Always Time For Torah – Parshas Emor 5769
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Loading ...וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת… שבע שבתות תמימות תהינה (כג:טו).
“You shall count starting after the holiday (of Pesach)… seven complete weeks (until Shavuos)” (23:15).
Reb Moshe Feinstein zt”l points out that when it comes to all of the Jewish holidays the Torah states the exact date upon which they are to be celebrated. Pesach is the fifteenth of Nissan; Rosh Hashana is the first day of Tishrey, etc. Why then does the Torah not specify the date for Shavuos, the sixth of Sivan, rather, we must figure it out based on the verses informing us that it occurs fifty days after Pesach, why is this holiday different?
He explains how this Yom Tov differs from the others. This day is not an anniversary that commemorates a past event. Pesach is celebrated to remember the day which we were brought out of Egypt by Hashem; Succos remembers the Clouds of Glory by which Hashem sheltered the Jews in the desert. However, the giving of the Torah took place at Sinai but it continues to be offered to us everyday and every moment! Chazal even instruct us to view the Torah as if it were just given to us, this is literal! Torah is not an old instruction book from antiquity, rather it is as vibrant and relevant as ever!
The Torah did not want to ascribe a specific date to Shavuos, as this may erroneously mislead someone to think that Torah is old history and that it is only available at specific times. Rather, we must know that Hashem teaches us constantly, His voice is eternal; our job is to give Him our ears and hearts!
Reb Moshe adds two more hints to this idea. Firstly, Chazal teach us that the Aron in the Mishkan, which contained the Sefer Torah inside of it, took up no physical space. What is the lesson? This is to signify that Torah is not earthbound or limited to a certain place! The Torah applies everywhere!
Secondly, we do not know in which limb our Neshamah, soul, is contained, rather the entire body is imbued with its holiness. Man must bring Hashem into every time and place that he finds himself.
This is the lesson of Shavuos, Torah is eternal and always prevalent and available!
After I wrote this beautiful idea, I decided that it would be most appropriate to save it for Shavuos and instead I would write something relevant for Parshas Emor. Then I stopped in my tracks and laughed at my silliness! The whole point of the Dvar Torah is that Kabbalas HaTorah is applicable at any time! Thus I hope you benefited from this thought as I did!
Categories: Parshas Emor Limud HaTorah, Shavuos
