This class is dedicated for the Refuah Shelemah of Avraham Ben Adel
Today we are going to share a Bitachon-related thought on the holiday of Shavuot.
The Gemarah tells us, in Masechet Shabbat 88a, that
בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהִקְדִּימוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל ״נַעֲשֶׂה״ לְ״נִשְׁמָע״
When the Jewish people said the words Na’Aseh we will do, And then
V’Nishmah, and we will hear (or understand), a heavenly echo when out and said, מִי גִּלָּה לְבָנַי רָז זֶה - “Who revealed to my children, this secret?”
It was secret that angels used, as it says, בָּרְכוּ ה׳ מַלְאָכָיו גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ
Blessed to Hashem are these angels, these strong ones, that do His will.
לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרוֹ״-And then they hear
First, they do, then they hear. What’s the concept of doing first, then hearing?
The Gemarah tells a story after this. Ravah was once learning so intensely, while sitting in a certain way, that it caused him to bleed. There was a heretic watching him who said,
“You people are Paziz/impetuous. Your mouth goes before your ears. Look how you’re acting- you’re not thinking. You didn’t see if you could accept (the Torah) or not?”
Ravah said, “We are simple in our faith.” Rashi says that this means: We go with a simple heart, like those that act out of love. We relied on G-d that He wouldn’t load us with some thing that we can’t handle.”
The fundamental of Na’Aseh V’Nishmah means “I will do and then I’ll listen,”
Because I know You won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I have faith in You. I trust You.”
That is the whole fundamental that got us the Torah. Na’Aseh V’Nishmah. That’s what made everything happen.
It’s interesting that the Midrash quotes the same pasuk, about the “strong ones that first do, then ask” regarding people that keep Shemitah, because people that keep Shemitah are doing the same thing. They keep the laws of Shemittah, which means they accept before they see how it’s going to work out, before they know how they’ll have food. This is the secret to success in our religion: To know that Hashem will take care. You have taken that plunge and accept that there is nothing He will give you that you can’t handle, because He loves you. That’s why G-d uses the words, “Who revealed the secret to My children?” The Jewish people are G-d’s children. It says that the relationship of the Torah is a father-son relationship. That why we say -השיבינו אבינו לתורתך
Return me, my Father, to Your Torah.
A father has an obligation to teach his son Torah. And G-d is a loving father.
It says that when G-d revealed Himself at Har Sinai, He said...אנכי ה׳ אלוקיך
I am Hashem your G-d, that took you out of Egypt...
Why include the part about taking us out of Egypt?
The Midrash says that when G-d took them out, they saw ה׳ איש
מלחמה -They saw Him as a warrior. G-d was fighting the Egyptians. But now at Matan Torah they saw a loving, soft, Father figure, teaching them Torah. They realized this was the same G-d that took them out of Egypt. G-d expresses Himself differently in different situations. There is one G-d, but we receive Him and understand Him differently based on the situation.
Whenever it comes to learning Torah, He is a loving, endearing, Father teaching us. Therefore, when Hashem gives us the Torah, it’s never too much. We have to know that every year, at Shavuot time, we reaccept the Torah. This doesn’t just mean keeping the laws of the Torah. It means learning Torah, and understanding that it’s not too big for us to handle. For example, take the people that finished the daf yomi this year; they finished Shas! They did it little by little, but you can do it. People take on projects that are hard to believe, but they finish them. Just recently, a group of young men gathered together for the Refuah Shelemah of a friend of theirs, Yaakov Ben Chava Adina, who was in a car accident, he should have a Refuah Shelemah. In a matter of weeks they finished the whole Shas for him! It was a humongous undertaking. But we can do more than we think we can do.
Every year, we have to recommit ourselves to learning.
Think big. Dream of more. Everyone, on their level, can do a little bit more when it comes to learning. There are many different platforms for learning, as we have seen, due to the pandemic. There are Zoom classes, Torahminds.... there are all different types of ways to learn.
When we come to Shavuot, we must accept something upon ourselves, even if we don’t know how we will do it. If it’s within our reach, Hashem will help us finish it. This is the Emunah and Bitachon that is necessary when it comes to Kabbalat HaTorah. This is important. We say it every single day in our prayers. Before Keriyat Shema, we say Ahavat Olam, in which we say something interesting, we say -בעבור שמך הגדול-Grant us Torah for Your great name, בעבור אבותינו -Because of our fathers that relied on You.
We mention bitachon in our beracha, because that’s one of the keys to success in our learning: To rely on Hashem .
Again we say, כי בשם קדשיך הגדול ...בטחנו -We relied on You
We mention Bitachon twice in the beracha of Torah, because we rely on Hashem that He’s not going to give us a project that we can’t fulfill.
Have a great day and a wonderful preparation for Hag Shavuot.