Torah: Our Map, Our Milk

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When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai, the verse describes the tablets with the following words: “And the writing was Hashem’s writing which was engraved on the tablets”¹. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi² writes that instead of reading it as “חָר֖וּת” meaning “engraved”, we should read it as “חֵרוּת” meaning “freedom”. Torah provides us with true freedom, as Torah gives us the tools to overcome being a slave to our instincts. One of the names of Shavuot is “Atzeret”³ meaning “End”, as this is the culmination of Pesach. The purpose of Hashem taking us out of Egypt on Pesach was in order that we could receive the Torah on Shavuot. On Pesach, Hashem took the Jewish People out of Egypt, and on Shavuot Hashem took Egypt out of the Jewish People. Our freedom became complete on Shavuot, as it is only through the Torah that one can truly be free.

I have heard Torah being compared to a ‘map to life’, but the way it was presented in the following analogy, written by Rav Soloveitchik in Halakhic Mind, gave me a deeper appreciation of what that means. Imagine a person gets lost in a forest, and spends days walking aimlessly through the forest. While wandering around, they find a map of the forest. What would they be thinking when they find the map? Would they think “It’s so annoying that I now have a map, because before I had a map I was free!”? Of course not. Before they found the map they were not free, they were lost! When someone looks at Torah on a superficial level, they might say that a Torah lifestyle is restrictive, and ask “Why can’t I just do exactly what I want, when I want to, and how I want to?” In truth, a person who lives their life without the Torah is not free, they are lost. The Torah is our map for life, guiding us and revealing to us how to properly navigate through, make the most of, and gain the most pleasure from, this world.

We Need to Study the Map

Extending this analogy, if the person has the map but doesn’t return to look at it every so often, they are in no better position than the person who never found the map in the first place. Clearly, then, we need to study the map.

The Mishna⁴ explains that anyone who learns Halachot every day is guaranteed to get to Olam Haba. Is this some sort of magic formula to get a good place in the next world? No, it’s very logical. If you study your map very well, then you will surely reach your destination!

Parashat Bechukotai opens with the words “If you follow My laws…”⁵. Rashi explains that this means that a person should toil in Torah. The Kli Yakar explains on Rashi that a person has to toil in Torah by making a set time for their Torah learning, in a way that it becomes “a ruling that does not change”. It should be that no matter what, I’m going to learn Torah. (Of course, a person needs to be connected to Hashem even when not learning Torah). Can it be that we have time for everything else in our lives but not even two minutes each day as a reminder that my life is about my service of the Almighty?

Why does the Torah not state the specific day of Shavuot (and only refer to the festival with the names Shavuot, Day of the first fruits, and the festival of reaping)? An answer is given that Hashem doesn’t want us to connect one day to the birthday of the Torah because every day is supposed to be celebrating and living with the Torah.

I learned an illuminating parallel between Pesach and Shavuot, and what they reveal about our relationship with Hashem, from Rabbi Dani Abell. On Pesach we read the Song of Songs, which is all about the intense passionate love which happens right at the beginning of a relationship. Here, the man and woman are running after each other; it’s like an engagement. On Shavuot, we read the Megillah of Ruth and we see a very different type of love: the love of Ruth leaving everything behind to stick by Naomi’s side, and the love of Boaz protecting, providing for, and redeeming Ruth. While Pesach and the Song of Songs are all about passion, the Megillah of Ruth and Shavuot are all about commitment. Shavuot is our wedding with Hashem⁶, signifying the greatest level of commitment. That’s what Shavuot is all about – re-establishing our personal commitment to Hashem, His Torah, and His commandments.

The commentators ask the question: why does the Torah not state the specific day of Shavuot (and only refer to the festival with the names Shavuot⁷, Day of the first fruits⁸, and the festival of reaping)⁹? An answer is given that Hashem doesn’t want us to connect one day to the birthday of the Torah because every day is supposed to be celebrating and living with the Torah. On Shavuot, we bring ‘The offering of the two breads’. This is also called the ‘The new offering’¹⁰ because that is what Shavuot is about. Kli Yakar explains that Torah must be new to a person every day, as if they received it on Har Sinai that day. When you are living with the Torah, each day becomes a new part of Torah.

Our Mother’s Milk

We already discussed how Torah provides us with true freedom. Let’s end with one more idea, which highlights the necessity of Torah in our lives, and which will help motivate us and strengthen our commitment to Torah.

There are various reasons given for the custom of eating dairy foods on Shavuot. One reason is because in the Song of Songs¹¹, it is written “Sweetness drops from your lips, bride; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the scent of your robes is like the scent of Lebanon”, and we learn that the milk mentioned here refers to Torah. What is the special quality of a mother’s milk? A mother’s milk provides the exact nutrients that the baby needs to live and grow. Torah and Mitzvot are our mother’s milk. “Because they are our life and the length of our days”; Torah is our life force. Through the Torah, Hashem provides us with the exact nutrients we need to live in this world.

Torah is our map, and Torah is our milk. Torah guides us, and Torah sustains us.Please G-d, by having a greater appreciation of what an indispensable, vital, and precious gift Hashem has given us, we will strengthen our commitment to our learning of and living by the Torah, and do so with even more joy. Let’s take the Torah of Shavuot with us and make our whole life a ‘time of the giving of the Torah’.

Many of these ideas were taught to me by Rebbetzin Hudi Elsant of MMY seminary.