Hakaras Hatov for Matan Torah
We have an obligation of hakaras hatov to Hashem for giving us the Torah. We received the Torah in the midbar. In this Dvar Torah ewe will discuss the connection between these two points.
We received the Torah in the midbar, in the desert. This is interesting; what is the significance ofAm Yisrael receiving the Torah in the midbaras opposed to in Yerushalayim in Eretz Yisroel? Some meforshim explain the following idea.[i]The Torah was given in chutz la'aretz, in a desert, to show that the Torah and the mitzvos apply everywhere. The mitzvos do not apply only in Eretz Yisrael, in a makom kadosh, they apply everywhere- in chutz la’aretz, even in a desert, in the middle of nowhere! The Torah is not limited by place, the Torah applies everywhere[ii].
A person sometimes finds himself in a makom kadosh like Eretz Yisrael, and the Torah certainly applies there. However, many times a person finds himself in a makom that is less kadosh, like many places in chutz la’aretz, and the Torah also certainly applies there as well. And we have to remember this all the time, that our obligation to keep the mitzvos is the same in Eretz Yisrael and in chutz la’aretz.[iii]
And this is one idea we have to focus on during Shavuos, that thekabbalas hatorah that we are re-experiencing applies to each person wherever he happens to be.
Another theme of Shavuos is giving hakaras hatov to Hashem for the zechus of receiving the Torah. The Torah is the greatest gift that Hashem has given to mankind, and He gave it to us! And we have to thank Him. The Torah gives us the opportunityto achieve Olam Haba(and nothing is better then that). The Torah also allows us to have a life of meaning and simcha in Olam Hazeh as well.
In fact, the idea of hakaras hatov goes deeper than that. The halacha is that if a man wants to marry a woman, he has to give her something of value to create the kidushin. Nowadays, the chasan gives the kallah a ring. The gemara(Kedushin 7) describes that there is another way to create kidushin which, at first glance, we probably wouldn’t have thought of, but this is the halacha. If a man is an ‘adam hashuv,’ a very important person, and a woman gives a present to him, and he receives it, then kidushin can be created. How? What has he given to her? The answer is that if an important person accepts a present from you, that gives you pleasure. It makes you feel good when he accepted the present.[iv]Rav Nevenzal shli”ta explains (Shavuos p.134-136) that this exact idea applies on Shavuos. Hashem gave us the Torah and we have the zechus of serving Hashem. And Hashem listens to our tefillos and receives and accepts our Avodas Hashem. It should give us a tremendous feeling of hana'ah that Hakadosh Baruch Hu accepts our tefillos and accepts ourmitzvos. And that should generatehakaras hatov to Hashem. Thank You, Hashem, for giving us the Torah; and thank You, Hashem, for accepting our mitzvos and accepting our tefillos. And this is an additional angle on the hakaros hatov we should feel towards Hashem regarding Matan Torah.
But the chiyuv of hakaras hatov actually goes even deeper than that. Rav Nevenzahl continues to explain as follows. When a person expresses hakaras hatov to Hashem for giving us the Torah, that itself is a mitzvah. And now a person has to express hakaras hatov to Hashem for giving us the chance to do that mitzvah of expressing hakaras hatov. And the cyclecontinues. That mitzvah of expressinghakaras hatov will bring us a better Olam Haba, and we thank Hashem for giving us that opportunity to get schar for thanking Him. Therefore, Rav Nevenzahl explains that really our obligation to thank Hashem for the Torah is boundless because it keeps on growing geometrically. Thank You Hashem for giving me the Torah and giving me the chance to serve You; and thank You Hashem that You gave me a chance to do the mitzvah of thanking You for giving me the mitzvos and giving me the Torah etc… A very powerful idea.[v]
So we have tothank Hashem for giving us the Torah and have this additional level of hakaras hatov as well.
The truth is that these two ideas are connected. One of the reasons that we have to thank Hashem for giving us the Torah is precisely because the Torah applies both in a makom kadoshand in a makom that's less kadosh. The Torah is our guide for life. Olam Hazeh is often compared to choshech- darkness;it is a confusing place. At night time a person is easily confused about things; things are unclear.It is hard to successfully navigate through darkness, but the Torah is our light-"ki ner mitzvahv’Torah ohr"- to guide us through Olam Hazeh. And without the Torah a person's life lacks direction, lacks clarity. Often, when one is away from Eretz Yisrael, away from Yeshiva, Olam Hazeh is more confusing and more unclear.Yet, the Torah offers guidance even in difficult, challenging situations. Precisely because the Torah applies everywhere and offers guidance wherever we happen to be, we have an extra chiyuv to thank Hashem.
Whatever stage we are at in life, the Torah is guiding us. The Torah can guide us and must guide us and we have to constantly thank Hashem for that as well. This is one idea Rav Nevenzahl shli”ta develops that we should focus on as we are heading into Shavuos.
Good Shabbos and Chag Sameach,
B. Ginsburg
[i] One place to find this idea is in the Aruch Hashulchan in Hilchos Shavuos (Siman 494 )
[ii]Actually, Rav Ahron Soloveitchik zt”l points out that Matan Torah began in Mitzrayim, which was at the time the most tumah filled country in the world. This proves the point even more. Matan Torah is defined as Hashem giving mitzvos to Am Yisroel as a nation. The first set of mitzvos we received is found in the parsha of Hachodesh hazeh lachem…(Shmos chapter 12). That is the beginning of Matan Torah. We received these mitzvos in Mitzrayim on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. (This idea is already implicit in the first Rashi on Chumash.)
[iii]The Ramban (Vayikra 18,25) writes that one receives more schar for mitzvos in Eretz Yisrael than in chutz la’aretz. But, the obligation to keep the mitzvos and the Torah is the same in both. See the Netziv (Shmos 20,12 and in the Haskamah to the Sefer Ahavas Chesed of the Chofetz Chaim) where he discusses this Ramban,.
[iv] If somebody gives a present to President Bush (Obama), the giver feels proud and happy that the president accepted his gift. So the gemara says that if a woman gives a gift to an adam chashuv, an important person, and the person receives the gift, then the hana'ah that the woman receives from the fact that the man accepted the gift is enough to create kidushin. It is like the man gave her something, it is like he gave her a ring.
[v] Rav Nevenzahl (p. 137) writes there is a parallel idea regarding kibud av v’em. A Jew has a chiyuv to thank his parents for what they have done for him. Our parents have given us good education and/or taught us Torah directly to help guide us in this world. And if we thank our parents, as is our obligation, for what they have done for us, then we have to thank our parents even more. We now thank them because they taught us in a way that we learned that there is a mitzvah to thank them. I have to give my parents hakaras hatov about the fact that they helped me get the zechus of giving them hakaras hatov! And the cycle continues. Rav Nevenzahl says that a person's obligation to show hakaras hatov to his parents also ends up being boundless because it keeps on growing geometrically. This is a powerful message regarding the mitzvah of kibud av v’em.