19 May SHAVUOT: CELEBRATING OUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TORAH

It is customary on
Shavuot to read Megilat
Rut, which tells the
famous story of Rut, a
woman from the nation
of Moav who decided to

join the Jewish Nation.
There is a certain irony in the fact that on this
day, when we celebrate Matan Torah, we
focus our attention on the story of somebody
whose ancestors were not present at that
event. Why would we do this? If this day is all
about the commemoration of our receiving
the Torah at Sinai, then why would we read
the story of Rut, a convert, whose forebears
did not stand at Sinai?
The answer is that this question is based on a
faulty assumption. Surprising as it may sound,
and contrary to popular belief, Shavuot does
NOT, in fact, commemorate our ancestors’
receiving the Torah at Sinai.
In our tefilah, we refer to Shavuot as Z’man
Matan Torateinu – “the time when our
Torah was given.” This holiday is not about
the giving of the Torah, but rather the
receiving of our Torah. Meaning, we celebrate
our acceptance of the Torah, our commitment,
the decision we’ve made to lovingly embrace

the Torah, its laws, its values, and the lifestyle
it requires.
We celebrate on Shavuot our recognition and
appreciation of just how wonderful and
precious the Torah and Torah life are, such
that it is worth making every one of the
sacrifices that the Torah demands. Yes, the
Torah requires us to sacrifice certain things,
but it is so worth it. We sacrifice to observe
Shabbat, but there is nothing that compares to
the joy and serenity that Shabbat gives
us. And the same is true of all the mitzvot.
Nobody exemplifies this appreciation of the
preciousness of Torah life more than Rut. She
was a princess, the daughter of the king of
Moav, and grew up in his palace. She married
a Jewish man who had come to live in Moav
with his family, and he died, leaving her no
children. His brother and father also died. The
most natural decision for her to make at that
point was to return to her father’s palace. But
instead, she chose to join her penniless
mother-in-law back to the Land of Israel and
become part of Am Yisrael. In order to
survive, she needed to go into other people’s
fields and pick stalks of grain one at a
time. What’s more, she did not expect to be
able to remarry, because the Torah forbids

marrying someone from the nation of
Moav. Only later was it determined that this
prohibition applies only to the men of Moav,
but not to the women. Rut sacrificed
everything for the sake of joining the Jewish
Nation, because she – more than anybody else
– recognized the unparalleled beauty of Torah
life.
The story ends by showing us that ultimately,
Rut was blessed and rewarded for her
willingness to sacrifice for the sake of
Torah. She married a wealthy man – Boaz –
and became the great-grandmother of Dovid
HaMelech, the matriarch of the royal family
and of Mashiah.
We read the story of Rut on Shavuot precisely
because we are celebrating Matan Torateinu,
our acceptance of the Torah, regarding which
Rut is our most inspirational role model.
A famous Mishnah in Pirkeh Avot (6:4)
teaches:
This is the path of Torah: You eat [only] bread
with salt, you drink water in rations, you sleep
on the ground, and you live a life of discomfort
– and yet you toil in Torah.
The Rabbis explain that the Mishnah here

does not require living in poverty. Self-
deprivation is not at all a prerequisite for

living a Torah life. But the Mishnah is telling
us that even if this were what we needed to do
in order to learn and observe the Torah, we
must do it. Torah is that important, and that
valuable. It is worth sacrificing all the world’s
comforts and delights in order to live a Torah
life – and nobody shows us this more clearly
than Rut.
Let us all reinforce not only our commitment
to Torah, but our appreciation of Torah, our
recognition of how blessed and fortunate we
are to be able to live a Torah life, and we will
then be readily prepared to make the sacrifices
necessary for Torah, understanding that each
and every sacrifice is worth it.