June 2003 - סִיוָן תשס״ג Sivan 5763

Shavuot is the celebration of the barley harvest, but more importantly, Shavuot is the celebration of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Fifty days after we left the slavery of Pharaoh's Egypt we arrived at Mount Sinai and agreed to enter into the covenant with God. When we stood there (and the Torah tells us that all of us were there) we agreed na'aseh v'nishma, we will do and we will listen/hear/learn/obey (Ex. 24:7). According to the rabbis all the nations of the world were offered the Torah but only Israel agreed to do the commandments and only later would we learn the details, i.e. first we will commit to doing the mitzvot, and then we will learn about it (Mekh. Yitro §5). But today; I think that there may be a different understanding. Na'aseh, we will do it, <8>venishma, and we will obey. This is not a disjunctive ‘and,’ i.e. the word ‘and’ does not set up a comparison of two different ideas. Rather it is a conjunctive ‘and,’ i.e. we will do the mitzvot, which means that we will obey God's will.

We pride ourselves in a system of Judaism that calls for deed instead of creed. We do the mitzvot before we turn to a theological belief system that justifies them. In other words, we do the mitzvot then we study their meanings and impact, and only after that are we asked to have faith in God and in God's sovereignty over the universe. Is there a difference between “we will do the commandments and then learn their system” and “we will do the commandments and obey the will of God?” I think that the difference is more than subtle. We live in a world in which we are often willing to try something ‘once.’ We'll try a new restaurant or a new vacation destination ‘once,’ if it is not to our standards or to our liking we will not return. And this makes sense. But does it make sense to say, God gave us the commandments, we'll try them once and if they do not fit our lifestyle, we do not have to do them again. A mitzvah is a commandment not a suggestion.

Often we confuse the Yiddish word mitzveh, which is a good deed, with the Hebrew word mitzvah, which is a commandment. I am talking about the latter, the commandments that define Judaism as distinct from other religious traditions. And I am not talking solely about the Ten Commandments (even though they are the Torah portion for the holiday of Shavuot). Rather I am writing about all of the mitzvot, ethical and ritual, that create a relationship between God and us. Now is not the time for us to do the mitzvot, then study them, and finally to develop a belief in the Commander. Now is the time for us to accept God as the Master of the Universe and to agree simultaneously to accept the implications of such a faith; that is to accept the yoke of the mitzvot. There is only one route to Jewish spirituality. In order establish a relationship with God and with the universe, Jews must do God's will by fulfilling the obligations of the mitzvot. In other words, in a world hungry for spirituality, Jews must bring God into our world through the mitzvot, and not escape to some mystical otherworldly place. This may be one of the most important lessons of the holiday of Shavuot this year or any year.

Chag Shavuot samayach,

—Rabbi Harry A. Manhoff, Ph.D.

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