04 May BEHAR/BECHUKOTAI- YEARNING FOR WISDOM

The Mishnah in Pirkeh Avot (6:3) teaches:

One who learns from his fellow one chapter, one law, one verse, one statement, or even one letter, must treat him with respect.

This is a startling Mishnah!!

I have to respect anybody who I ever learned anything from?! Why?

The explanation is that we need to appreciate and cherish wisdom – every bit of wisdom. If we truly yearn for knowledge, recognizing how precious it is, then we will naturally feel grateful to everybody who shares with us some knowledge.

Why do we stay awake all night on Shavuot learning Torah? We could probably learn just as much, and maybe even more, if we learn the same number of hours during the afternoon. But the point isn’t the actual content that we learn. It’s to show that we’re excited about Torah knowledge, that we can’t wait till Shavuot morning when we receive the Torah. The message is that wisdom is so important to us that we yearn for it and stay awake all night long looking forward to it.

This is why Rut has become the symbol of Shavuot.

Rut came from a royal family and married into a very wealthy Jewish family. When her husband and father-in-law died, she could have returned home and enjoyed the luxury of her royal family. But she didn’t do that. Torah wisdom was more important to her than anything else. Knowing full well that she would live in utter destitution, she insisted on joining Naomi and living as a Jew.

This is what Shavuot is about – cherishing knowledge, realizing that it is far more important than wealth and the vain pleasures of life.

Cherishing wisdom means not only setting aside time for learning, but also being open to hearing advice, to listening to other perspectives, and to learning from other people.

There are times when I sit down with my family at the Shabbat table and share with them something I’m struggling with, a question or problem that I have, and I ask for their advice. I am always amazed by the insights they offer. My children obviously have much less life experience than I do, and have learned much less than I have, but their perspective is valuable. If we truly yearn for wisdom, then we’re humble and open to learning from all other people.

As we prepare for Shavuot, let us remind ourselves that there’s nothing more precious or more valuable than wisdom and knowledge. And let us renew our commitment to making the acquisition of wisdom a high priority – both by setting aside more time for learning, by encouraging our spouses and children to learn, by spending time learning and having meaningful conversations with our families, and by being open to hearing what others have to say, realizing that every new idea and new perspective is precious.