By: Rabbi Rory Meyerson
The עקידת יצחק (שער סז) poses a striking and fundamental question. We celebrate the Yom Tov of שבועות with תפילה and מנהגים that reflect the giving of the תורה. Yet, the תורה itself makes no mention that מתן תורה occurred on שבועות. The תורה refers to this day as יום בכורים. Why doesn’t the תורה explicitly label this יו״ט as the celebration of מתן תורה?
He offers two answers.
First, to understand this anomaly, we must recognize the nature of a command. The עקידה writes: a commandment presupposes the existence of a Commander and the prior acceptance of His authority. To command מתן תורה’s commemoration would be conceptually circular. This parallels what the רמב״ן says regarding אמונה. Telling someone who lacks אמונה that it is a מצוה to believe is inherently contradictory, as the command itself relies on the very belief they are struggling to attain. Just as אמונה cannot be commanded, celebrating the תורה cannot be commanded. It must arise organically.
Moreover, by skipping over an explicit mention of מתן תורה on שבועות, it changes the Yom Tov to an expression of our own רצון to connect to ה׳. Demonstrating that our desire to be close to ה׳ does not need to be commanded.
Second, the עקידה writes, had the תורה tethered מתן תורה to a specific date, it would inadvertently suggest that our relationship to תורה is limited to that time. Our yearly cycle of ימים טובים correlate with the unique opportunities available at that time of year. In the fall, we have סוכות a time of זמן שמחתינו. In the spring, we have פסח a time of זמן חירותינו.
However, the celebration of the תורה cannot be confined to a section of time! The Torah is the דעת עליון – the highest, governing wisdom, that pulses through a Yid at all times. As stated in ספר יהושע (1:8):
לֹא־יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה
We should be discussing תורה day and night.
Consider the following משל. A person’s character is comprised of many מדות. We range from חסד to גבורה, and זריזות to סבלנות, each necessitating a specific time and use.
However, there is one מדה that is always active. That is דעת. The governing מדה which helps us choose which of the other מדות to use at any given time. The תורה is called דעת עליון – the ultimate דעת. The centrality of דעת in our מדות, is a small reflection of the ultimate focal point of our lives – תורה.
תורה is not an event to be celebrated. It is our core identity. This is why the פסוקים make no mention of מתן תורה occurring on שבועות. Celebrating the תורה cannot be confined to a single calendarical date. תורה is meant to pulsate through everything we do and through every decision we make. Each day, we should find ourselves renewed with an ever-deepening love for תורה. May we all merit to internalize this message from the עקידה and live with תורה at the center of our lives.
Taken from the Kollel Avreichim Hollywood
