19 May PARSHA IN PRACTICE: SKILLS FOR BETTER LIVING SHAVUOS – HUMILITY WITH PRIDE

It turns out, Har Sinai
wasn’t so small after all.
Young children are
taught many songs before
Shavuos, including
the classic where Har
Sinai cries that it is not
tall or wide enough to host Matan Torah.
But in the end, “From all the mountains,
Hashem chose Sinai” – specifically because
it was so unassuming. The lesson seems
straightforward: true Kabbalas HaTorah
can only be achieved by those willing to
submissively adhere to a Divine set of laws
and humbly respect the opinions of others.
This is why Hashem chose to give the Torah
on the lowest of all the mountains (Sotah 5a).
For the little kids, we can leave it at that.
But the rest of us should be bothered by a
simple question: If Hashem really wanted to
teach humility, why use a mountain at all? If
receiving the Torah requires submission and
self-effacement, it should have been given in a
valley – or at least on flat ground. What is the
significance of choosing something elevated,
and then specifically selecting the smallest
option?
Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein zt”l (author of
Torah Temimah) offers a powerful insight in
his work Baruch She’amar. Har Sinai was not
just small – it was still a mountain. With this
choice, Hashem taught that true Kabbalas
HaTorah requires a careful balance.
At our core, we must be humble. A life of
Torah demands submission – to Hashem’s
will, to the authority of halachah, and to
the wisdom of others. There is no room for
arrogance in Avodas Hashem.
But taken too far, humility can become
something else entirely.
An excess of self-effacement can quietly
morph into low self-worth. And that is far
more dangerous. A person who feels small
in the wrong way – who believes their actions
don’t matter, that their growth is insignificant
– is unlikely to live a life of meaningful Torah.
What will get them out of bed in the morning?
What will push them to daven with focus, to
learn with effort, to push past resistance and
grow?
For that, a person needs a sense of elevation.
They need to believe: My actions matter. My
choices count. I have the ability – and the
responsibility – to rise.
That is why the Torah was given on Har Sinai.
Be the smallest mountain – but be a mountain.
Lower your ego, but don’t flatten yourself. True
humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is
thinking of yourself accurately: small before
Hashem, but still significant in His plan.
This dual message is especially relevant on
Shavuos.
Kabbalas HaTorah is not just about saying
na’aseh v’nishmah with submission. It is
about saying it with a sense of purpose and
pride. I am ready to accept the Torah – not
just because I must, but because I matter in
this story. My learning matters. My growth
matters. My avodah matters.
Practically, this means walking into Shavuos –

and beyond – with two simultaneous mindsets.
On the one hand: humility. An openness to
learn, to be guided, to recognize how much
we don’t yet know.
On the other hand: a quiet, steady confidence.
Taking on something real – a new kabbalah in

learning, more focused tefillah, or a small but
consistent area of interpersonal growth – and
believing that it counts.
Because it does.
Hashem did not give the Torah in a valley. He
gave it on a mountain. The most humble mountain.