Between Simchas Torah and Shavuos
A short yet transformative idea for Shavuos
We celebrate the Torah twice a year: on Simchas Torah and Shavuos. The Sfas Emes taught that on Shavuos, the Torah of that year is given anew. Each year, a new portion of the Torah, which was given at Sinai, reaches its time to be revealed. This includes all the Torah insights for the coming year for all the people of Israel. Our ability to renew and be renewed in Torah throughout the year depends on receiving this portion of the renewed Torah that descends to the world.
As preparation for the new Torah, one must engage with the old, internalize it, and study it deeply. The Torah that we learn on Shavuos is an in-depth engagement with the Torah that we have studied until now, enabling new insights.
On Simchas Torah, however, we celebrate the new Torah that we have worked hard to attain since the previous Shavuos. The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that we do not celebrate the Torah with great joy on Shavuos, as the joy is not complete since the Torah we received on Shavuos was given as a gift. The great joy is reserved for the day when we complete the study and reading of the Torah, on Simchas Torah, when the Torah truly becomes ours.
Now, what happens between Simchas Torah and Shavuos? What happens when war breaks out on Simchas Torah, and we cannot properly rejoice in the Torah that we attained?
We can now approach Shavuos with a double celebration. We can celebrate all the Torah from the last complete year, and in our learning, identify those special moments where we, within ourselves and our study, encounter something new that speaks to us uniquely.
This year, in the wake of the October 7th massacre and its aftermath, the time between Simchas Torah and Shavuos has been marked by war, upheaval, terrifying images, and immense hatred towards us. On the other hand, it has also been a time of acceptance, working together, being there for each other, and providing support.
This period has seen new Torah emerging, with an abundance of Torah printing for the battlefield, along with numerous halachic rulings on every aspect of the war, from burying cars to identifying bodies and other issues regarding halachic ethics and beyond. This extends further into a transformation of emunah and an embrace of Hashem, evidenced by the increased wearing of tzitzis, kippos, and the embracing of other mitzvos by those who had previously shied away from them.
Perhaps the Torah that we received last year on Shavuos was the Torah that explains machlokes and its consequences. Now, this Shavuos, we are back at the mountain, encircling it, leaving no one out of the circle, as we accept the Torah in our own distinctive way. That itself is our unity. Together, the whole nation is united. Together we are healing, ready to accept the new Torah— the Torah of Mashiach.
So true!!!! חג שבעות שמח