27 May SHAVUOUS: THE JOY OF MATAN TORAH

Chazal (Pesachim 68:)
say, “All opinions
agree that one needs to
enjoy [good food] on
Shavuos because on
this day the Torah was
given to the Jewish
nation.” Rashi explains,
“He should be happy
with food and drink to
show that he is happy
with this day that the
Torah was given.”
The Gemara relates that
Rav Yosef asked his
family to prepare the best
meats for Shavuos. Rav Yosef explained, “If it
weren’t for this day, there are many Yosefs in
the marketplace.” Rashi explains, “If it wasn’t
for this day that enabled me to learn Torah and
to become exalted, there are many other
people in the market whose name is Yosef, and
what difference would there be between us?”
Maaseh Rav writes, “The Vilna Gaon zt’l was
very happy on Shavuos, more than any other
yom tov, and he put good foods on his table…”
In Kiddush and in Shemoneh Esrei we say,
V’romamtanu M’kol Halishonos. Rebbe
Bunim of Peshischa zt’l translated the words
as follows: M’kol Halishonos, all expressions

of all languages won’t suffice to express
Romamtanu, how holy we became. No
language is rich enough, and no prose is
talented enough to describe the greatness
Hashem granted Bnei Yisrael when He gave us
the Torah.
Seder HaYom (Shavuos) describes the great
joy of matan Torah. He writes, “One should be
very happy on Shavuos because it’s the day the
Torah was given to Bnei Yisrael… One’s body
should rejoice because one uses his body to
study Torah and to perform the mitzvos… And
the neshamah rejoices when it understands
Torah because the neshamah’s joy is solely
learning Torah and keeping the mitzvos.”
The Seder HaYom elaborates on all the good
we receive even in this world from matan
Torah. He writes, “We aren’t fools who don’t
recognize all this honor that Hashem gave us.
The nations of the world turn to their avodah
zarahs that can’t help them, but this isn’t the
lot of Bnei Yisrael. Hashem watches over us
always. Hashem loves us due to our forefathers
and because of His love for the precious,
perfect Torah that He implanted in our midst.
The Torah is Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s
daughter… Whoever will marry and love His
daughter, Hashem will certainly grant him a
dowry of lots of money, and nothing will be
lacking.”

This Seder Hayom teaches us many beautiful
lessons. Hashem loves the avos hakadoshim,
He loves the Torah, and therefore, He loves us
endlessly because we are descendants of the
avos and we study Torah. The goyim turn to
their avodah zarahs, which don’t help them,
but Hashem loves the Jewish nation, and He
therefore watches over us constantly. He
concludes that just as a king will give wealth
and royalty to the person who marries his
daughter, the King will give wealth, royalty,
etc. to the Jewish people who study Torah,
which is Hashem’s daughter.
This final idea can be compared to a wealthy
person who interviews a young man to see
whether he is a suitable match for his only
daughter. In the middle of the conversation,
the bachur asks, “If I marry your daughter,
how much money will you give me?”
The wealthy father replies, “I heard that you
are a wise bachur, but I see that you aren’t
wise. My daughter is my only child, and I am
extremely wealthy. Obviously, you will
receive a lot of money from me. So why do
you ask for a dowry?”
The nimshal is that the Torah is Hashem’s
daughter. Whoever studies and cherishes the
Torah will receive everything he needs. There
will be wealth, and nothing will be lacking.
The Noam Elimelech (Mishpatim) writes, “On

Shavuos, we have a leniency to eat meat after
milk, without waiting the standard shiur (time
period). This is because Shavuos is the day we
received the Torah, and we show that we are
like the malachim [who don’t wait between
milk and meat].”
We don’t know which leniency the Noam
Elimelech is referring to. The meforshim are
puzzled by it because, as it appears from
halachah, Shavuos is the same as the rest of the
year regarding milk and meat. Some say that
the Noam Elimelech refers to those who wait
twenty-four hours between milk and meat (see
Chulin 105.), and on Shavuos, one doesn’t
wait so long. Although we don’t know the
halachic issue that the Noam Elimelech is
referring to, we receive his message that we
are like malachim on Shavuos.