Thoughts on Shavuot and the counting of the Omer

For 49 days we faithfully counted the Omer, building up to the holiday of Shavuot.

Shavuot, the holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, is widely observed around the world by all-night Torah study vigils.

While the original conception was to spend the night studying a specific set of texts, over the years other practices developed as well.

Some spend the night in the study hall engaging in intense Talmud study, either alone or with a partner; others attend Torah lectures given around the clock, usually from about 11 p.m. until the Book of Ruth is read at dawn, and then followed by the morning services.

The point of staying up all night is tied to an ancient legend that tells of the Israelites oversleeping on the day the Torah was given. We now stay up all night to “correct” that mistake. But most people in modern times stay up as a demonstration of their love and excitement for Torah learning.

The question is how we can take that excitement and enthusiasm that we experienced over the holiday and translate it into continued Torah study throughout the year.

Perhaps it will help if we have a better idea of exactly what Torah study is. 

It has been said that, while other religions have a concept of the Bible as deriving from heaven, only we Jews have the concept of our Torah being heaven itself.

While the word “Torah” technically refers only to the Five Books of Moses, we use the word to refer to the vast multigenerational Jewish bookshelf, including the Talmud, its commentaries, responsa literature, codes, and everything discussing those works.

There is an idea that God looked into the Torah in order to create the world, using the Torah as a sort of blueprint. That only makes sense if you realize that Torah isn’t “merely” the Pentateuch but an expression of the “mind of God.” In other words, God consulted Himself, and then created the world.

This better helps us understand what Torah is. Torah is the translation of the mind of God into the human world.

There is a famous story in the Talmud of Moses going up to heaven to receive the Torah, and the angels complaining to God and threatening Moses, asking how “one born of a woman” can possibly be given the Torah.

God asks Moses to respond to the angels himself, and with God’s protection he quotes the first commandment – “I am the Lord your God who took you out of Egypt!” – and asks whether the angels were once slaves in Egypt. Moses then continues to point out that it says “‘Don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery.’ Do you angels have anyone to kill, any possessions to steal, or spouses with whom to commit adultery?”

At that point, the angels get it and make friends with Moses and give him gifts.

The obvious question is how was it possible that the angels didn’t know these commandments beforehand? The simple answer is that they didn’t know because they didn’t have the same Torah as Moses. What Moses received was the human translation of God’s mind. The angels, having their own version of the Torah, an angelic Torah, could not possibly fathom how “their” Torah could be given to “one born of a woman.” Only when they realized it was a different Torah text did they relent. The gifts that were given to Moses were to thank him for that insight. Until that moment, the angels did not know that there were other versions.

This understanding of Torah allows us to embrace a more diversified approach to our Judaism that allows for the fact that God speaks differently to different people.

When I was young, I remember being told that when we daven, we talk to God; but when we study Torah, God talks to us. The study of Torah, then, is not meant to be like the study of other disciplines. When we study other things, the goal is to be informed. But the study of Torah is not meant to be informational but transformational. We do not study to understand the text alone but to encounter God.

This is why Torah study is so central to Judaism. Along with prayer, Torah is meant to be another avenue to be in the presence of God. The Mishna tells us that God is found to be in the presence of even a single person who engages in Torah study.

Torah study

TOO MANY of us satisfy our Torah learning by reading books or essays about Torah. We read predigested ideas about Torah, just like this column of mine, instead of engaging with the primary texts themselves. There is quite literally no substitute for engaging with the original texts themselves.

If you are looking for a place to start, how about reading through the weekly Torah reading in the original Hebrew? If you do not understand what you are reading, use an English translation to help you learn the meaning of the words. Rashi will add another layer to your Torah reading.

If you have more time, study Mishna with the Kehati commentary. Kehati makes the Mishna extremely accessible and understandable. And if you have even more time, try the Talmud. Use the ArtScroll or Steinsaltz translation if you need help. They are both excellent.

Just an hour a day should be more than enough to allow you to gain familiarity with these texts, which in turn will give you more familiarity with God Himself.

But whatever you choose to learn, by approaching your study as a means to know God, you will be elevated and connected to the infinite divine.

By doing this, you will take your Shavuot study and allow it to infuse the rest of your year, until next Shavuot, when you can experience again a profound and new receiving of the Torah. ■

The writer has a doctorate in Jewish philosophy and teaches in post-high school yeshivot and midrashot in Jerusalem.