It is natural for a person to ask: What is the purpose of my Torah observance? Where is it supposed to take me?
The fundamentals underpinning the answers our Rabbis give to this question point to two basic thrusts: self-transcendence and self-development. Some define the purpose as dedicating oneself to G‑d without any thought of self, while others focus on leveraging the Torah’s potential in a journey towards perfection of one’s character.
Each of these thrusts has obvious advantages and drawbacks. The emphasis on self-transcendence opens the potential for a person to reach a goal entirely beyond his own horizons. It, however, also allows for the possibility that in his desire to direct himself upward, a person will not focus on who he is and hence, fail to refine himself.
Conversely, a person who focuses on his own development will certainly enrich his life. However, there is a natural tendency for self-absorption, that his own growth and development overshadow all other concerns.
In the maamar that follows, the Rebbe explains that these thrusts are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, through their integration, each of these purposes can enhance the other. When a growth-oriented person focuses on transcendence, he aligns his personal identity with G‑d’s infinity, thus expanding the scope of his individual potential. By the same token, interweaving his commitment to transcendence with an emphasis on personal development enables the effects of his self-transcendence to be seen in his life and for it to affect the way he relates to the people and situations he encounters.

Going Beyond Pilpul

The Rebbe introduces his treatment of this subject through a discussion of the preparations for the Giving of the Torah. The Torah begins its description of those preparations with the verse,1 “In the third month after the exodus of the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt, on this day, they came to the Sinai desert.” Through a textual analogy,2 our Sages3 associate the above verse with the verse,4 “This month will be for you the beginning of the months,” and derive that it was on Rosh Chodesh Sivan that the Jews came to Sinai.
The Rebbe notes that Tosafos (a collection of classic commentaries on the Talmud) question this passage, stating that seemingly, it would have been preferable to derive the timing of the Jews’ arrival at Sinai from an analogy to a different verse, “G‑d spoke to Moshe in the Sinai desert… in the first month.”
The Rebbe takes a unique path in resolving Tosafos’ query that departs from the traditional approach to Torah scholarship. He explains that the resolution can be clarified through an understanding of the implications of the Giving of the Torah in our Divine service.
He develops this concept by focusing on the verse that introduces the Ten Commandments,5 “G-d spoke all these words, saying (leimor) ….” The word leimor, usually translated as “saying,” is actually the infinitive meaning “to say.” Generally, leimor is thus understood as a command to convey G‑d’s message to others. In this verse, however, this cannot be the case, for all the Jewish people were present at the Giving of the Torah; were even one Jew to have been missing, the Torah would not have been given.6 Instead, in this verse the word leimor is used to imply that when a Jew studies the Torah, he is not speaking his own words, but merely repeating the word of G‑d. His own identity is subsumed in bittul to the G‑dliness of the Torah’s words.
This explanation enables us to understand why the final stages of preparation to receive the Torah began on Rosh Chodesh Sivan. Rosh Chodesh marks the birth of the new moon. The renewal of the moon’s light emphasizes that the moon’s light is not its own, but dependent on the sun, thus highlighting the need for bittul, self-transcendence. As implied by the word leimor, the Jews’ approach to Torah study should be characterized by a similar approach of bittul.

Harmonizing Two Thrusts

There is another explanation why Rosh Chodesh Sivan served as the beginning of the final stage of preparation for receiving the Torah: After the Exodus, the Jewish people began carrying out Divine service that paralleled the Counting of the Omer.7 The seven weeks of the Counting of the Omer are dedicated to the refinement of man’s seven emotional attributes. On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the third day of the seventh, final week, the Divine service associated with the refinement of the three primary emotive attributes, Chessed, Gevurah, and Tiferes, of the sefirah of Malchus was completed.
Rosh Chodesh Sivan thus reflects two dimensions:
a) the birth of the new moon, emphasizing the quality of bittul, self-transcendence; and
b) the completion of the Divine service associated with refining the emotions, self-development.
Both these aspects are fundamental because there are two requisite aspects of man’s preparation to receive the Torah:
a) that man reach a state of shleimus, “perfection”; and
b) that he attain bittul; this is necessary because a person concerned with his own identity – a yesh in chassidic terminology – is (as it were) incompatible with the Torah.

Rays of New Light

The Torah teaches a person to interrelate these two thrusts by using his commitment to sense bittul to reveal the greatest amount of light. This is underscored by the fact that the birth of the new moon marks the renewal of the moon’s shining. Rosh Chodesh is not the night of the conjunction, when the moon’s light is not seen, but the following night when it reflects light anew. True, the renewal of the moon’s shining highlights the quality of bittul. Nevertheless, this bittul is not expressed in self-nullification, but through shining forth light.
Similarly, the Torah’s goal is not to erase a person’s identity, but rather to enable his light shine – and yet, have it shine with bittul. His identity will not cease to exist, but will be subsumed in a commitment to a goal above himself.8

Crowning Service

The advantage of the Divine service of a person who redefines his identity and subsumes it in the service of G‑d over that of one who totally obliterates his personal identity is reflected by our Sages’ teaching in the Talmud:9
Before the Giving of the Torah, “When the Jews made the commitment of naaseh, ‘We will do,’ before nishma, ‘we will listen,’ the ministering angels came and attached two crowns to every Jew, one corresponding to naaseh and one corresponding to nishma.”
The Rebbe poses a question on this teaching: On one hand, our Sages imply that the two crowns were given by virtue of the order in which the Jews expressed their commitments, pledging naaseh before nishma. However, the Talmud’s conclusion, “One corresponding to naaseh and one corresponding to nishma,” implies that the crowns were given for the commitments of naaseh and nishma themselves, i.e., each commitment itself warranted a crown.
The Rebbe resolves this difficulty by citing a teaching of the Rebbe Maharash10 which explains the different thrusts in our Divine service represented by naaseh and nishma. Naaseh represents the acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, and nishma, the acceptance of the yoke of His mitzvos. The order in which the Jews pledged their commitments conforms to our Sages’ teaching11 that “One should first accept upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, and [only] afterwards, the yoke of the mitzvos.”
The acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven is identified with the Divine service of ratzo, “yearning for G‑dliness,” while the acceptance of the yoke of mitzvos is identified with the Divine service of shov, “return,” the commitment to carry out G‑d’s will within the context of the framework of our world. Just as in a ratzo veshov synergy, the longing of ratzo must come before the downward focus of shov, so too must the acceptance of the yoke of mitzvos be preceded by the acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven.
This explanation resolves the difficulty regarding the crowns the angels gave the Jews: Placing a crown is placed above a person’s head indicates a transcendent quality that surpasses his conscious potentials. The two crowns that the angels granted the Jews correspond to the commitments of naaseh and nishma respectively. However in order that the Divine service of shov (nishma) be worthy of a crown, i.e., that it draw down a transcendent Divine light, it must be preceded by ratzo (naaseh). Only then is the person’s involvement in the world (shov) an extension of his acceptance of G‑d’s Kingship, for then it reflects his commitment to fulfilling G‑d’s desire for a dwelling on this earthly plane.

When Man Becomes More than Himself

Just as in a ratzo veshov motif, the ultimate intent in the upward thrust of ratzo is that it be complemented by the thrust of shov, so too with regard to the relationship between naaseh (the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven) and nishma (the acceptance of the yoke of G‑d’s mitzvos): the ultimate intent of naaseh is that it lead to nishma. By integrating the two thrusts a person complements his Divine service of naaseh, providing it with a tether to the structures of this world. Moreover, by doing so, he expands the scope of the bittul that service represents.
In and of itself, naaseh represents man’s desire for self-transcendence. Nevertheless, even when a man realizes the need for – and desires – self-transcendence, he will not know how to translate that realization and desire into concrete activity. For on his own initiative, man – a limited human being – can never see beyond his own horizons. By harnessing his commitment to self-transcendence (naaseh) to the acceptance of the yoke of G‑d’s mitzvos (nishma), a person steps beyond the limits of his human capacities and becomes G‑d’s partner in establishing a dwelling on this lowly plane.
In the process of doing so, the person also expands his individual scope. For in this endeavor, he infuses the all-encompassing bittul of naaseh into the realm of his own identity, thereby aligning his conscious powers with G‑d’s essential intent.

The Power to Serve

This fusion of opposites – the fact that a person can simultaneously possess an individual identity and subsume it entirely in his commitment to carry out G‑d’s will – is possible only as a result of influence from G‑d’s Essence. At Sinai, G‑d “spoke to [the Jews] face to face.”12 Panim, literally translated as “face,” can also be understood as meaning “inner dimension.” When He gave the Jews the Torah, G‑d imparted His innermost dimension to the Jewish people, infusing them with the potential to carry out the service described above.13
Every year on Shavuos, this infusion of Divine power is renewed, granting the Jews the potential to dedicate themselves to G‑d’s service with new vitality and energy.