"Countdown to Matan Torah"
WHY COUNT THE DAYS UNTIL SHAVUOT?
In this week's Parsha, the Torah commands us: "You shall count for YOURSELVES - from the morrow of the rest day, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving - seven weeks, they shall be complete. Until the morrow of the seventh week you shall count, fifty days" (Vayikra 23:15-16). In next week's portion we read of the counting of the cycle of Jubilee years: "You shall count for YOURSELF seven cycles of sabbatical years, seven years seven times" (Vayikra 25:8). The commandment to count the Shmitta cycles is written in the singular to teach us that this Mitzvah is only incumbent upon Beit Din, while the Mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer is written in the plural to teach us that this count is a requirement placed upon each one of us. The Ramban is of the opinion that women are obligated in this Mitzvah as well. The halacha does not follow his opinion, but at the very least the men are obligated in this seven week count.
Why does the Torah command me to count the days until Shavuot?
After all I consider myself an intelligent person, I know that this year the first day of Pesach was a Tuesday and I can easily calculate that Shavuot will fall on the Wednesday seven weeks later. What need is there for me to count these days? I can understand that if one were to ask a child how much two plus five is he would have to count: 1, 2, 3 but why must I count?
Perhaps my counting shows my eager anticipation for the arrival of this special day when I will receive the Torah. From the moment the Jewish people left Egypt they counted the days: when will Hashem at long last give us His Torah? My Esteemed Teacher HaRav Dessler zt"l points out that events we observe throughout the year are not mere commemorations of incidents that occurred previously (see Michtav M'Eliyahu volume II, page 21), rather every week the world is recreated culminating with Hashem's day of rest on Shabbat. The Gemara in fact tells us that a person is generally tired on Sunday because it is the third day following his operation. What operation did he undergo? On Friday he was created and Chava was taken from him. Did this not take place more than 5000 years ago? As we mentioned, there is a reenactment of the creation of the world each week.
EACH YEAR WE RECEIVE THE TORAH
While the creation and the Shabbat return each week, certain events reoccur annually. Our Pesach celebration is not merely the commemoration of an event that took place three thousand years ago. Rather we are literally returning to the precise point in time in which our forefathers left Egypt. Time is a cycle through which we travel arriving each year at the same stations. Every year we relive the experience of the exodus from Egypt. Every year we are given the Torah anew on Shavuot, and the same applies to all the festivals.
The following Gemara can serve as proof for this idea mentioned by Rav Dessler. The Talmud teaches us that there is a danger in letting blood on Erev Shavuot. Why? When the Jews stood waiting to receive the Torah, a demon named Tivuach emerged and declared that should the Jewish people not agree to receive the Torah, he will slaughter (tove-ach) the entire nation, G-d forbid. For this reason Erev Shavuot is not an auspicious time for letting blood for it is a time of danger (see Shabbat 129b). What relevance does the fact that this demon existed three thousand years ago have for us in the year 5764? The demon reawakens every year. Each year on Erev Shavuot from a certain perspective we find ourselves in that same situation that we were in prior to Matan Torah and there is an uncertainty as to whether or not we will agree to receive the Torah, and thus the threat of this demon continues to exist. Bloodletting is therefore not advisable on Erev Shavuot even today (Chazal took this further and forbade bloodletting on the eves of the other Yom Tovim as well - see Shabbat ibid. and Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 468:10 and Mishna Brura).
WHEN WE LONG FOR IT WE APPRECIATE ITS ARRIVAL
When we long for something and desire it, its arrival is a different experience than that of something we do not so eagerly await. The Gemara relates that Rav Chisda was unsure of the halacha in the case that an individual benefited from something which belongs to another in a situation in which: "this one does not benefit and this one does not lose" (Babba Kama 20a). Rami bar Chama informed him that he could prove from a Mishna what the halacha would be. When Rav Chisda inquired as to which Mishna was being referred to, Rami bar Chama's response was: I will answer this: "as soon as you perform a personal service for me" (Babba Kama 20b). It was only after Rav Chisda folded Rami bar Chama's cloak that he was informed of the answer.
Did Rami bar Chama really need Rav Chisda to fold his cloak? Furthermore, Rav Chisda was not only the Rebbe of Rami bar Chama, he was also a Kohen (see Brachot 44a), as well as his father-in-law (it is not clear if he was married prior to this incident or not). It was Rami bar Chama who should honor Rav Chisda, not the other way round. One explanation for Rami bar Chama's behavior is that he feared that Rav Chisda would not take his words seriously. For Rav Chisda's sake, he first demanded that Rav Chisda perform some task for him causing him to feel a certain subservience thus making him more open to accepting what Rami bar Chama was saying. The Gemara does not record that Rava had served Rami bar Chama, and he in fact challenged the proof he brought.
Had Rav Chisda not initially served Rami bar Chama perhaps he too would have questioned Rami bar Chama's proof.
There is a similar story regarding the relationship between Avimi - the rebbe of Rav Chisda, and Rav Chisda. (see Menachot 7a). We are told that Avimi went to Rav Chisda to learn Massechet Menachot. Inquires the Gemara, how can this be? Avimi should be teaching Rav Chisda! The Gemara explains that Avimi took ill and during his illness he forgot the entire Massechet Menachot, and decided to ask his student, Rav Chisda to teach it to him. If so, the Gemara asks, why did Avimi have to travel to Rav Chisda's residence? Rav Chisda would have considered it a privilege and an honor to go to Avimi. Avimi felt that he would be more successful in his learning if he were to go to Rav Chisda, that the extra effort would make him see Rav Chisda as a true "source of living waters" (Yirmiyahu 2:13). By going to Rav Chisda, Avimi sensed that he would more readily accept what Rav Chisda had to say. Although either way, Rav Chisda's shiurim would have the same content, Avimi thought that he would be more receptive if he were the one to take the trouble to go to Rav Chisda.
Avimi felt that the eagerness expressed by his traveling to the house of his disciple and foregoing his own honor would give him a better chance of mastering the Massechet than by summoning Rav Chisda to him.
When a person prepares himself by showing subservience to the Torah and its scholars he can more readily accept the Torah. When we show our eagerness by counting the days until Matan Torah, we too can better receive the Torah.
TORAH: THE KEY TO ALL WISDOM
The Torah is Hashem's wisdom being brought down to earth. Although no human being can possibly grasp the G-dly wisdom, as the pasuk states: "As high as the heavens over the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Yeshayahu 55:9), Hashem gave us the Torah in order that we have a glimpse of His thought process. He gave us not only the wisdom contained in the Torah itself, but the Torah is the key to all other forms of wisdom.
The Braita tells us: "whoever engages in Torah study for its own sake merits many things" (Pirke Avot 6:1). The Braita continues "furthermore, he is called: 'friend, beloved he gladdens the Omnipresent". The Braita lists the many good "labels" affixed to one who engages in Torah study for its own sake, but it does not tell us what "many things" he merits. I believe that this refers to the ability to gain knowledge and wisdom through the Torah even without having explicitly learned these other subjects. This is because the entire creation is encompassed in the Torah, it is simply our job to find it. The way to find it is to "engage in Torah study for its own sake". It is well-known that the Chazon Ish would see people and advise them on whether or not they should undergo a particular operation or whether or not they should fast on Yom Kippur. The Chazon Ish did not study in a university, yet often he knew which procedure a person should undergo better than the person's doctor.
Doctors would often consult with him regarding how precisely to carry out an operation. Where did he pick up such knowledge? This was one of the many things he merited from studying Torah lishma. The Rav (HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l) also had vast medical knowledge, but the Chazon Ish was especially known for this.
The Torah is not only the wisdom of this world, but its wisdom is eternal: Hashem "gave us the Torah of truth and implanted eternal life within us". The idea of a human being living until the age of one hundred and twenty applies to a non-Jew, a Jew who studies and observes the Torah can live for eternity. Although a non-Jew can live for eternity by fulfilling the seven Noachide laws, a Jew has the opportunity to do so through the Torah, for Hashem implanted this eternal life within us.
TORAH: LIFE IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT WORLD
In addition to providing us with life in the Next World, the Torah also gives meaning to our lives in this world. We do not make a move without the Torah. The halacha tells us which shoe we put on first and which one we tie first. A non-Jew does not have the opportunity to fulfill Mitzvot simply by putting on his clothes and other everyday acts. Had the Torah not been given, the best we could hope for is to observe Mitzvot as "eino metzuve veoseh" "one who is not commanded yet does", but with Matan Torah we have the opportunity to be a "metzuve veoseh" "one who is commanded and carries it out", and Chazal tell us: "greater is one who performs a Mitzvah who has been commanded to do so, than one who does so without being commanded" (Kiddushin 31a). With little things we have the opportunity to merit a place in the Next World!
Every morning we recite: "the study of Torah is equivalent to them all" (Shabbat 127a), this means that the reward for Talmud Torah is greater than for all of the other Mitzvot mentioned in that Braita of "elu devarim" "It is said in the name of the Chafetz Chaim that for every minute of Torah that we study we fulfill two hundred Mitzvot. Let us analyze our attitude towards fulfillment of other Mitzvot in comparison. Many people spend quite a sum of money purchasing their four species for Sukkot. As praiseworthy as this may be, we must keep in mind that this Mitzvah can only be observed for one week of the year. Out of that week, only the first day is in fulfillment of a Torah commandment and this does not include Shabbat when we fulfill a Mitzvah by not taking these species.
Similarly, people spend large sums for their Shmura Matzah. In truth this purchase only has practical use at the Seder when we are required to eat Matzah, perhaps we can include the remaining days of Pesach if we follow the opinion of the Vilna Gaon who is of the opinion that eating Matzah during those days, although not a requirement, still fulfills a Mitzvah. Talmud Torah, however, applies every day of the year. Imagine, being able to fulfill two hundred Mitzvot a minute throughout my lifetime! If I were to spend on this Mitzvah the amount I spend on the four species or Shmura Matzah, I would not be able to survive even if I were a multi-millionaire. The fact is I AM a millionaire Hashem gives me so much, I just do not have direct access to my bank account. We must just know that the bank account is there and it is growing by two hundred Mitzvot every minute we learn.
LEARNING TORAH MAKES US INTO BETTER PEOPLE
Most important of all is that Talmud Torah should serve to refine our souls. Learning Torah should make us into nicer people and create more love among one another. One of the things mentioned in the above quoted Braita regarding "whoever engages in Torah study for its own sake" is that "he gladdens the creatures". Bringing joy to other people is of the utmost importance. When one has no interest in doing so, this shows us that his soul is not refined and he has to work on improving it.
The first person whom a man is obligated to gladden is his wife. A man is commanded to make his wife happy at his wedding, the first year, and every Yom Tov. This requirement, however, is not limited to these times - making a person's wife happy is not a time-dependent Mitzvah (even though women are exempt from this Mitzvah). The Rav used to interpret the pasuk in Devarim: "when a man marries a new wife, he shall not go out to the army, nor shall it obligate him for any matter; he shall be free for his home for one year, and he shall gladden his wife whom he has married" (Devarim 24:5) by explaining that this does not limit one's requirement to gladden his wife to one year, it is just that during that first year he is absolved from certain obligations.
Without a wife, a man is not complete, as Chazal tell us "any man who does not have a wife is not a man" (Yevamot 63a). Furthermore, "any man who does not have a wife lives without Torah" (ibid. 62b), for it is this unity of husband and wife that gives a person the power to learn and accept the Torah. Without a wife, his Torah is not true.
THE TORAH IS INFINITE
The most important element of Kabbalat HaTorah is to appreciate its holiness. The Torah is the word of Hashem each word has infinite meaning. Although, we cannot hope to comprehend the real meaning of the Torah, we must try as best we can to understand. Chazal tell us that R' Akiva would "expound from the each tip of the letter heaps and heaps of laws" (Menachot 29b). R' Akiva would look into every word, every letter, every crown of the Torah.