A Cherished Day

On the Second day of Shavuot, 5704 my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, relates (Sefer HaSichot 5704, p. 135) that the Ba’al Shem Tov cherished the second day of Shavuot. Every year on the second day he would hold a special feast and linger with his chassidim.1

The Maggid of Mezeritch, the Ba’al Shem Tov’s successor, explained the reason for the Ba’al Shem Tov’s behavior. The second day of Shavuot was the first complete 24-hour day after the Jews received the Torah. The Maggid would add: “In particular, this is true according to the opinion of Rabbi Yossi, (Shabbos 86a) who maintains that the Torah was given on the seventh of Sivan. This is a wondrous dimension.”

On the surface, the two rationales given by the Maggid are contradictory. If the day is so dear because it was the first day after the giving of the Torah, then according to Rabbi Yossi, this dearness should characterize the eighth of Sivan? But if the dearness results from the fact that the Torah was given on that day then according to the Sages who maintain — as the Alter Rebbe rules in his Shulchan Aruch (494:1) — that the Torah was given on the sixth day, it is the first day of Shavuot which should be cherished?


Phase Two

The cherished nature of the first 24 hours after the holiday of Shavuot can be explained as follows: As mentioned above, the giving of the Torah empowered every Jew to refine and elevate the world.

In actuality, however, these efforts began after the giving of the Torah. The giving itself was a revelation from above — “And G‑d descended on Mount Sinai,”2 independent of man’s efforts.

Man’s labor of refinement, which was the fundamental purpose of the giving of the Torah, began after that event. This explains the dearness of the second day of Shavuot. On this day began man’s endeavors to elevate the material.

This is reflected in the fact that the second phase of the dynamic — Moshe’s ascent of Mount Sinai to receive the physical tablets of the Law (symbolic of the elevation of the material realm) — began on the seventh of Sivan (see Yoma 4b).


Moshe’s Initiative

Based on the above, we can also appreciate why according to Rabbi Yossi, who maintains that the giving of the Torah took place on the seventh of Sivan, the seventh is a cherished day. Even according to his approach, the phase of ascent began on the seventh of Sivan.

To explain: Our Sages (Shabbat 87a) state that Rabbi Yossi maintains that Moshe “added another day (of preparation for the giving of the Torah) on his own initiative, and the Holy One, blessed be He, consented.”

G‑d told the Jews to refrain from marital relations for two days, the fourth and fifth of Sivan,3 and so the giving of the Torah could have taken place on the sixth. Moshe, however, added another day on his own initiative, telling the Jews to separate for three days.4 G‑d accepted this, and thus it was not until the seventh of Sivan that the Torah was given.

Thus, according to Rabbi Yossi, the designation of the seventh of Sivan as the day of the giving of the Torah depended on the willingness of the Jewish people to add another day of preparation. Thus, it reflects mortal efforts toward ascent.

For this reason, according to Rabbi Yossi, the day of the giving of the Torah itself is cherished, while according to the Sages it is the day after the giving which is cherished. And thus Rabbi Yossi considers the seventh day of Sivan — the second day of the holiday of Shavuot — a cherished day. (Moreover, even according to Rabbi Yossi, Moshe ascended Mount Sinai on the seventh of Sivan (Yoma, loc. cit.).)

Indeed, according to Rabbi Yossi, the dearness of the seventh of Sivan is even greater than it is according to the Sages. To refer to the Maggid’s statement, it possesses “a wondrous dimension.” According to the Sages, the uniqueness of the seventh of Sivan is characterized by a single positive thrust, ascent. According to Rabbi Yossi, by contrast, the second day of Shavuot possesses two positive qualities: revelation from above (for it is the day of the giving of the Torah), and ascent, (as reflected in the Jews’ initiative in adding a day of preparation). The fusion of both qualities indeed adds “a wondrous dimension.”


A Congruence of Motifs

Based on the above, we can appreciate the precision of the wording used by my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, that the Ba’al Shem Tov would cherish the second day of Shavuot. On the surface, the reason he cherished the day was not because it is the second day of Shavuot, but because it is the seventh of Sivan, which according to our Sages is the first day after the giving of the Torah, and according to Rabbi Yossi, the day of the giving.

The explanation is as follows: the second day of Shavuot possesses an advantage with regard to the first. The observance of the first day is mandated by Scriptural Law; as such, the day possesses an inherent sanctity. The observance of the second day, however, is mandated by Rabbinic law: i.e., the day in its own right is an ordinary weekday, but the Jewish people caused it to be endowed with holiness. Thus the second day of a festival possesses a dimension of holiness similar to that described above with regard to the second day of Shavuot, the seventh of Sivan. It reflects an elevation of the worldly plane.


Where No Doubt Exists

As is true with regard to all concepts explained in P’nimiyus HaTorah, the relationship between the observance of the second day of the festivals and the seventh of Sivan is also reflected in Niglah, the revealed dimension of Torah law.

There is a more severe aspect to the observance of the second day of Shavuotthan there is to the observance of the second day of other festivals. The observance of the second day of other festivals was instituted because of a doubt. In places distant from Jerusalem, the day sanctified as Rosh Chodesh (on which depends the timing of the festivals) was not known with certainty, and therefore Jews observed every festival for two days.

This does not apply with regard to Shavuot, for the observance of Shavuot is not dependent on a particular day of the month, but rather on the conclusion of the counting of the Omer. This in turn depends on the declaration of Rosh Chodesh Nissan. In the case of Shavuot, the day consecrated as Rosh Chodesh Nissan was known throughout the world. Thus, the second day of Shavuot was not observed because of doubt, but “so as not to differentiate between one festival and another” (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh 3:12.). For this reason, our Sages ordained that the second day of Shavuot be observed as a festival, despite the fact that there was never a doubt as to the day the holiday was to be celebrated.5

The inner reason for this law is that the second day of Shavuot and the seventh day of Sivan share the same spiritual thrust. Therefore, this day was always possessed a unique spiritual significance because of its special qualities as explained by the Maggid, and interpreted regarding the views of the Sages and Rabbi Yossi. This draws down greater power with regard to the observance of that day as a festival. This applies when the months are established according to a fixed calendar and the second day of Shavuot always falls on the seventh of Sivan. Moreover, even when the calendar was dependent on the sighting of the moon, in most years Shavuot was celebrated on the sixth of Sivan, for an effort was made to see that the testimony of the witnesses confirmed the dates arrived at by calculations.


When the Ba’al Shem Passed Away

The dearness with which the Ba’al Shem Tov held the second day of Shavuot found expression at the time of his passing. The Ba’al Shem passed away on the first day of Shavuot, 5520.6 In such an instance, halachah prescribes7 that the person be buried on the second day of the holiday.8

Burial was also very significant for the Ba’al Shem. It is related9 that the Ba’al Shem stated that he had the potential to ascend to heaven in a tempest as did Eliyahu, but desired to fulfill the Divine decree: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Bereishis 3:19).

The advantage of returning to dust over ascending to heaven in a tempest echoes the advantage of the second day of Shavuot. For instead of the upward thrust of ascending to heaven, the emphasis is on a return to the earth.


The Ba’al Shem Tov’s Mission

It has been explained10 that every teaching from the Ba’al Shem Tov expresses the essence of his being. The Ba’al Shem Tov’s mission was to reveal the teachings of Chassidut which underscore the importance of elevating the material world.11 For this reason the Ba’al Shem Tov cherished the second day of Shavuot, for as mentioned, this elevation is the key element of the Divine service associated with that day.