Reasons for the Customs of Shavuos - Rabbi Shmuel Mekamel shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lema’an Yishme’u,” a podcast of Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 All the days of Sefiras HaOmer are a preparation for receiving the Torah. But this is especially true when we enter the month of Sivan and reach Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the day about which it says, “On this day they came to the Sinai Desert.” The Gemara in Tractate Shabbos explains that “this day” refers to Rosh Chodesh, just as the verse says, “This month shall be for you the first of months”: “Just as there it refers to Rosh Chodesh, so too here it refers to Rosh Chodesh.” So the very arrival at Har Sinai—how does the Pesach Haggadah put it? “Had He brought us before Har Sinai and not given us the Torah, it would have been enough for us.” Arriving at Har Sinai was itself something very important, particularly in light of what happened then. It says, “Israel encamped there opposite the mountain”—“as one person with one heart.” Although their other encampments were marked by complaints and disputes, here they encamped in a spirit of true unity. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu said that this was the time when the Jewish people were worthy of receiving the Torah. So every year, when we reach Rosh Chodesh Sivan, all those things recur: they are remembered and reenacted. Of course, Jewish unity is a central part of the preparations for receiving the Torah. It says that when they arrived, Moshe Rabbeinu did not say anything to them on Rosh Chodesh—“he said nothing at all to them.” Of course, this calls for an explanation. After such a long wait, when, as we said, the Jewish people had looked forward to receiving the Torah and had even counted the days, how could it be that precisely when they reached Har Sinai, he did not speak to them? But the Rebbe explains that this silence has real significance. It is precisely this silence that expresses complete bittul. So when they arrived at Har Sinai, the first thing they attained was a state of bittul. A person who is in a state of bittul can unite with

02:02 Speaker 2 another person, and can receive the Torah with kabbolas ol, placing “we will do” before “we will hear.” Once they have truly reached a state of bittul, it is time to speak to them and spell out what they must do from then on. But first there must be acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, with complete bittul. The day after Rosh Chodesh is 2 Sivan. That is the day on which Moshe Rabbeinu conveyed Hashem’s words to the Jewish people: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” That day is called a day of special distinction, as in the verse, “You shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples.” It is called Yom Hameyuchas, 2 Sivan. On 3 Sivan, Moshe Rabbeinu gave them the command to set boundaries, as it says, “Take care not to ascend the mountain.” And on 4 Sivan he gave them the command to separate: “Today and tomorrow, and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day Hashem will descend.” He was preparing them for 6 Sivan, when the Torah was given. Now, the Gemara in Tractate Shabbos records a disagreement between Rabbi Yosi and the Sages as to whether the Torah was given on 6 Sivan or on 7 Sivan—after the actual day of Shavuos, or on 6 Sivan. According to Rabbi Yosi, the command was originally for only 4 and 5 Sivan, and Moshe Rabbeinu added 6 Sivan as another day of separation: Moshe added one day on his own initiative. So according to Rabbi Yosi, the Torah was indeed given on 7 Sivan. The Rebbe says that Moshe Rabbeinu’s adding a day on his own initiative underscores this very point—the question of when the Torah would be given. The fact that a Jew could determine when the Torah would be given

03:59 Speaker 2 already has an effect; it already shows the Torah’s influence. Every Jew has the power to refine the world, to turn an ordinary weekday into a day of the Giving of the Torah. That is what Moshe Rabbeinu did when he added a day of separation on his own initiative: the very day of the Giving of the Torah depended on the work of the Jewish people. The eve of Shavuos, 5 Sivan, is the day about which our Sages said that Moshe built an altar and offered a sacrifice on it. On that same day, the Jewish people said, “We will do and we will hear,” and entered into the covenant, as the Torah relates in Parshas Mishpatim. The parsha of the Giving of the Torah is Parshas Yisro, but only later, at the end of Parshas Mishpatim, does the Torah describe what happened on 5 Sivan: the Jewish people said, “We will do and we will hear,” and entered into the covenant. Although the offering of sacrifices was not itself something new, our Sages emphasize this day and note that Moshe built an altar and offered a sacrifice on it, because sacrifice has a particular significance on this day: taking something ordinary and making it holy, making it into an altar; taking ordinary stones and turning them into an altar. In essence, this expresses the preparation for the Giving of the Torah: taking the material things of this world and transforming them into holiness. And just as every Shabbos begins on Erev Shabbos, so too, even before the Giving of the Torah, holiness began to take hold in the world on its eve through Moshe Rabbeinu’s work. So 5 Sivan is a day of great significance. The Rebbe says that on this day one should contemplate placing “we will do” before “we will hear”: how this idea of accepting the yoke of Heaven for the entire year is put into practice in one’s own service.

06:01 Speaker 2 The Torah calls Shavuos by several names. Let’s now go through the names found in the Torah, as well as the names that became accepted and that our Sages and the Jewish people use for it. The best-known name, which appears in the Torah, is the one we’ve been using: Shavuos. As the Torah says, “You shall make for yourself the Festival of Weeks, the first fruits of the wheat harvest,” and, “You shall make the Festival of Weeks for Hashem your G-d.” This, of course, refers to the weeks during which we prepared and counted the days of Sefiras HaOmer. The festival arrives on the fiftieth day of the Omer count, at the end of seven weeks, and that is why it is called Shavuos, the Festival of Weeks. This also has a halachic implication: we know that the evening prayer on the festival’s first night should be said only after nightfall, so that there will be “seven complete weeks,” rather than beginning the prayer while it is still day and thereby detracting from their completeness. It matters to us that the weeks be complete. Another name found in the Torah is Yom Habikkurim, the Day of the First Fruits: “And on the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new meal offering to Hashem on your Festival of Weeks.” The Torah is, of course, referring to the mitzvah of bringing the first fruits of the seven species. They are placed in a basket and brought to the Beis Hamikdash in gratitude to Hashem for the good He has given us. There is another reason it is called the Festival of First Fruits: the mitzvah concerning “the first fruits of the wheat harvest.” We bring the two loaves made from the new wheat crop and offer them, and that is why it is also called “the first fruits of the wheat harvest.” The Torah also calls this festival the Festival of the Harvest. The verse says, “The Festival of the Harvest, the first fruits of your labor, which you sow in the field.” This is because the festival falls during the wheat harvest, as we know from Megillas Rus, which is read on Shavuos, when the season

08:17 Speaker 2 Shavuos falls during the wheat harvest. We also know that through the offering of the two loaves, we draw down blessing for all the new produce, including the fruit of the trees. So Shavuos is also considered a Rosh Hashanah for produce and for the fruit of the trees. In other words, it is their day of judgment: the fruit of the trees is judged on this day. That is why the Shulchan Aruch mentions a custom in some places to put trees in the home and in the shul, to remind people to pray for them, because their day of judgment is on Atzeres, on Shavuos. This is also why we read Parshas Bechukosai before Shavuos; it contains the words of rebuke. We know that Ezra the Scribe instituted the reading of the rebuke in Parshas Ki Savo before Rosh Hashanah, and the rebuke in Parshas Bechukosai before Shavuos. Why must the rebuke be read before Shavuos as well? Because Shavuos itself is also considered a Rosh Hashanah, when the fruit of the trees and all the new produce are judged. So that the year and its curses should come to an end, we read the words of rebuke. But to avoid going straight from the impact of the rebuke into the Yom Tov, Parshas Bamidbar comes between Parshas Bechukosai and Shavuos. Similarly, between Parshas Ki Savo and Rosh Hashanah, we have Parshas Nitzavim, or sometimes Nitzavim and Vayeilech, so that we do not go directly from the curses and rebuke into the Yom Tov. In the Shavuos prayers, we call it “the season of the Giving of our Torah.” Every year, the events of receiving the Torah return; they are recalled and reenacted. All the things

10:24 Speaker 2 that happened the first time return when the date of that event arrives. The same is true of Shavuos. Every year, the sixth of Sivan is the day of the Giving of the Torah. That is why we always say the blessing in the present tense: “Who gives the Torah.” In the words of our Sages, Shavuos is called Atzeres. There are several reasons for this name. One of them, as Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev writes, is that what characterizes this Yom Tov is atzeres—refraining from work. There is no mitzvah unique to it. On Pesach, there are the mitzvos of eating matzah and maror, telling your child the story, and all the other mitzvos of Pesach, as well as, of course, the prohibition against eating chametz. On Sukkos, there is the mitzvah of sitting in the sukkah and the mitzvah of the lulav and the Four Species. Shavuos has no unique mitzvah apart from atzeres: we stop and do not work. But the Rebbe explains that there is a deeper meaning to this. Shavuos expresses the bond between the Jewish people and Hakadosh Boruch Hu, an essential bond that does not need a particular mitzvah. That is why Shavuos has no unique mitzvah. Simply by stopping work and celebrating, the essential, intrinsic bond between a Jew and Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed, without any need for an additional mitzvah. The Gemara in tractate Shabbos, in its discussion of the Giving of the Torah, says that when Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave the Torah, He sent the Satan to search for it. He sent him to the earth, the sea, and the depths. In each place, they showed him that he had no reason to look for the Torah there; in some places, they even cited verses as proof. But it was not revealed to him that the Torah was with the Jewish people.

12:27 Speaker 2 Only later did it become clear to him that the Jewish people had received the Torah. At the time of the Giving of the Torah, he did not know. Why, in fact, was the Satan not told that the Jewish people were receiving the Torah? Tosafos says that there was concern he might accuse the Jewish people and interfere with their receiving the Torah. So they made sure to keep him busy, sending him from place to place, so that he would not interfere. In a letter to the yeshivos, their heads, and their students, the Frierdiker Rebbe says that something similar happens every year on Shavuos. Just as the Satan was not permitted to accuse them the first time—and as we know that each year, on Yom Kippur and during the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah, the Satan has no permission to accuse—so too, on Shavuos and on the eve of Shavuos, he has no permission to accuse. We must therefore do everything we can to advance Torah study, broaden it, and spread it. There is no one to interfere with us, and this is the best time to make those good resolutions on Shavuos. The chassidim of earlier generations would wish one another “Mazel tov” on Shavuos. We know that mazal is above the order of spiritual descent. When a Jew receives the Torah after putting “we will do” before “we will hear,” he stands in a state of bittul to the One whose will it is. In return, measure for measure, he receives mazal from Above: abundant children, life, and sustenance. Mazal is something above the order of spiritual descent. He takes a stance that transcends that order, beyond reason and understanding, and so he also receives from Above something on the level of mazal, which is

14:30 Speaker 2 above the order of spiritual descent. The days of Shavuos are therefore especially auspicious for receiving blessings in everything we need. On this day, we merit blessings of abundant children, life, and sustenance, so that we can use it all for Torah and fear of Heaven. The Rebbe says that Shavuos should be used to strengthen our commitment to our regular study sessions, the daily Chitas studies. All three—Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya—are connected to Shavuos. Chumash is connected with Moshe Rabbeinu, who received the Torah at Sinai. The Book of Tehillim is, of course, connected with King David, who passed away on Shavuos. And Tanya is connected with the Baal Shem Tov, whose yahrtzeit is also on Shavuos. Chassidim wish one another, in the Rav’s exact words, “May you receive the Torah with joy and inwardness.” The Rebbe explained this wording: observing the Torah and mitzvos can sometimes involve challenges and concealment, so we need joy. But that joy must penetrate the innermost depths of the soul, not just its garments—thought, speech, and action—but its inner being as well. That is why we wish one another a reception of the Torah “with joy and inwardness”: it should penetrate the soul’s inner being. This blessing also gives us the strength to receive the Torah not merely out of compulsion, but with joy—a joy that breaks through all boundaries. Every Shabbos and Yom Tov, there is a mitzvah to honor it and take pleasure in it with food and drink. There is the mitzvah of delighting in Shabbos, the mitzvah of honoring Yom Tov, and the mitzvah of eating and rejoicing on the Yom Tov: “You shall rejoice on your festival.” There is a mitzvah to eat meat and drink wine, and in this way we fulfill the mitzvah of the Yom Tov. That applies to all the festivals. But we know there is a discussion concerning certain festivals: is it really possible to devote

16:48 Speaker 2 All of them to Hashem? Regarding Shavuos, it says that everyone agrees that “for you” is also required: we must eat and drink on it so that the body, too, rejoices in the giving of the Torah. As Rav Yosef said, “If not for this day, how many Yosefs would there be in the marketplace?” If not for this day, on which the Torah was given, how many Yosefs would there be in the marketplace? So this is a day of rejoicing. And of course, there is an inner meaning to this requirement of “for you” as well, to the abundant eating and drinking on this day. Since the purpose of the Torah is to bring the physical and the spiritual together, that is expressed in our including eating and drinking on this day too. The night of Shavuos is an auspicious time. As it says in the holy Zohar, the chassidim would not sleep on the night of Shavuos; they would occupy themselves with Torah. We know that this is, in fact, a rectification for the fact that the Jewish people slept on the night of Shavuos. Although the inner dimension of Torah explains that they wanted to sleep so they would have the strength to receive the Torah, without distractions, and thought that by sleeping they would be free of distractions. But that needs to be rectified, because the purpose of the giving of the Torah is to bring the physical and the spiritual together. So we stay awake on the night of Shavuos. The holy Zohar says that this is a night to stay awake and study the Oral Torah. The order of the Tikkun for Shavuos night established by the Shelah in his book, the Shelah Hakadosh, includes at least the first three verses and last three verses of every parsha in the Torah, and likewise from every book of the Prophets and Writings, along with passages connected to Shavuos. For example, in Parshas Yisro, Parshas Vaeschanan, and the like, we read more—we read the entire passage

18:55 Speaker 2 in full. And likewise, in the Book of Yechezkel, the account of the Divine Chariot, the haftorah of Shavuos, the haftorah of the second day of Shavuos from Chavakuk, and the entire Megillas Rus. All the passages connected to Shavuos are recited in full. We also recite the first and last mishnah of every tractate, study passages from Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, and conclude with the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the Idra Rabba for Shavuos. We recite the entire Tikkun, but without the Yehi Ratzon prayers and the Kaddishes printed in the Tikkun for Shavuos night. After immersing, we go to sleep so that we can daven with intention and concentration. And even when we have, in fact, been awake all night and then say the morning blessings, the custom is to say all the blessings over the Torah. After using the bathroom, we say Al Netilas Yadayim, Asher Yatzar, and “Elokai, the soul You have given me is pure,” as usual, and the blessings over the Torah as well. But of course, we do this only after dawn. It is important to note that if we are going to sleep rather than davening right away—and that is the widespread custom; people are careful to sleep before davening—then we may not eat from dawn onward. The obligation to daven has already begun, and eating is forbidden. The only reason eating is permitted is to give us the strength to daven. But if we are going to sleep afterward, there is no permission to eat. So we should go to sleep, and only when we wake up, if we feel a need to eat before davening—and in practice, even if we do not, since we want our davening to be as it should be—then we eat after waking up. But there is no reason to eat before going to sleep, and therefore eating is forbidden once dawn has arrived. There is an ancient custom to recite Akdamus. As the Alter Rebbe records, the custom was to begin the first verse of the Torah reading on Shavuos: “In the third month after the children of Israel went out from the land of Egypt, on this day

21:08 Speaker 2 they came to the wilderness of Sinai.” Then they would stop and recite Akdamus. In practice, the Chabad custom is not to recite this piyut, with all due respect for its greatness and merit. The Rebbe once explained why we do not recite Akdamus: when we read it in the Lubavitch way, the Chabad way, with chochmah, binah, and daas—fully engaged in what we are doing—and read about all the angels there, we could become caught up in everything surrounding the event and, G-d forbid, lose sight of the central point of Shavuos: receiving the Torah from Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. So in practice, the Chabad custom is not to recite Akdamus. But of course, its theme and inner meaning remain, along with all the preparations it describes. The piyut appears in the Alter Rebbe’s siddur, and we know that the Rebbe recites it between aliyos. But in practice, the custom—the instruction for the public—is not to recite Akdamus. Moshe Rabbeinu instituted for the Jewish people that on every Yom Tov, five people should be called up to the Torah, and that the reading should relate to the day. For Shavuos, the reading established for us is from Parshas Yisro, the passage about the giving of the Torah, which is the theme of the day. The haftorah was instituted later, after decrees were issued against reading from the Torah. They established the reading of the account of the Divine Chariot at the beginning of the Book of Yechezkel. The custom is to read the Ten Commandments publicly with the taam elyon, the upper cantillation. The reason we depart from the usual cantillation is that the usual division follows the verses. But on Shavuos, when we want to read the account of the giving of the Torah, the verses describing its reception, as they were given at Sinai, we read them according to the commandments. The taam elyon treats each commandment as a verse in its own right. So even the long commandment

23:36 Speaker 2 that originally contains several verses—yes—and the commandments “I am Hashem your G-d,” “You shall have no other gods,” “You shall not take,” and the commandment concerning Shabbos: each commandment is read as a verse in its own right. The reason is that the giving of the Torah takes place anew every year. So when we read from the Torah, we relive receiving it. As we know, it says: Hakadosh Boruch Hu told the Jewish people, “My children, read this passage every year, and I will consider it as though you are standing before Me, before Mount Sinai, and receiving the Torah.” So there is special importance to this Torah reading. In remembrance of this, we also have the custom to stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments. Although there are differing customs about standing in the middle of a Torah reading, we stand from the beginning of the aliyah, which resolves the issue. We stand during the Ten Commandments, facing the Torah scroll. The custom is to bring children to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments. The Rebbe emphasizes the importance of this: even a one-day-old infant should be brought in their cradle to hear the Ten Commandments on Shavuos, because our children are our guarantors, the primary guarantors for our receiving the Torah. There is an ancient Jewish custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuos. Many reasons have been given for it. The Rebbe spoke about an explanation given in some places: the Jewish people were commanded about shechitah at the giving of the Torah, and since the Torah was given on Shabbos, when shechitah is not permitted, they had to eat dairy foods. We eat dairy foods on Shavuos to commemorate this. Another reason is that once they received the Torah, all their utensils became forbidden for use, and they could no longer kasher them. They could not kasher them on Shabbos, so they

25:51 Speaker 2 They had to eat dairy foods, and in remembrance of this, we eat dairy foods on Shavuos. We also know that on Shavuos there is a mitzvah to eat meat, as there is on every Yom Tov, alongside the custom of eating dairy. In doing so, we observe the separation of meat and dairy, and we also express what our Sages said: the Torah was given not to the ministering angels, but to the Jewish people. We know that the angels who visited Avraham Avinu did not observe the separation of meat and dairy, whereas the Jewish people do. So among the reasons for eating dairy foods on Shavuos is a special connection to the praise of the Jewish people. We also know that the Torah is compared to milk: just as milk nourishes a child and helps it grow, so does the Torah. For all these reasons, we customarily eat dairy foods. But of course, we do not forgo the meat meal, which fulfills the mitzvah of rejoicing on Yom Tov, “You shall rejoice on your festival.” And of course, there is an obligation to drink a revi’is of wine, as on every Yom Tov. On every day designated as a holy occasion, there is a practice of marking it with wine by drinking a revi’is. Beyond that, there is a mitzvah to bring joy to other Jews—to help each person and provide what they need for the festival so they can rejoice. As we know, the Rebbe also encouraged Jews, chassidim, to go out to shuls, bring people joy, include them in the joy of the festival, and share words of Torah there. The Rebbe spoke highly of those who went out on the procession each Yom Tov. The Rebbe instituted the practice of washing hands close to sunset, thereby carrying the festival beyond its end with a chassidic farbrengen, melodies of our Rebbeim, and words of Torah, words of

28:07 Speaker 2 the living G-d. At these farbrengens, the Rebbe constantly encouraged the recitation of Tehillim and the study of the daily Chumash portion and Tanya. These are the daily Chitas study sessions, accessible to everyone and especially connected with Shavuos. May we merit to receive the Torah with joy and inwardness, and may we celebrate Shavuos with Moshiach, our righteous redeemer, in the third Beis Hamikdash. The day after Shavuos is called Isru Chag. As the verse says, “Bind the festival offering with cords, up to the horns of the altar.” The plain meaning of this verse is that after the festival offering has been checked for disqualifying blemishes, it is tied up until it is offered on the altar. But our Sages interpreted it to mean that we should connect the festival to the following day by eating fine foods. We know that this day, Isru Chag, has a special connection to Shavuos, and it is written that we do not fast on this day—even a bride and groom do not fast. Strictly speaking, there is no fasting on this day. It is called Yom Tavoach, the day of slaughtering. Regarding the pilgrimage burnt offering brought on each festival, there was a question of whether it could be offered on Yom Tov, since there were days on which it could be made up. We know that the offerings of Shavuos could be made up throughout the following seven days, and Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel disagreed about whether this offering could be brought on Yom Tov. The halachah follows Beis Hillel, but many from Beis Hillel followed the opinion of Beis Shammai. That is why the day after Shavuos is called Yom Tavoach—the day on which those offerings were slaughtered and brought. We know that this recurs every year on Shavuos. At the time the Torah was given, there was a spirit of slaughter: the attribute of judgment was aroused against the Jewish people. But in the end, when the Jewish people received the Torah, that attribute of judgment departed from them.

30:13 Speaker 2 We also know that every year, when the Jewish people receive the Torah and subdue their inclination, we are, in effect, slaughtering the yetzer hara. That gives the day after Shavuos, Yom Tavoach, special significance. We also know that the Rebbe encouraged holding Torah gatherings after Shavuos and extending the spirit of the festival into the days that follow. Those days also have special significance. We do not say Tachanun through 12 Sivan, because these are the days on which the festival offerings can still be made up. Shavuos is the only festival whose make-up days fall on weekdays. The reason Shavuos can be made up even on weekdays is that its purpose is to connect the Torah and its holiness with the world. This means taking ordinary weekdays and connecting them to the days of receiving the Torah, thereby bringing together the physical and the spiritual and completing all the matters of the festival. We have the opportunity to take everything—the spiritual resources we received on Shavuos—and carry all those wonderful things through the entire year. By strengthening our commitment to the daily study sessions and to all the good resolutions we made about Torah study, we can gather them up during these make-up days. We can still use these days to make good resolutions, and in this way take the spiritual resources of Shavuos with us throughout the entire year.