Shavuos 5771 "We Are Family"

The Torah relates that when the Jews encamped at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah they reached the pinnacle of national existence. That is they were totally unified to such an extent that our Sages say they were, “as a single person – with one heart.”

We are about to celebrate the Holiday of Shavuos when we commemorate the awesome event of G-d’s Revelation at Mount Sinai. We are taught that just as the Torah had the wondrous power to unify the people at the time it was received, so too today, the Torah has the capacity to bind and unify.

When we look at the current status of world Jewish dynamics, we see differences among groups and individuals, and wonder how we can possibly achieve the level of unity we had at Mount Sinai so many years ago.

A while back a columnist wrote the following insightful idea:

There was a very wealthy family whose son, against his parent’s wishes, decided to travel the world backpacking and hitchhiking. He left no arrangement for communication. Days, months and years went by and the family did not know their son’s whereabouts.

One day, he knocked on the door. He was not immediately recognized, and ‘the visitor’ emotionally blurted out his name and who he was.

His parents and family were overjoyed to have him return and warmly embraced him. After he washed up and settled down, he shared with them his travels and experiences and how he always missed home, but didn’t return out of fear of rejection.

His lack of comforts during his years of absence made him acutely aware of his family’s opulence, wealth and elegant lifestyle.

In celebration of his return his family made a gathering in his honor. When his father got up to speak he turned to his son and began, “I’m sure it has crossed your mind how you are going to rejoin the family and our sophisticated lifestyle. I want you to know my son, that when you left home, we knew deep down that one day you would return. Through all the years of your absence, each time we made an investment; we invested an equal share in your name as well.”

The son was overcome and overwhelmed by the feelings of love and support that his family afforded him, although his absence could have easily been looked upon as a betrayal.

The message of this story can be understood as follows: From the time G-d proclaimed the Ten Commandments thereby unifying the Jewish people, the Jewish people have been met with challenges, both individually and communally, in terms of our loyalty to the unifying Torah.

Yet our Torah assures us that no matter how much we neglect it along our rough road of history, the Torah and its observances will never be forsaken or forgotten – it will always be represented.

This representation is by fellow Jewish family members who will ensure that the Torah’s vitality, commitment and fulfillment remain intact. This investment is not exclusively theirs, rather, every Jew can avail himself the blessing of this investment. This investment is an open account for every Jew to embrace and to feel welcome any time they wish.

Shavuos is the call for Jewish unity!

The Medrash relates that the entire nation’s acceptance and participation was a prerequisite for the Torah to be given. If even a single Jew would have been missing when G-d was ready to give the Torah at Mount Sinai, He would not have given the Torah!

Shavuos reminds us that each and every Jew is an essential component of the Jewish people. In order to maintain our vital relationship to G-d, and our genuine connection to Torah, its teachings and observances, it is necessary for each one of us to feel counted in.

                                                    
Wishing you a Joyous
and Inspirational Shavuos!
Rabbi Dovid and Malky Saks