Chag Sameach : Happy Shavuot

[muman613]

Shalom,

This Saturday night we begin celebrating the Jewish holiday (Yom Tov) of Shavuot. This culminates the 49 day counting period of the Omer and the 50th day is the anniversary of the receiving of the Torah at mount Sinai by the Children of Israel.

The term Revelation has one meaning in one religion, but in Judaism the word Revelation almost always involves the revealing of Hashem at Mount Sinai. Every Jew who stood at the base of the mountain 'heard and saw' Hashem with clearer vision than most prophets.

One of the computer servers I run is called 'Revelation' and the background wallpaper I use is:



Shavuot is usually marked by the reading of the Ten Commandments (Aseret HaDibroth) before the entire congregation (who depending on tradition stand during the recitation). There are numerous other customs which we keep (such as eating a meal of Dairy food).

[muman613]

http://www.aish.com/h/sh/r/48969771.html
Why Dairy on Shavuot?
Seven fascinating reasons for this popular custom.

Ahhh... the sumptuous delight of blintzes and cheesecake. Eating a dairy meal on Shavuot has become an enduring tradition. But what's the source for this? Here are seven fascinating reasons:

Reason #1

When the Jewish people received the Torah at Mount Sinai, included was special instructions for how to slaughter and prepare meat for eating. Until then, the Jews had not followed these laws, thus all their meat – plus the cooking pots – were now considered "not kosher." So the only alternative was to eat dairy, which requires no advance preparation.

This raises the question, however: Why didn't the Jews simply slaughter new animals, "kasher" their pots in boiling water (hagala), and cook fresh meat?

The answer is that the revelation at Sinai occurred on Shabbat, when slaughter and cooking are prohibited.

Another point to clarify: How were the Jews able to obtain milk on Shabbat, since milking an animal falls under the prohibited activity of mefarek?

The answer is that the Jews already had milk available from before Shabbat, which they had been using to feed the various animals that accompanied their journeys in the wilderness.

Reason #2

Torah is likened to milk, as the verse says, "Like honey and milk [the Torah] lies under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11). Just as milk has the ability to fully sustain the body of a human being (i.e. a nursing baby), so too the Torah provides all the “spiritual nourishment” necessary for the human soul.

Reason #3

The gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew word for milk, chalav, is 40. We eat dairy foods on Shavuot to commemorate the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai receiving instruction in the entire Torah. (Moses spent an additional 40 days on Sinai, praying for forgiveness following the Golden Calf, and then a third set of 40 days before returning with a new set of stone tablets.)

The numerical value of chalav, 40, has further significance in that there were 40 generations from Moses who recorded the Written Torah, till the generation of Ravina and Rav Ashi who wrote the final version of the Oral Torah, the Talmud.

Further, the Talmud begins with the letter mem – gematria 40 – and ends with mem as well.

Reason #4

According to the Zohar, each one of the 365 days of the year corresponds to a specific one of the Torah's 365 negative commandments. Which mitzvah corresponds to the day of Shavuot?

The Torah says: "Bring Bikkurim (first fruits) to the God's Holy Temple; don't cook a kid in its mother's milk" (Exodus 34:26). Since the first day for bringing Bikkurim is on Shavuot (in fact, the Torah calls Shavuot "the holiday of Bikkurim"), the second half of that verse – referring to milk and meat – is the negative commandment corresponding to Shavuot day. Thus on Shavuot we eat two meals, one of milk and one of meat, taking care not to mix the two.

Interestingly, we are instructed not to use the same loaf of bread for a meat meal and then later at a milk meal, lest some of the meat substance had splattered on the bread. Thus by eating two meals – one of milk and one of meat – we inevitably have two loaves. This corresponds to the special "Two Loaves" that were offered in the Temple on Shavuot.

Reason #5

An alternative name for Mount Sinai is Har Gav'nunim, the mountain of majestic peaks. The Hebrew word for cheese is gevina, etymologically related to Har Gav'nunim.

Further, the gematria of gevina (cheese) is 70, corresponding to the "70 faces of Torah."

Reason #6

Moses was born on the seventh day of Adar, and stayed at home for three months with his family, before being placed in the Nile River on the sixth of Sivan.

Moses was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted Moses and took him to live in Pharaoh's palace. But right away a problem arose: what to feed the baby. In those days, there was no bottled baby formula, so when the birth mother wasn't available, the caretaker would have to hire a wet nurse. In the case of Moses, he kept refusing to nurse from Egyptian women. The Talmud explains that his mouth needed to be kept totally pure, as it would one day communicate directly with God. Finally Pharaoh's daughter found one woman who Moses agreed to nurse from – Yocheved, Moses' biological mother!

Appreciate the irony: Pharaoh's murderous decree against Jewish babies was specifically intended to prevent a new generation of Jewish leadership. So what happened instead? Moses, the upcoming great Jewish leader, was raised, educated and trained – right under Pharaoh's nose, in Pharaoh's own home, at Pharaoh's expense! And on top of it all, Moses' mother got paid a salary!

The eating of dairy foods on Shavuot commemorates this phenomenon in the early life of Moses, which occurred on the sixth of Sivan, the day on which Shavuot falls.

Reason #7

According to one commentator, that day at Sinai was the first time the Jews ate dairy products. There is a general prohibition of "eating a limb from a live animal" (ever min hachai), which logically should also include milk, the product of a live animal. Ever min hachai is actually one of the Seven Noahide Laws which the Jews observed prior to Sinai (and which has applied to all humanity since the days of Noah).

However, upon receiving the Torah, which refers to the Land of Israel as "flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:18), dairy products became permitted to the Jews. In other words, at the same moment that their meat became prohibited, dairy became permitted. They ate dairy on that original Shavuot, and we do today, too.

If the Jews ate dairy for the first time at Mount Sinai, this raises the question how Abraham could have fed dairy products to his three guests (Genesis 18:8).

The answer requires a technical understanding of the prohibition of ever min hachai, "limb from a live animal." One way is to define a "limb" as a piece of meat which contains bones and/or sinews. It is this type of ever min hachai which has always been forbidden to non-Jews. This prohibition does not include milk, because although milk comes from a live animal, it does not contains bones or sinews. Hence, Abraham was permitted to feed milk to his non-Jewish guests.

There is a second, expanded definition of ever min hachai, which encompasses all products from a live animal -- including milk. It is this definition which is prohibited to Jews. Thus it was not until the giving of the Torah, with its reference to "land of milk and honey," that dairy products became permitted to Jews.

This distinction is spelled out clearly by the great Rabbi Shlomo Kluger, in "HaElef Lecha Shlomo" (Yoreh Deah 322).
Sources:

Reason #1: Mishnah Berurah 494:12; Talmud – Bechorot 6b; Rabbi Shlomo Kluger (HaElef Lecha Shlomo – YD 322)
Reason #2: Rabbi Meir of Dzikov – Imrei Noam
Reason #3: Deut. 10:10; Rav Menachem Mendel of Ropshitz
Reason #4: Talmud – Makkot 23b; Chidushei HaRim; Rema (OC 494:3, YD 88:2)
Reason #5: Psalms 68:16; Midrash – Bamidbar Rabba 13:15; Rebbe of Ostropole; Reb Naftali of Ropshitz; Rabbi Dovid Meisels
Reason #6: Talmud – Sotah 12b; Yalkut Yitzchak
Reason #7: Rabbi Shlomo Kluger (HaElef Lecha Shlomo – YD 322)

[muman613]

As I posted a video of Rabbi Meir Kahane Zt'l where he expounds on a 2nd lesson from why Hashem chose to give the Torah at mount Sinai... Here is the standard explanaion:


http://www.aish.com/tp/b/sw/Humility_and_Mt_Sinai.html

Shavuot(Exodus 19:1 - 20:23)
Humility & Mt. Sinai

The story is told of Novardok, the great 19th century European yeshiva, where the students were known for their great humility. To reach such levels, they would sit for 30 minutes each morning in the study hall, rocking back and forth, chanting the mantra, "I am nothing, I am nothing."

One morning, a new student arrived at the yeshiva, and upon entering the study hall, was surprised to find hundreds of students muttering, "I am nothing." He checked the sign outside the door to make sure he had the right place, then figured he might as well join them. After finding an empty seat, he began rocking back and forth, chanting, "I am nothing, I am nothing."

Suddenly the student seated next to him turns and says: "The nerve of you! I was here an entire year before I was nothing!"

The Humble Hill

The Midrash says that when God was preparing to give the Torah, all the mountains stepped forward and declared why they thought the Torah should be given on them. "I am the highest mountain," said one. "No," said another, "I am the steepest mountain and therefore the Torah should be given on me."

One by one, they all stated their claims. In the end, God chose Mount Sinai - not because it was the tallest or the grandest (it's not, as anyone who's toured the Sinai Desert will attest), but because, says the Midrash, it was the most humble.

What is this notion of "humility" and what does it have to do with Torah?

First, let's clarify what humility is NOT. Humility does not mean a meek reluctance to speak up or be assertive. Humility is not slouching your shoulders and having low self-esteem. The Torah (Numbers 12:3) refers to Moses as "the most humble person who ever lived" – yet he aggressively confronts Pharaoh, fights a war against Amalek, and stands up to castigate the Jewish people.

Humility Defined

Humility is to know one's place. In this week's Parsha, the Torah describes the arrangement of the 12 Tribes in the Israelite camp. After a long description of who will travel first, and who will travel last, the Torah says: "The people did exactly as they were instructed" (Numbers 1:54).

What's the big deal that everyone camped where they were supposed to? The Midrash explains that when God suggested the arrangement, Moses feared that by specifying which tribe travels in the East and which in the West, who in front and who in back, disputes wil break out between the tribes.

God tells Moses: Years earlier, at Jacob's funeral, his 12 sons carried the coffin. The way the sons were arranged around the coffin is the same way the tribes are to be arranged in the camp today. In this way, everyone is already clear as to his proper place. So don't worry, God tells Moses, because when someone knows their place, there is inevitably peace and calm.

This applies to our own lives as well. Our circumstances of birth and our talents (or lack thereof) to a great degree determine our choices. The higher a person becomes spiritually, the more humble he becomes - internalizing the reality of our tenuous mortality, and only God is eternal.

Moses was called "the most humble" because when he stood before God he knew his place. Anything else precludes room for God to fit in. That's why the Talmud likens arrogance to idol worship; both push away the presence of God.

Nose in the Air

In the secular world, the biggest personalities are often the most arrogant. Picture the scene: A movie star walks into a party – strutting, cocky, head raised. His mannerisms shout: "I am great and I don't need you or anybody else." The room is silent with awe. Charisma!

Judaism says this is counterfeit charisma.

True humility means living with the reality that nothing matters except doing the right thing. The humble person is not dependent on the opinion of others. Because sometimes doing the right thing is popular (and consistent with one's ego needs), and sometimes it's not. The humble person can set his ego aside, to consistently do the right thing.

An arrogant person, on the other hand, is less concerned about right and wrong – and more concerned about himself. He may appear smooth on the outside, while manipulating things around him to suit his self-centered needs.

In actuality, it is humility which guarantees charisma. The humble person has the ability to rise above his self-contained narcissistic envelope and embrace those around him. Since he confidently knows his place, he can leave space for others without having an ego crisis. He honors others and helps them find their place, too.

Judaism defines it like this:

    • "Arrogance" = I'm all that counts.
    • "Humility" = What's greater than me is what counts.

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[muman613]

Here, once again, is the clip of Rabbi Kahane explaining the 2nd reason... While we learn humility from the fact it was given on a 'small mountain' we also learn that it was not given in a 'valley'... We must be humble but not so humble we allow others to trample us.

[muman613]

[muman613]

I'll be staying with my Rabbi Saturday evening (after Shabbos) for an 'all-nighter' Torah study session.... I have done this for a number of years and find it exciting.

[muman613]

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2156/jewish/Learning-on-Shavuot-Night.htm

On the first night of Shavuot (this year, Saturday night, May 23, 2015), Jews throughout the world observe the centuries-old custom of conducting an all-night vigil dedicated to Torah learning and preparation for receiving the Torah anew the next morning. One explanation for this tradition is that the Jewish people did not rise early on the day G‑d gave the Torah, and it was necessary for G‑d Himself to awaken them. To compensate for their behavior, Jews have accepted upon themselves the custom of remaining awake all night.