Nasso-Shavuot

Dear Friend,

On Shavuot we celebrate the anniversary of our nation’s “marriage” to G‑d. It wasn’t until we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai that we officially became His nation, a people with a divine moral and religious code.

The Talmud tells of a certain Rabbi Yosef who was fond of saying: “If not for this day [the holiday of Shavuot], how many Yosefs are there in the street?” Meaning, if not for the Torah, I am no different than any average Joe. Through studying and living the Torah, we can lift ourselves up to His reality and bring Him into our world. In chassidic parlance, “hugging G‑d.”

And what better way to celebrate our anniversary than by joining together with our fellow Jews—adults and children—to listen to the Ten Commandments read from the Torah for the 3,326th time. This Shavuot, come give G‑d an anniversary hug (and enjoy some delicious dairy afterwards), at a Chabad center near you.

Eliezer Zalmanov,
Responder for Ask the Rabbi @ Chabad.org