[Par-reg] For Shavuot

[Menachem Leibtag]

********************************************************
*****
        THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
		In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
	Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
********************************************************
*****

SHAVUOT & MATAN TORAH   

	When the Torah wishes to inform us of the
'historical' reason for a holiday, it certainly knows
how to do so. Take for example the two other pilgrimage
holidays - "chag ha'matzot" & "succot": Even though
these holidays are also presented from their
'agricultural' perspective (see Shmot 23:14-17), the
Torah  informs us of their historical perspectives as
well (see Shmot 12:17, 13:3 etc. and Vayikra 23:42-43). 
	Therefore, it is simply baffling that the Torah
presents Shavuot ONLY from its agricultural aspect,
without mentioning even a word about its connection to
events of MATAN TORAH! 
	In this week's shiur, we attempt to understand
why.
 
SHAVUOT IN THE BIBLE
	Before we begin our shiur, let's verify our
statement that Shavuot is presented solely from its
agricultural perspective by quickly reviewing the five
'parshiot' in which it is mentioned:
	I. Shmot 23:15 = "v'et chag ha'KATZIR bikurei
ma'asecha"
		[the HARVEST holiday - the first fruits
of your work]
	II. Shmot 34:22 = "v'chag shavuot... bikurei
KTZIR CHITIM"
		[Feast of Weeks, the first fruits of the
wheat harvest]
	III. Vayikra 23:15-21: "u'sfartem lachem..."
"And you shall count from the time you offer the OMER
offering (from your first harvest/ see 23:10) seven
weeks... and you shall offer a new MINCHA to God..."
	IV. Bamidbar 28:26 = "u'v'yom ha'BIKURIM..."
"And on the day of the first fruit offering, when you
bring a new MINCHA to God on Shavuot..."
	V. Devarim 16:9-12 = "...m'ha'chel chermesh
b'kamah..."
"Count SEVEN weeks, starting when the sickle is first
put to the standing grain, then you shall celebrate the
holiday of SHAVUOT to God..."

	As you review these five sources, note how in
each instance Shavuot is presented solely as a harvest
holiday, when we must thank God for our grain crops;
while its connection MATAN TORAH is never mentioned -
not even once!
	However, when we study the above sources, it
also becomes quite clear that there is ample reason to
celebrate SHAVUOT, even without the events of MATAN
TORAH. Considering that grain is man's staple, it is
only logical that we are commanded to celebrate its
harvest together with God, in order to thank Him for His
providence during this most critical time of the year. 
[Recall also that the custom of the nations of Canaan
was to relate the growth of grain to various local gods
such as Baal & Ashera and Dagon etc. This made it even
more important to celebrate Shavuot, to assure that Bnei
Yisrael would thank the proper God and not fall into the
traps of AVODA ZARA. For more detail, see Hoshea chapter
2 (which just so happens to be the Haftara for Parshat
Bamidbar). See especially Hoshea 2:7,10,14-18 & 23!]

    Based on these sources, should we conclude that it
is only coincidental that Shavuot falls out on the date
of Matan Torah? Would that explain why Chumash makes no
connection at all between that event and this holiday? 	
	To answer this question, we must first take
issue with our original assumption that the Biblical
date of Matan Torah indeed coincides with the holiday of
Shavuot. 

THE DATE OF MATAN TORAH
	When the Torah wishes to inform us of the
precise date of a certain event, it certainly knows how
to do so. Once again, take for example the events of
Exodus.  Review Shmot 12:6,12-14,17-18 and 13:3-8,
noting how the Torah informs us of the precise date (and
even the time of day) when the Tenth Plague struck and
when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt!  Later on, the Torah even
records the precise date when Bnei Yisrael arrived at
Midbar Sin (on the 15th of Iyar, see Shmot 16:1).
	However, in regard to Matan Torah, the Torah is
quite vague. Indeed we are told that Bnei Yisrael arrive
at Har Sinai in the third month (Sivan), but we are not
told on what DAY of the month they arrived:
"In the third month of Bnei Yisrael's departure from the
Egypt, ON THIS DAY, they came to Midbar Sinai." (19:1)

	Not only is the phrase "on this day" ambiguous,
it is quite difficult to determine how many days
actually transpire between their arrival at Har Sinai
and Matan Torah (see Shmot 19:3
16).
	Even if we assume that Bnei Yisrael arrived on
the first day of the month (see Rashi 19:1-"b'yom
hazeh"), the lack of a clear chronology in the
subsequent events still makes it impossible to pinpoint
that date.  Even though it is recorded how Moshe goes up
and down the mountain several times, and that three days
are required to prepare for that special occasion; we
never told how many days elapse in the interim. 
	In the Mechilta (and in Mesechet Shabbat 86b),
Chazal calculate that the Torah was given on either the
sixth or seventh of Sivan (see also Rashi on 19:2->19),
yet the fact remains that the Torah clearly prefers to
obscure the precise date of this event.

CALCULATING 'BACKWARDS'
	However, there is an additional manner by which
it is possible to calculate the approximate date of
Ma'amad Har Sinai.  If we assume that tenth of Tishrei
was chosen as 'Yom Kippur' specifically because it marks
the date when Moshe descended from Har Sinai with the
second "luchot" [See further iyun section for a
discussion of how we can prove this.], then we can
calculate 'backwards', using the three sets of 'forty
days' that are described in the story of chet ha'egel in
Devarim chapter 9.  
    Working 'backwards' from the tenth of TIshrei; we
can arrive at the following approximate dates of these
three sets of forty days:
	The last forty days - from 1 Elul until 10
Tishrei.
		[when Moshe receives the second Luchot.]
	The middle forty days - 19 Tamuz until 29 Av 
    [when Moshe's prayer for their forgivenss.]
	The first forty days - from either 6 or 7 Sivan
until 17 Tamuz.
		[when Moshe receives the first Luchot.]

    These calculations leads us to the conclusion that
the Torah was given on either the 6th or 7th of Sivan
(depending if the month of Sivan that year was 29 or
thirty days).  
    However, even if all of the above assumptions are
correct, the fact still remains that the Torah never
explicitly mentions the date of Matan Torah, even though
it has ample opportunities to do so! 
	Thus, we really have a double question. Not only
is it strange that Torah makes no connection between
Shavuot and Matan Torah, it doesn't even tell us WHEN
Matan Torah took place!
	Again, the question remains - why?

	To answer this question, we must consider a
fundamental difference between the very nature of these
two monumental events in our history: Yetziat Mitzraim
and Matan Torah.
 
MATAN TORAH: AN UNCOMMEMORATED EVENT
	In the Torah, we find numerous mitzvot through
which we commemorate Yetziat Mitzraim, both on the:
ANNIVERSARY of the Exodus:  e.g. eating matzah, telling
of the story of Yetziat Mitzraim, korban Pesach etc.;
and  ALL YEAR ROUND: e.g. "mitzvat bikkurim" (bringing
the first fruits to Yerushalayim), tfillin, shabbat, and
the daily recital of "kriyat shma", etc., all of which
the Torah relates to the Exodus (i.e. "zecher l'yitziat
mitzrayim").
 	In contrast, in Chumash we do not find even one
specific mitzvah whose explicit purpose is to
commemorate the events of Matan Torah. [Sefer Devarim
does require that we not forget the events that
transpired at Har Sinai (see 4:9
16), but does not
command us to perform any specific positive mitzvah in
order that we do not forget that event! Certainly, those
psukim do not require that we commemorate that event on
any specific day. See Further Iyun section for
additional sources on this topic.]
	Why does the Torah call upon us to commemorate
these two events in such dramatically different ways?
	One could suggest that by this manner of
presentation, the Torah is sending a complex message.
Even though the Torah provides us ample information to
calculate the approximate date of Ma'amad Har Sinai, its
deliberate obfuscation of that date may suggest that we
should not treat Matan Torah as a historically bound
event.  Instead, from a certain perspective, each and
every day one should feel as though the Torah has just
been given. 
	This concept is reflected by the famous Midrash,
quoted by Rashi on 19:1:
"... it should have been written: 'ON THAT DAY'. Why
does the pasuk say: 'ON THIS DAY'? This comes to teach
us that  the words of the Torah should be considered new
to you - as  though they were given TODAY!" (see Rashi
Shmot 19:1)

	In other words, we should not view Matan Torah
as a one time event. Rather, every generation must feel
as though they have just entered into a covenant with
God (see Devarim 5:1
3).  Every generation must feel
that God's words were spoken to them no less than to
earlier generations.  To celebrate the anniversary of
Matan Torah as a single moment in our history could
diminish from that meta-historical dimension.
	Similarly, in our study of the Mishkan, we
showed how the primary function of the Mishkan was to
perpetuate the experience at Ma'amad Har Sinai. [See
Ramban on Shmot 25:1, and the TSC shiurim on Parshiot
Terumah & Tezaveh.]  From that source as well, it
appears that the Torah would rather we treat Matan Torah
as an event that needs to be perpetuated, more than
commemorated.
	In contrast to Matan Torah, the Exodus is not an
event that must be re-lived. Rather it is an event that
the Torah emphasizes over and over again that we must
REMEMBER. Even if we must ACT as though we went out of
Egypt on the seder night (See in the Hagada - "b'chol
dor v'dor chayav adam lirot atzmo k'ilu..."), it is in
order that we put ourselves in the proper frame of mind
to praise God and thank Him for our redemption.
	Yetziat Mitzrayim was, and should remain, a one
time event in our history - our national birth. As such,
it needs to be commemorated. Matan Torah is totally
different! It is an event that must be constantly
RE-LIVED, not just remembered, for it is the essence of
our daily existence.
	So is it wrong to commemorate Matan Torah on
Shavuot? Did Chazal make a 'mistake' (chas v'shalom) by
connecting a 'purely agricultural' holiday with the
historical event of Matan Torah?  
	Of course not! Is it possible that the most
important event in our national history not be
commemorated on its yearly anniversary?!
	In this regard, Chazal strike a beautiful
balance between Torah "sh'bichtav" (the Written Law) and
Torah "sh'baal peh" (the Oral Law). Chumash emphasizes
one perspective, the inherent danger of commemorating
this event, while tradition balances this message by
emphasizing the other perspective, the historical
significance of remembering that day, by re-living that
event.
	Therefore, Chazal instituted that just like on
"leil ha'seder (Passover eve), when we spend the entire
evening 're-telling' the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim, on
"leil Shavuot", we spend the entire evening engrossed in
the study of Torah, 're-living' the experience of
Ma'amad Har Sinai!

SOME BIBLICAL 'HINTS'
	Even though the connection between Matan Torah
and Shavuot is not explicit in Chumash, we do find
several interesting 'hints' to their connection in
Parshat Emor.

THE SHTEI HA'LECHEM
	Recall how Parshat Emor is the primary source
for the specific details of the special laws of Shavuot
(see Vayikra 23:15
21).  That parshia discusses the
special offering of the "shtei ha'lechem" – two loaves
of bread, baked as “chametz” from the new wheat harvest
-, offered at the conclusion of the 50 days of counting
["sefirat ha'omer"].  
    As the primary reason for this holiday is to thank
God for our wheat harvest, it certainly makes sense for
the Torah to command that we offer special korban from
wheat.  However, together with this “shtei ha'lechem”,
the Torah also instructs the "tzibur" (the community of
Israel) to bring some additional sacrifices, including
an olah, chatat, & shlamim.  
[The Olah is 7 sheep, 2 rams, and 1 bull, together with
the standard goat for the chatat offering. For the
shlamim the tzibur offers 2 sheep, whose meat is waved
('tnufa') together with the "shtei ha'lechem". / See
23:18-20.]
    
    Even though similar offerings are brought on every
other holiday (see Bamidbar chapters 28 thru 29),
Shavuot is unique for it is only time of the year when
the “tzibur” offers a korban shlamim!  
    
	Let’s summarize these two unique laws regarding
the "shtei ha'lechem" - the special korban of Shavuot.
1) It is the only korban 'mincha' offered by the tzibur
which is baked 'chametz' (all other flour offerings must
be baked  'matzah').
2) It is the only time during the entire year when the
“tzibur” offers a korban SHLAMIM. 

	We will now explain how these two laws may
relate to the fact that the agricultural holiday of
Shavuot coincides with the time of year when Bnei
Yisrael first received the Torah.

1) CHAMETZ U'MATZAH
	As we explained in earlier shiurim, matzah
symbolizes the initial stage of a process, whereas the
fully risen 'chametz' symbolizes its completion. Thus,
the mitzvah to bake the shtei ha'lechem as 'chametz' may
indicate that Matan Torah should be understood as the
culmination of the redemption process which began with
Yetziat Mitzrayim. Just as the "shtei ha'lechem' marks
the culmination of the wheat harvest, the staple of our
physical existence - the historical process which began
with the Exodus culminates with Matan Torah, the essence
of our spiritual existence.
	In this manner, the agricultural time of year of
Shavuot alludes to an educational message that can help
us appreciate the historical event that we commemorate. 
[In our shiur on Parshat Emor, we provided similar
explanations for significance of the agricultural time
of year of Pesach & Succot.]

2) KORBAN SHLAMIM 
	As we noted above, Shavuot is the ONLY holiday
when the "tzibur" must offer a korban SHLAMIM, i.e. the
two kvasim which are offered with the SHTEI ha'LECHEM.
	To appreciate why this is significant, we must
uncover its Biblical precedent. 
	The FIRST instance where we find a korban
SHLAMIM is at the end of Parshat Mishpatim (Shmot
24:4
8) when the Torah describes the special covenantal
ceremony that takes place at Ma'amad Har Sinai. At this
ceremony, Bnei Yisrael proclaim "na'aseh v'nishma" while
entering into a covenant to become God's special nation
by accepting the laws of Matan Torah.
	That ceremony included the offering of special
korbanot: OLOT and SHLAMIM (see Shmot 24:5). The blood
from these korbanot, sprinkled both on the mizbayach and
on the people, symbolized Bnei Yisrael's entry into the
covenant (24:6
8). [The meat of the shlamim was eaten at
the conclusion of the ceremony (24:11).]
	Thus we find that the very first korban SHLAMIM
is offered as a symbol of Bnei Yisrael's acceptance of
MATAN TORAH. Recall our explanation (see shiur on
Parshat Vayikra) of how a SHLAMIM reflects a joint feast
shared by covenantal partners. Therefore, the korban
SHLAMIM, which is presented together with the SHTEI
ha'LECHEM on Shavuot, may serve a symbolic reminder of
MATAN TORAH.

	In fact, we find two additional instances in
Chumash when Bnei Yisrael offer a special collective
SHLAMIM offering - and once again, both relate to
Ma'amad Har Sinai:
	1) During the YOM ha'SHMINI ceremony (see
Vayikra 9:1-5)
	2) On Har Eival, when the generation that enters
the land re-enacts Ma'amad Har Sinai and studies its
laws!
						[see
Devarim 27:1-8]

1) In many ways, "Yom ha'Shmini"- the day of the
dedication ceremony of the Mishkan - can be considered
as an extension of Ma'amad Har Sinai. Considering that
God's SHCHINA, which had left Bnei Yisrael in the
aftermath of chet ha'egel, now returns to the Mishkan,
and God begins once again to teach Bnei Yisrael mitzvot
- now from the Ohel Moed instead of from Har Sinai - we
can view this event as parallel to the day of MATAN
TORAH. 
	Furthermore, this day marks the first time that
God appears to Bnei Yisrael (see 9:4-5) since He
appeared to them on the day when they first  proclaimed
"na'aseh v'nishma" (see 24:9-11). 
	Once again, the korban SHLAMIM offered during
this ceremony may reflect the re-establishment of the
covenant of Har Sinai, which was broken due to chet
ha'egel.

2) The purpose of the ceremony which God commands Bnei
Yisrael to perform on Har Eival (to teach Bnei Yisrael
the Torah and offer korbanot OLOT & SHLAMIM) is clearly
to re-create the experience of MATAN TORAH for the new
generation (for most of them were not present at the
original event). Here once again, we find a thematic
connection between the korban SHLAMIM and MATAN TORAH.

	Therefore, it is only logical to assume that
special korban SHLAMIM that the Torah obligates us to
offer with the SHTEI ha'LECHEM on Shavuot alludes to the
deeper thematic connection between SHAVUOT and MATAN
TORAH. 

	If so, these Biblical ‘hints’ remind us that
Shavuot remains as "ZMAN MATAN TORATEINU", even
according to Chumash.

				chag sameyach,
				menachem

==============
FOR FURTHER IYUN
1. Based on the above shiur, can you find a deeper
meaning to the popular phrase "im ein kemach - ein
Torah" [If there is no flour then there is no TORAH.]

2. In regard to Devarim 4:9-10. Note how these psukim
could be understood as an introduction to the
prohibition to make any image to represent God, as
explained in 4:11-22. Therefore, this may not be
considered as an independent mitzvah to remember Matan
Torah. Only Ramban counts it as a mitzvah - See his
pirush on 4:9 and the Hasagot HaRamban to Sefer
HaMitzvot of the Rambam- Lo Ta'aseh #2. Note, that even
if it is counted as a mitzvah, it does not require any
specific action by which we are to commemorate that
event. We are simply commanded never to forget it.

3. Our assumption that the specific date of the tenth of
Tishrei was chosen for 'Yom Kippur' because it marks the
date when Moshe descended from Har Sinai with the second
"luchot" is based on several thematic parallels.
	First and foremost, the very concept of
"kappara" was first introduced when Moshe first
petitioned God to forgive Bnei Yisrael for their
behavior at chet ha'egel - see Shmot 32:30  - "...u'lie
ACHAPRA b'ad chatatchem".  Furthermore, during Moshe's
forty days and nights on Har Sinai, he did not eat or
drink (see Devarim 9:9). This may relate to our need to
fast on Yom Kippur.
	Finally, the specific date of the TENTH of the
month would have no logical reason, other than if it
commemorated a certain event that happened on that day.
[A holiday on the fifteenth of the month (Pesach &
Succot) would be because of full moon, or Rosh ha'shana,
because it is a new moon. However a holiday on the tenth
would require a reason for that specific day.]


No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG. 
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.0.0 - Release
Date: 6/4/2008 12:00 AM
 
  
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: shav1.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 35194 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.atlchai.org/pipermail/par-reg/attachments/20080608/57ffa1cc/attachment-0001.pdf