuteronomy 34:6)”
In the beginning of the Torah, Hashem clothed Adam and Chava and at the end of the Torah Hashem buried Moshe. We see how the Torah is bookended with kindness and that we must use the Torah that we learn to become kinder people.
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Stick with me until the end of this and you won’t regret it. Let us first understand a little background of who Rut was. Rut and Orpah were the two non Jewish daughters-in-law of Naomi. Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, and their two sons died, leaving all three women widows. Naomi decided that she was going to go to Israel and leave her daughters-in-law, but the girls were too attached to Naomi to let her go alone. Instead, they wanted to accept Judaism completely and go with her to Israel. Flattered by their loyalty, Naomi tells the girls to return to their native country Moab because Jews do not encourage conversion. The girls express their love once again for Naomi and admit that they don’t want to return to their non jewish families. Naomi again tries to dissuade the girls and this leads us to the most crucial part of the Megillah. The Megillah portrays the parting of these two girls as follows:וַתִּשַּׁק עָרְפָּה לַחֲמוֹתָהּ וְרוּת דָּבְקָה בָּהּ - “Orpah kissed her mother-in-law (and left for Moab) whereas Rut clung to her”. WOW. Here is the essential difference between Rut and Orphah’s attitudes towards Naomi and the Torah. Orpah simply kissed Naomi while Rut cleaved and clung herself to her. Although it seems as only a minor difference, this was a huge difference between a true burning passion towards the Torah (Rut) and the cold and dark opposite (Orpah). The Gemara states in
Sotah 42b
אמר רבי יצחק אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא יבואו בני הנשוקה ויפלו ביד בני הדבוקה
Rabbi Yitzchak says that the children of the one who kissed (Orpah) will fall into the hands of the one who cleaved (Rut).
Rabbi Norman Lamm continues and writes that “there is religion and there is religion”. There are Jews who fall in the category of the bnei neshukah (kissing - Orpah) and those who are are in the bnei devukah (clinging - Rut) category. The bnei neshukah kiss the mezuza while the bnei devukah cling to what is written in it. The bnei neshukah close the siddur, kiss it, and leave it in Shul (living room :) while the bnei devukah close it, take its message with them, engrave it on their hearts, and practice it. There are two types of ways to serve Hashem (hint: choose the bolded way). Why is it so important to strive to live a life of true clinging to Hashem and work to build up our connection with Hashem? To answer this question I have brought the wonderful pasuk in Devarim (4:4) ואתם הדבקים ביהוה אלהיכם חיים כלכם היום - “You who cling to Hashem, your God, are all alive today”. We have spoken about how Shavuos is a time of renewal, but in truth, every day we have the option of starting fresh and truly living. The pasuk teaches us that the way to truly live life is only through clinging to Hashem. It is not enough to merely go through the motions and “kiss” Hashem here and there, rather we must work on clinging to Hashem the whole day whether it's while we are learning or in the workplace. If you hold on tight to the Torah, it will lift you up to tremendous heights. Did I mention that the descendant of Orpah was Goliath and the descendant of Rut was David? Please put in the effort to be a clinging Ruth-like kind of Yid as opposed to a Ruth-less one (I wish I came up with this myself :)
Food for thought: The Gemara states in…
Tannis 7a
תניא היה ר׳ בנאה אומר כל העוסק בתורה לשמה תורתו נעשית לו סם חיים שנאמר עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה
It was taught: Rabbi Bana’ah says that anyone who engages in Torah for its (Hashem) sake, his learning becomes an elixir (potion) of life for him as it says in (Mishlei 3:18) “(the Torah) it’s a tree of life for those that grab it”
Avodah Zarah 19a
א"ר אין אדם לומד תורה אלא ממקום שלבו חפץ
Rebbe (Yehuda hanasi) says that a person only learns Torah in a place where his heart desires
Why is there a minhag to stay up all night on Shavuos?
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The Midrash in Shir Hashirim Rabbah states that the night before receiving the Torah, our people went to get a good shluff and (all 3 million Jews) overslept. Moshe himself had to wake up his people and Hashem said “מַדּ֨וּעַ בָּ֜אתִי וְאֵ֣ין אִ֗ישׁ (Isaiah 50:2)- why have I come and there is no man (to receive me)?” Bnei Yisrael had good intentions but should have been way more cautious on the most important day in history. The Magen Avraham writes that we stay up all night in order to rectify their mistake and to show our enthusiasm in receiving the Torah. When we go to sleep our physical bodies are given a rest while our spiritual selves are never resting. By choosing to stay up all night we show that we are preparing ourselves physically and spiritually to receive the Torah.
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The Arizal states that one who stays up all night learning Torah will have a year without being damaged (worth it in my opinion). The Gemara states in Avodah Zara 3b
אמר ריש לקיש כל העוסק בתורה בלילה הקב"ה מושך עליו חוט של חסד ביום
Reish Lakish says that anyone who engages in Torah learning at night, Hashem extends a thread of kindness over him by day.
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The power of learning Torah at night is on another level, as the Gemara states in
Tamid 32b
תנא רבי חייא כל העוסק בתורה בלילה שכינה כנגדו
Rabbi Chiya taught that anyone who engages in Torah at night, the Shechina is across from him.
Think about this the next time you open up a sefer at night. “Sitting” across from you is the best chavrusa in the world. This idea is even more relevant nowadays due to the fact that we can’t be with our shuls and friends. Smile at this.
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The night is associated with being an extra dangerous time physically and spiritually for people. By learning Torah and truly internalizing Hashem’s words, we create a forcefield for ourselves and those around us. The Gemara states in
Eruvin 18b
אמר רבי ירמיה בן אלעזר כל בית שנשמעין בו דברי תורה בלילה שוב אינו נחרב
Rabbi Yirmiyah says that any house in which words of Torah are heard at night will never be destroyed. (Tell your family that you’re protecting them!)
Why is there a minhag to eat dairy on Shavuos?
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The gematria of the word “חלב” (milk) adds up to 40, which is the number of days Moshe spent on Har Sinai. (Mindblown). Speaking of the number 40, the Gemara states in
Taanit 8a
הא דריש לקיש הוה מסדר מתני׳ ארבעין זמנין כנגד מ׳ יום שׁניתנה תורה ועייל לקמיה דר׳ יוחנן
Reish Lakish would organize (review) his studies 40 times over, corresponding to the 40 days in which the Torah was given at Har Sinai. Only then, (after much preparation) would he come before Rabbi Yochanan (to learn).
Speaking of reviewing your learning many times, the Gemara states in
Chagigah 9b
ואינו דומה שונה פרקו מאה פעמים לשונה פרקו מאה ואחד
You can’t compare the one who reviews his studies 100 times to the one who reviews his studies 101 times
Try this at home: Take the gematria of the word שכח (forget) and subtract from it the gematria of the word זכר (remember)
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Now getting back to our original question. The Gemara states in
Eruvin 54b
למה נמשלו דברי תורה כדד מה דד זה כל זמן שהתינוק ממשמש בו מוצא בו חלב אף דברי תורה כל זמן שאדם הוגה בהן מוצא בהן טעם
Why are matters of Torah compared to a breast? Just like a breast, when a baby searches he finds milk in it, so too with matters of Torah; when a person contemplates (searches) them he finds new meaning in it.
Chazal compares Torah learning to a baby suckling milk because just as a baby always finds a new and sweet taste in the milk, so too the learner finds a sweet taste in the Torah. Just like milk, the Torah builds up a person's bones (and also the learner’s neshama).
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The Mishna Brurah (494:12) writes that the Jews had dairy food immediately following Matan Torah because preparing kosher meat takes a long time. (Thank your Mom for all the fire meals she has been putting together for the family)
Why do we count up to Shavuos during the Omer instead of down?
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A countdown would imply that once we reach the end, we have achieved our goal and it is over. This couldn't be farther from the truth my friends. It starts right now. The 49 days leading up to Matan Torah is a time of spiritual refinement to cleanse ourselves and grow each day. This growth process does not end here, rather we take what we have worked on and bring it with us for the rest of our lives. Spirituality is like an escalator: if we are not going up, we're going down. Do not be discouraged if you are having a tough time learning because the Gemara states in
Gittin 43a
אין אדם עומד על דברי תורה אלא אם כן נכשל בהן
A person does not understand matters of Torah unless he stumbles in them.
The best things in life do not come easy and stumbling is a good thing, as long as we get back up.
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When a person is physically sick, the doctor will give him medication to heal him. The sick person will listen to the doctor and with each coming day, will heal. Sadly, it is not as simple to recognize our spiritual illnesses. Through learning Torah, we see ourselves becoming “healthier” every day and we can count up to see the wonderful progress we have made. The Torah was given to YOU. Yes, Hashem believes in you, do you believe in you? We must trust the best “Doctor” in the world and take the best medication in the world to heal and grow daily, as the Gemara states in
Kiddushin 30b
הקב״ה אמר להם לישראל בני בראתי יצר הרע ובראתי לו תורה תבלין ואם אתם עוסקים בתורה אין אתם נמסרים בידו שנאמר הלא אם תטיב שאת
Hashem says to the Jewish people “My sons, I created the Yetzer Hara and I created the Torah as its antidote. If you engage yourselves in Torah learning, you will not be given over to the hands (of the Yetzer Hara)” as it says (in (bereishis 4:7) “if you do well (by learning Torah) you will be uplifted (above the Yetzer Hara)”
Conclusion: We keep the Torah alive and it keeps us alive. We must understand that although we are commemorating the Torah being given to us on Shavuos thousands of years ago, we have been given a living Torah which is kept alive through those who learn and live it. At the same time, the Torah is what keeps those who learn it alive, as the Gemara states in
Avodah Zara 3b
למה נמשלו בני אדם כדגי הים לומר לך מה דגים שבים כיון שעולין ליבשה מיד מתים אף בני אדם כיון שפורשין מדברי תורה ומן המצות מיד מתים
Why are people compared to the fish of the sea? This is to say that just like when the fish of the sea arise onto dry land they die immediately, so too with people. When they (Jews) separate from words of Torah and (performing) Mitzvot, they immediately die.
If Torah is life then we must share life with others, as the Gemara states in
Sanhedrin 99a
רבי מאיר אומר הלומד תורה ואינו מלמדה זה הוא דבר ה' בזה
Rabbi Meir says that the one who learns Torah but does not teach it (to others) “he has despised the word of Hashem (Bamidbar 15:31)”.
We should all strive to spread, in any way possible, the gift of life that we were given by our Creator. Enjoy life in the realest way, IF YOU LET IT