This Tuesday evening, and Wednesday and Thursday, we Jews observe the holiday of Shavuot, "the season of the giving of our Torah." The Torah mentions Shavuot only as a celebration of the wheat harvest, Exodus 23:16 and 34:22, Leviticus 23:15-21, Deuteronomy 16:9-12. For this reason, we read the book of Ruth on Shavuot, as Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi returned to Bethlehem at the time of the wheat harvest, when Ruth went out to glean the remaining grain from the field of Naomi's kinsman and Ruth's soon-to-be husband, Boaz.
However, the Talmud, Shabbat 86b to 88a, teaches us that God gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai on the 6th day of the month of Sivan, that is, on Shavuot. On Passover, we celebrated our freedom from slavery. Yet, as the world learned from the French Revolution and from the initial Russian Revolution of February to March 1917 that overthrew the Tsarist tyranny, freedom without law is a dubious boon, as freedom without law descends into anarchy from which a new tyranny emerges. Indeed, notwithstanding the confused historical mythology perpetrated by the Teahaddists, our country could not have long survived the "freedom" and "states' rights" of the Articles of Confederation; we have survived and prospered as a nation, at least until now, because our founders created a strong central government when they fashioned the Constitution.
Another Shavuot custom occurs on the first night, this year Tuesday night, when synagogues conduct study sessions that, for the Orthodox, go on until dawn. Our synagogue will quit around midnight, which is more than long enough for me. Only when we have spent the night studying Torah can we be symbolically ready to receive the Ten Commandments the next morning.
So, to get ourselves in the mood, here is a passage from the Talmud to consider:
Moses led the people out of the camp towards God, and they stood under the mountain [Exodus 19:17]. Rabbi Abdimi ben Chama ben Chasa said: "This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned the mountain upon them like an upside down cask, and said to them, 'If you accept the Torah, it is well, but if not, this will be your grave.'" Rabbi Aha ben Jacob responded: "This furnishes a strong protest against the Torah." Said Raba, "Yet, even so, they reaccepted it in the days of Ahasverus, for it is written, ' The Jews confirmed and took upon themselves the obligation, for themselves and their descendants and for all who might join them . . ., [Esther 9:27], that is, they re-confirmed what they had accepted long before.
What is meant by You did cause sentence to be heard from Heaven, the earth feared and was tranquil? [Psalm 76:9] If the earth feared, why was it tranquil, and if the earth was tranquil, why did it fear? At first the earth feared that Israel would reject the Torah, but then the earth became tranquil when Israel accepted it. And why did the earth fear? This was explained by Resh Lakish, for Resh Lakish said, "Why is it written, And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day? Genesis 1:31. What is the purpose of the extra "the" [an extra heh in Hebrew]? To teach us that the Holy One, Blessed be He, stipulated with the Works of His Creation and said unto His Works, "If Israel accepts the Torah, you shall exist, but if not, I will turn you back into emptiness and formlessness."
Shabbat 88a
The Sixth Commandment is You shall not murder [Exodus 20:13]. Fatally shooting unarmed protesters is murder. On this Shavuot, I pray that Israel's leaders will accept the Torah and truly work for a great and lasting peace that respects the lives and dignity of all who live in the region, less the world be turned back into emptiness and formlessness.
Which of the Ten Commandments move you the most?
Happy Shavuot