Parasha Thoughts
By Rabbi Yosef Shemtov
Shavuot is the celebration of receiving the Torah and becoming a Jewish nation. The Torah states that Bnei Israel stood under Mount Sinai to receive Torah. The Gemara asks a question: Why does it say under the mountain?
The Gemara explains that the Almighty picked up the mountain and placed it above their heads to say that if you accept the Torah, everything will be fine. Otherwise, the world will cease to exist. The Rabbis ask a question regarding this. We know that before Hashem offered the Torah to Bnei Israel he offered it to all the other nations, but they rejected it when they saw that the Torah wouldn’t fit with their lifestyles. However, Bnei Israel accepted the Torah without asking about its laws, as it is written that they said Naaseh ve Nishma – meaning we will do and we will learn the reason afterwards. If they accepted the Torah with joy, why was it necessary to force them to accept the Torah?
Maharal explains that there are two ways to serve the Almighty; one is by love and the other is by awe and fear. It was not enough that we accepted the Torah with love; there should also have been an element of awe. We need to know that the world cannot exist without the Torah. We need to understand that all the blessings of this world come because of Torah. That’s why Hashem forced us to accept the Torah: to emphasize this important message.
On behalf of all the Yachad Rabbis I wish everyone a meaningful Shavuot.
Rabbi Yosef Shemtov