Whose Torah Is It?

by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

Shavuos is a holiday that could have been predicted. It is the holiday on which Hashem gave us the Torah. From the world around us, one could have predicted the giving of the Torah as a moral guide for people. DNA, the brain, the eye, and digestion, all speak of a “master craftsman” of great sophistication.  Would a master craftsman create such a glorious world, and not provide an owner’s manual?

Yet, even an owner’s manual would not, on its own, convey Hashem’s plan for creation and the human journey. It requires a sense of unity, a sense of community, to properly understand, discuss, apply, and maintain the Divine Directive. An individual person ready to accept the Torah, even many individuals ready to accept the Torah, does not ensure success of the Torah’s mission. Indeed, when the Torah recounts the revelation at Sinai it states that the Jewish people camped before the mountain, using the singular form”Vayichan,” rather than the word “Vayachanu,” the plural form of “camped.” Rashi explains that the Jewish people were united as one; hence the use of the singular form of “camped.” The commentaries explain that national unity was a prerequisite for receiving the gift of Torah.

The Medrash relates that an ignorant Jew once approached Rabbi Yanai and called him a thief. Rabbi Yanai was stunned, until the man said that he heard that there is a verse stating that Torah is, “…an inheritance to the congregation of Yakov.” The man explained, “It is not your personal inheritance. It is the inheritance of the Jewish people. You need to teach it!” The gift of Torah was not made to individuals. The gift of Torah is a gift to the nation.

When we consider the gift of Torah, we realize that Torah goes beyond basic guidelines of dos, don’ts, and a code of ethics. The Torah provides the precision by which to weigh one priority against another. What happens when two priorities — such as healing, on the one hand, and not inflicting pain, on the other — collide? Or when the value of Tzedaka and community service conflicts with Shalom Bayis and family responsibility? The Torah doesn’t just provide global, universal values, it also provides the surgical nuance to enable precise application of those priorities.

No wonder that every morning as we ask for Torah to be sweet, we ask not only for ourselves, but for the entire Jewish people. Likewise, in the blessing before Shema we declare, “Illuminate our eyes with Your Torah.” The Jewish people are united in recognizing that the gift of Torah is ours as a nation. And so, we hope that every Jew worldwide may experience that joy, as we say, “Sweeten the Torah for us and for the entire Jewish people. Let all of us and our descendants study Torah with clarity.”

With best wishes for a wonderful Shabbos and a happy and productive Shavuos!

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