Shalom,
Today is Rosh Chodesh Sivan. It is the first day of the hebrew month of Sivan. This month is most famously known to contain the holiday of Shavuot in it - The anniversary of the giving of the Torah to the Jewish nation.
In fact, this very week we will celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. We read from the Torah the dramatic story of the Ten commandments. When the Chazzan reads the Ten commandments, the entire congregation stands and faces the Torah. By reading this particular portion, we are not only performing a symbolic replay of that historic day at Mount Sinai, but we are actually reliving the moment and re-experiencing G-d openly declaring his love for our people as a holy nation. In other words, every year on Shavuot, G-d hand delivers the Torah to our nation - and moreso, to each and every individual Jewish person - with renewed energy and vitality to encourage us to study it and fulfill its commandments.
The famous Rebbe of Kotsk once said that G-d gave us the Torah only once. Every year now on Shavuot, we need to receive the Torah.
Giving and receiving are two very different things. G-d gave the most amazing gift of all time to us. He gave us a treasure that was infinitely greater than the most precious treasure on earth. He gave us a touch of infinity.
The only thing necessary now is to reach out and 'take' the present handed to us. We must spend time to truly realize the secret of this gift. We need to deeply submerge ourselves within the content of this package and make it a part of our lives.
While the task seems daunting and difficult, we are told by Moses in Deuteronomy "For This (the Torah) is very near to you, in your mouths and in your hearts, to do the Mitzvot."
Moses, our loving shepherd and leader promises us that studying Torah and redefining our lives to one of Torah and Mitzvot is within reach. Never is one 'too far gone.' There is always hope.
All that's needed is the commitment to do what's right and to begin slow.
Would it hurt our busy, money making, bustling, high speed internet surfing schedules if we took one evening a week and joined a Torah study group for an hour or two? Would it absolutely destroy our lives if we commited to one more teeny tiny Mitzvah to fulfill on a daily basis?
Not only do I think that it wouldn't bother our busy lives or negatively affect our financial, mental, emotional and physical situations... But I think that once you try it for a few weeks, you'll see that your entire day, week, month, year and life is changed and enhanced for the better.
Torah is a G-dly medicine. It is the solution to everything. All that's needed is that we 'receive' it.
This coming Tuesday is the day that we are given the powers to change. All men, women and children should make it their business to attend Synagogue on Wednesday morning and allow the messages and energies of the Ten commandments to enter into their ears, settle into their minds and transform their very beings.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.
Benny
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