SHAVUOT

"Chag Shavuot" - The Festival of Weeks

The Chag is given this name because it is the culmination of the Sefirat Ha'omer which links Pesach and Shavuot. Pesach is the Yom Tov on which we commemorate our Physical freedom from Slavery in Mitzrayim

But physical redemption is not enough. It would have left us "free" people, but with no purpose to our lives. The purpose of the Jewish People is to serve Hashem. The way we serve Hashem is by studying and practicing his Torah. 3,315 years ago, after leaving Egypt on the night of Pesach, the Jews traveled into the Sinai desert. There, the entire Jewish nation -- 3 million men, women and children – on the 6^th of Sivan 2448 directly experienced divine revelation, the giving of the Torah.

By accepting the Torah, we earned the title of "A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation."

Thus, Shavuot is the purpose of the Exodus from Mitzrayim. Seven weeks had to pass before we were able to shake off the feeling of being subject to our Egyptian taskmasters. The Torah teaches us that there is no legitimate master for a human being other than G-d.

HOW THE TORAH ALMOST WASN'T GIVEN TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE

When Moshe Rabbeinu ascended to Har Sinai the Malachim (the Angels) pleaded with Hashem not to give the Torah to the Jewish people. "They won't appreciate it, they won't fulfil it," said the Angels. "How could you give them the Torah?"

Moshe responded to them and said: yes, the Jewish people might not follow some or many of the Mitzvot. But Angels don't have any free will. They can only do what Hashem tells them. They have no temptations, no desires no inclinations at all. So how can they say that they can appreciate the greatness of the Torah? The Jews however, Moshe explained, have a yetzer hara, they have lusts and desires and temptations that will sometimes distance them from Torah. But they also have the ability, the potential to rise above those emotions and do what's right in Hashem's eyes. That is the real appreciation of Hashem's Torah. Thus, Moshe convinced Hashem to present the Jewish people, and indeed the whole world, with his most precious possession: the Torah.

TIKUN LEIL SHAVUOT

It is traditional on Shavuot to stay up all night learning Torah. Why? Because this is a declaration of priority: Torah is worth staying up all night for!

Torah study is regarded as the most important of all mitzvot, because it opens the door for observance of the other mitzvot. Says the Talmud (Shabbat 127a): "The study of Torah is equal to the sum total of all other mitzvot. Throughout the ages, Jews have endured tremendous self-sacrifice rather than forfeit Torah study. In fact, the Torah is the essence of the Jewish people, our very life and soul. Without it we literally have no existence.