The Torah was given on the 6th day of Sivan.1 The Talmud2 tells us that the Torah was given on Shabbat. It was on our national day of rest that G‑d revealed Himself to the Jewish nation and spoke to them the Ten Commandments. It is only appropriate that the Torah which brings peace and harmony to its adherents -- and by extension to the entire world -- was given on the Day of Rest.
Though this is not stated explicitly in the Scriptures, the Talmud extrapolates this fact from scriptural verses employing a method known as Gezerah Shavah, by which two verses which have strikingly similar terminology are compared.
The verse states: "Remember this day during which you have left Egypt, from the house of bondage."3 Moses said this to the Jews on the very day in question – the day of the Exodus.
In the Ten Commandments we are told "Remember the Shabbat day."4 The almost identical language tells us that this verse was also stated on the very day in question – the Shabbat.
Incidentally, now that we follow a fixed calendar, the first day of Shavuot, the 6th of Sivan, can never fall on Shabbat. It can only fall on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Click here to learn more about the Jewish perpetual calendar.
Yours truly,
Rabbi Menachem Posner
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