Page 20 - Hamizrachi #30 USA 2021 Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot

GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS

Rabbi Zev Leff

The Power of Our

Customary Preparations

nlike Pesach, which has the However, tampering even with these cus- for all that follows. By eating milk products
mitzvah of matzah, and Sukkot, toms endangers the entire system. on Shavuot, we are reminded of the impor-
when we take the Four Species Perhaps this is why the word גהנמ con- tance of this foundation to future develop-
and sit in the sukkah, Shavuot tains the same letters as the word ןגמה, “the ment. The book of Ruth traces the prepara-
Uhas no special mitzvot. Rather, shield,” because minhagim are a shield and tion and foundation of the Davidic dynasty
five minhagim have developed to enhance enhancement for Torah and Rabbinic laws. and ultimately the Melech haMashiach,
this yom tov (see Shulchan Aruch, Orach Thus, the Vilna Gaon points out that the who will descend from that dynasty. This
Chaim 494, and Mishna Berura there): first letters of the minhagim of Shavuot signifies that the entire goal of the world is
1. Preceding the Torah reading with the – Akdamut, Chalav, Ruth, Yerek, and already contained in its foundation and pre-
reciting of Akdamut 2. Eating dairy foods Tikkun – spell out the word תירחא, “end.” paratory episodes. Trees and fruit and vege-
3. Megillat Rut 4. Decorating the shul and The proper completion and perpetuation tation in general remind us how important
home with flowers and trees, and 5. The all- of the Torah, which is called תישאר, begin- it is to toil in the preparatory stages of plant-
night Torah study, or Tikkun Leil Shavuot. ning, is the observance of minhagim that ing, plowing and fertilizing, and the other
(These are minhagim of the Ashkenazi Klal Yisrael have instituted throughout the preparatory processes essential before any
community for the most part.) generations. fruit or vegetable can be enjoyed. So too,
The seriousness with which we approach one must toil in Torah, symbolically plant-
the practice of these customs illustrates the ing and plowing, before G-d will bless us
importance of minhagim to the enhance- Minhagim are with attainment, the fruit of our labors.
ment of the mitzvot, as Reb Yitzchak Finally, we stay awake learning Torah the
Elchanan Spektor demonstrated when a compared to a pile of entire eve of Shavuot as a tikkun, a rectifica-
wealthy businessman from Kovno invited tion, for our ancestors. Unfamiliar with the
the Rav to his daughter’s wedding. nuts that will topple if nature of Torah, they thought that a good
The wedding was to take place on the night’s sleep would be the proper way to
grounds of the man’s lavish home. The Rav even one is removed prepare for the historic moment of Divine
wished the man mazal tov and informed from its place revelation the next day. Once we received
him that he could not attend. The minhag the Torah, however, we realized that it is the
in Kovno was that all weddings took place toil and the intense straining of ourselves to
in the courtyard of the shul, and he could the limit of our powers that prepares us to
not attend a wedding that deviated from receive the Divine Presence on our Torah
the custom of the town. The ba’al simcha attainment.
dismissed the custom, saying it was not all העמדב םיערוזה – “those who sow with
that important. The Kovno Rav responded tears,” those who toil in Torah day and
by quoting a Midrash that says that min- night, those who sacrifice with blood and
hagim are compared to a pile of nuts that tears to observe Torah in the most difficult
will topple if even one is removed from its circumstances and in the most challenging
place. If the Midrash, explained the Rav, ways, ורוצקי הנירב – “will reap with joyous
was merely telling us that all minhagim are song.” They will reap the sweetness of Torah
jeopardized by trifling with any of them, Foundations for acquiring Torah understanding and the joys of mitzvah
then any pile of round objects could have All the minhagim of Shavuot bolster and observance.
been used as an example. Why did the enhance the importance of preparation.
Midrash specifically use nuts? The answer, Akdamut reminds us that before we begin Rabbi Zev Leff serves as the Rav of Moshav
said Reb Yitzchak Elchanan, is that a nut at the Torah, a lengthy and poignant preface Matityahu.
times is but a shell with no nut to be found is needed. Similarly, milk is the food with
inside, similar to some minhagim, which do which animals and man are sustained in the A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
not appear to be important or significant. first stages of life, forming the foundation mizrachi.org/speakers

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