The Taste of Kabbalas HaTorah in Three Dimensions
While cheesecake steals the show, the kreplach might be telling the authentic story.
Recently I came across a minhag to eat three-cornered kreplach on Shavuos. Normally, we only think of kreplach on days when we strike something. On Purim - we strike out Haman, on Erev Yom Kippur - we beat our chests in viduy and on Hoshana Rabbah - we hit the aravah against the floor. In each of those moments, the act of striking carries intense meaning. The meat hidden under dough reminds us that even in the hardest moments, there is strength wrapped in gentleness.
Shavuos is different. What are we striking? We are celebrating that we received the Torah. So what is the connection to this dish, filling hidden in dough, shaped into three corners? The shape reflects the fact that the Torah was given in threes, which we’ll explore shortly. Regarding the ‘striking’, Chazal teach us, “בָּרָאתִי יְצַר הָרַע, בָּרָתִי תּוֹרָה תְּבַלִּין.” “I created the evil inclination; I created the Torah as its antidote.” If the Torah beats the yetzer hara, then on Shavuos our three-cornered kreplach reminds us: Torah is not passive. It fights, nourishes and heals. 1
This idea comes from a brief and unforgettable statement in the Gemara2. An anonymous man from the Galil suddenly appears, standing next to Rav Chisda, and declares:
דרש ההוא גלילאה בריך רחמנא דיהב אוריאן תליתאי, לעם תליתאי, על ידי תליתאי, ביום תליתאי, בירחא תליתאי.
“A Galilean taught: Blessed is the Merciful One who gave the threefold Torah to the threefold people through a third-born on the third day in the third month.”
Without a name nor title, this man is referred to simply as “ ההוא גלילאה - that Galilean.” He shares this beautiful idea and then vanishes. However, his words have been passed down through Chazal and they show us that the Torah’s power unfolds in stages.
First, the Torah itself is threefold: Torah, Nevi’im, and Kesuvim.
Second, it was given to a threefold people: Kohanim, Levi’im, and Yisraelim.
Third, it came through Moshe, the third child of his parents—after Miriam and Aharon.
Fourth, it was given on the third day of preparation (the 5th of Sivan) and in the third month—Sivan.
Later, Rabbeinu Nissim expands on this theme. He notes that both Moshe and Levi are made up of three letters. The word אמת (truth) also has three letters. The Avos were three—Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Moshe was born from the third Shevet, Levi, and hidden for three months. Some even say his basket was placed in the Nile on Shavuos itself—three months after his birth.
Everywhere you look, Chazal uncover this pattern of threes. Each person is made up of three spiritual components: nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. All middos stem from three root traits: chesed, gevurah, and tiferes. These correspond to the threefold call of בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאודך—to love Hashem with all your heart, soul, and might.
The process of receiving Torah also follows this pattern. First comes chochmah—a flash of insight. Then binah—understanding and development. Finally daas—internalization and application.
Rav Tzadok3 teaches that the Torah was given in three stages: at Har Sinai as dvar Hashem, in the Ohel Moed through prophecy, and in Arvos Moav as Sefer Devarim—corresponding again to Torah, Nevi’im, and Kesuvim. Torah Sheba’al Peh reflects this too: halacha from Sinai, rulings accepted like prophecy, and teachings revealed through ruach hakodesh.
Even the formation of a beis din reflects this pattern. When three Jews come together, they create a structure capable of drawing down clarity and truth into the world.
These “threes” aren’t random. They are actually a blueprint for the structure that the Torah uses to shape life itself. Each set of three tells us something: Torah isn’t dropped all at once. It unfolds, requiring time, readiness, and a vessel to receive it.
Rav Nosson, in Likkutei Halachos4, teaches that the lasting presence of Torah in a family depends on a visible link between three generations—grandfather, father, and son. This is more than symbolic, as it’s a core principle of spiritual transmission. When three generations unite together around Torah—teaching, learning, and living its ideals—they create a living chain. The Torah is then effectively passed from one generation to the next, remaining vital and becoming ingrained in the family's very essence. This sharing across three generations ensures the Torah's permanence and inviolability within the family.
All of this circles back to my grandfather, whose yahrzeit is today, Erev Shavuos. He was a world traveler during his years in the Merchant Marines. He carried with him stories of Kamikaze suicide pilots, Nazi prisoners of war, and the transport of thousands of Jews from the ruins of Europe to the shores of Israel. After the war, he returned to his hometown of Buffalo and quietly built a life.
He had his ups and downs, but through it all, he remained a simple and committed Jew. He was proud, yet unassuming. He lived simply and died simply. Through that simplicity, he raised children and grandchildren who went on to become leaders in their communities, spreading Torah along with his quiet message of what it means to live with emunah peshutah.
The three-cornered kreplach we eat on Shavuos reminds us that when we hold on to that kind of faith and when we connect to those who came before us, we don’t need to stand out to receive Torah. We just need to be grounded. We need to know where we are, what we are, and who we come from. We can be like the anonymous man from the Galil, who shared a teaching and disappeared. Or we can be like my grandfather, who never taught publicly but lived a life of Torah that spoke for itself.
Life is unpredictable and when we remember all the sets of three which shape our lives, we can live with structure, clarity, and direction.
When we live within the framework of Torah, grounded in the emunah peshutah of those who came before us, and with the humility to receive instead of perform, Kabbalas HaTorah changes from a one-time event to a way of life.
Beyond the Torah teaching us how to live, it teaches us who we’re meant to be.
That’s emunah peshutah. Simple and real. Skip the flashy and complicated.
Shavuos follows that theme. We don’t strike anything, nor do we have a specific mitzvah of the day. We just receive and somehow, even that quiet act made its way into the food. A food with three corners, filled with meaning, because the Torah was given in threes, through threes, to a people made of threes.
And maybe it takes the meeting of three generations to really taste it, each one adding a layer. My grandfather was a simple Jew who showed up, lived quietly and passed on the simple, yet beautiful lesson of Kabbalas Hatorah. He made space for Torah and accepted it in the quiet way he lived.
Perhaps that’s why it is fitting for him to be celebrated on erev Shavuos, reminding us what the taste of Kabbalas HaTorah is really made of.
Looking forward to passing on this message to my children and grandchildren.
לעילוי נשמת שמחה בן צבי הירש
Minhag Yisrael Torah, Hilchos Shavuos, 9
Shabbos 88a
Pri Tzaddik, Shavuos
Hilchos Melamdim