Shavuot : Learning The Art of Receiving

Thousands of years ago, the Jewish people, united as a nation, stood together at the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the word of G-d. This is the only incident of mass revelation in the entire history of any religion that has ever existed. Today, we, as members of that same Jewish people, still celebrate this Holy event.

Shavuot is a holiday during which it’s customary to stay up all night and learn. You might say to yourself: ‘Ok, sure. I can stay up all night with my cup of Coffee Bean coffee, but what should I learn?’ And you can answer ‘Self (or however you refer to your subconscious), maybe we should learn the same things we got all those thousands of years ago’

Once a person comes to that conclusion, they might still be conflicted about a couple of things. 1) Surely after all the time that’s passed since we’ve received the Torah at Mount Sinai we must’ve learnt it all by now, right? 2) And besides is it even relevant today?

Well, to answer question number 1- nope, not at all. There’s still so much to learn it’s incredible! What we received back then was something eternal and alive. And just as both individuals and as a nation changes and shifts, so does the Torah. Over time it has taken on a life of its own, and it is a source of spiritual nourishment for the Jewish people. In fact, the Torah has been given the status of water- it is the one thing that no man, plant or animal can live without.

The Torah, like water, is constantly flowing, and the molecules that make up that water are its words. These direct and Divine words of the Creator of the Universe, were what were given over to the Jewish people on Shavuot- as a covenant directly from G-d to Moshe at Mount Sinai, and from Moshe to us.

Whoa - that sounds a little heavy. What does it actually mean, a ‘covenant‘? Well, it’s a two-part thing. G-d gave the laws and we received them. Now, that may sound like two different things, but if you think about getting a gift, the person giving it has to want you to have it, and you need to accept it. So when we received the 10 commandments from G-d, we agreed to follow his laws, statutes and ordinances for the rest of our lives.

The Jews, unified as one body, declared their loyalty and service to G-d and our dedication to that promise is the reason for our miraculous existence today.

The lines between our past, present and future share this common theme of service of God. We’ve died for this covenant, suffered enormously, but have also rejoiced and celebrated in the fulfillment of these words.

The Torah tells us that God wants to shower us with blessing; to give us a land of milk and honey; to allow us to no longer work by the sweat of our brow. But rather to take the time to focus on our spiritual being and to be able to learn and grow so we can serve Him in more elevated ways.

We also have a responsibility to teach others and raise the spiritual consciousness of all people. As the Maharal 16th century Talmudic scholar wrote in “Tiferet Yisrael” (a philosophical exposition of the Torah meant to be studied on Shavuot) - we are more than just animal souls, we are elevated beings with a thinking soul and a need for spiritual sustenance.

These are difficult goals to strive towards. Are we really capable of reaching such spiritual heights?

Not only are we able, but that’s what we are created for. All we need to do to make this reality here and now is to allow ourselves to receive. To fulfill our purpose and find meaning in our lives we need to clear ourselves of our ego.

Imagine yourself as a vessel- a gorgeous crystal vase. Now, God wants to pour bounty and blessing into our vase. However, if our vase is full of regret or pain or self importance, then there will be no room to receive.

Wisdom and growth in our lives can come slowly over time. We fill our ‘vases’ with experience, laughter and sometimes even suffering. The key, though, is to continually be able to accept what comes our way, save the ‘nutrients’ that benefit us from each event, and clear out space to allow for further growth. This way, we can have the full benefit of the lessons of life, yet continue to live and learn without end.

This Shavuot, I’d like to give us all the blessing that we can see our pasts with clarity, learn what we can from those experiences and let them go with love. Imagine how much we can receive in our futures with hope and optimism and the wisdom of our pasts that keep us remaining firmly grounded in the gift of today.