Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha contains a rich array of stimulating narratives that challenge our understanding and cry out to us, “Darshani!” (“Interpret me!”)  One of these is known as the “Test of the Matot (Staffs):”

The L-rd spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to the children of Israel and take from them a staff for each father’s house from all the chieftains according to their fathers’ houses; [a total of] twelve staffs, and inscribe each man’s name on his staff. Inscribe Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi, for there is [only] one staff for the head of their fathers’ house. You shall place the staffs in the Tent of Meeting before the [Ark of] the Testimony where I commune with you. The staff of the man whom I will choose will blossom, and I will calm down [turn away] from Myself the complaints of the children of Israel which they are complaining against you.” (Sefer Bamidbar 17:16-20, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
A direct reading of our passage indicates that the Almighty commanded Moshe to undertake these actions so that, “I [Hashem] will calm down [turn away] from Myself the complaints of the children of Israel which they are complaining against you [Moshe].” Midrash Tanchuma suggests that this process was crucial, since the people were strongly opposed to the Kehunah (Kohanim) being under Aharon’s control (b’yad Aharon). (Parashat Acharei Mot VIII, translation my own) While this interpretation is certainly helpful, it does not explain the underlying reason our ancestors’ passionate resistance to Aharon’s stewardship of the Kehunah.

We are fortunate that Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk zatzal (1843-1926) addresses this issue in his classic work, Meshech Chachmah, and, in so doing, enables us to understand the “story behind the story.” In his view, the people’s negative attitude toward Aharon being granted the Kehunah was fomented by none other than Korach and his band of rebels:

For the error of Korach and his followers was that they thought the Kehunah was not a matter of segulah (unique choice by Hashem) and [genealogical endowment] to Aharon’s descendants. [Instead, they thought it was] solely a matter of the [present Kohanim’s] ability to effectively carry out the actions that they were called upon to perform (kishron pe’ulah) — which had put them in good stead in conjunction with their elevated status. If so, over time when the Kohanim would eventually sin, or the majority of the people would [potentially] achieve higher levels of kedushah (holiness) than the Kohanim, then [they thought the Kehunah could be wrested from Aharon’s future offspring] and others more deserving of this honor would join the Kehunah... (Parashat Korach 17:17, this and all translations and brackets my own)
 
Rav Meir Simcha’s position is clear: The error of Korach and his followers regarding the status of the Kohanim and the Kehunah was predicated upon a radical misconception, namely, that the Kehunah was a meritocracy, rather than a segulah and eternal covenant between Hashem and Aharon’s biological heirs. This notion is explicitly stated in reference to Pinchas, wherein we find: “Therefore, say, ‘I [Hashem] hereby give him [Pinchas] My covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of Kehunah (brit kehunat olam)...’” (Sefer Bamidbar 25:13)
 
Rav Meir Simcha continues his presentation by alluding to the following pasukim (verses) in our parasha that describe the manifest miracle that took place concerning Aharon’s staff:

Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their chieftains gave him a staff for each chieftain according to their fathers’ houses, [a total of] twelve staffs, and Aaron’s staff was amidst their staffs. Moses placed the staffs before the L-rd in the Tent of the Testimony. And on the following day Moses came to the Tent of Testimony, and behold, Aaron's staff for the house of Levi had blossomed! It gave forth blossoms, sprouted buds, and produced ripe almonds. (17:21-23)
 
 
Rav Meir Simcha suggests that this kind of nes (miracle) which utilized common everyday objects, yet took them above the laws of nature, was necessary in order to provide incontrovertible proof that Aharon was uniquely both:

genealogically and [through] Hashem’s Divine choice (tevi v’seguli’i) [the progenitor of the Kohanim] — just like we find in reference to the election of the Jewish people [as the Chosen People]. [Moreover, we must ever remember] that the Holy One blessed be He took an oath that He would never replace us [with any other nation], which is the case, as well, regarding Aharon [and his future descendants], for their covenant, too, is everlasting in nature (literally a “covenant of salt,” brit melach).
 
Rav Meir Simcha concludes that just as Hashem chose the Jewish people as His segulah nation, so, too, did He choose Aharon and his descendants to be the Kohanim. As such, Korach’s idea to replace Aharon and the other Kohanim violated Hashem’s will, and His holy Torah.
 
While the Kehunah specifically rests with Aharon and his descendants, our Sages have taught us that it is laudatory for all the nations of the world to emulate the Kohanim and Levi’im, and in so doing, they will be rewarded by the Almighty. The Rambam (1135-1204) was one of the greatest scholars to give voice to this idea:

Not only the tribe of Levi, but any one of the inhabitants of the world whose spirit generously motivates him and understands with his wisdom [how] to set himself aside and stand before G-d to serve Him and minister to Him and to know G-d, proceeding justly as G-d made him … is as sanctified as the holy of holies. G-d will be His portion and heritage forever and will provide what is sufficient for him in this world, just like He provides for the Kohanim and the Levi’im. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shemitah v’Yovel 13:13, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)
 
May we be counted among those who, as the Rambam describes, develop such closeness to Hashem that we become a kingdom of Kohanim, dedicating ourselves to sanctifying His holy Name throughout the entire world. Then, with the Almighty’s help and our fervent desire, may we participate in the realization of Zechariah’s grand vision: “And the L-rd shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall the L-rd be one, and His Name one.” (Sefer Zechariah 14:9)  May this time come soon and in our days, v’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org/ using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha is unique as it contains the only instance in the Torah with pasukim (verses) preceded and followed by an inverted letter “nun.” (Sefer Bamidbar 10:35-36)  One of the better-known discussions regarding this distinctive occurrence is found in Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 115b-116a:

Our Rabbis taught: “So it was, whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, ‘Arise, O L-rd, may Your enemies be scattered and may those who hate You flee from You.’” “And when it came to rest, he would say, ‘Repose O L-rd, among the myriads of thousands of Israel.’” (Sefer Bamidbar 10:35-36, these verses and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach): The Holy One, blessed be He, provided signs for this section above and below, to teach that this is not its place. Rabbi [Yehudah HaNasi]said: “It is not on that account, but because it ranks as a separate Book.” With whom does the following dictum of R. Samuel b. Nahmani in R. Jonathan's name agree: “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.” (Sefer Mishle 9:1) [Are you suggesting that] this refers to the seven Books of the Law? With whom [that is, whose opinion does this follow?] With Rabbi [Yehudah HaNasi]. (Translation, Soncino Talmud, with my brackets and emendations)
 
Although there are two opinions in this passage concerning our pasukim, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi’s view is more widely-known, and considered to be the generally accepted position.  In his view, the Torah is comprised of seven, rather than five, separate books: Bereishit, Shemot, Vayikra, Bamidbar (until our pasukim), Bamidbar 10:35-36 (our verses), Bamidbar (after our pasukim) and Sefer Devarim.
 
I find the first of our two pasukim particularly difficult to comprehend; in particular, the phrase, “and may those who hate You flee from You,” seems to hide far more than it reveals. After all, exactly who are those “who hate You?” Moreover, what does it actually mean to “hate G-d?” Fortunately, these questions were addressed long ago in the Midrash Sifrei on our pasuk:

“May those who hate You flee from You:” And are there really haters [that stand before] the One who spoke and the world came into being? Rather, the text is teaching us that anyone who hates the Jewish people is as if he hates the One who spoke and the world came into being. We find this idea, as well, in another verse, “And with Your great pride You tear down those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning wrath; it devours them like straw.” (Sefer Shemot 15:7)  And are there really those who rise up against the One who spoke and the world came into being? Rather, the Torah is teaching us that anyone who rises up against the Jewish people is as if he has risen up against the Omnipresent One (HaMakom). (Pesikta 84, translation and brackets my own)
 
According to this Midrash, no one actually hates or rises up against Hashem. Instead, anyone, be they individuals or nations, who has abject antipathy for our people and wreaks havoc against us is included among those who are called sonei Hashem (haters of Hashem). Professor Nechama Leibowitz zatzal (1905-1997), one of the previous generation’s greatest exponents of Torah analysis, offers an interpretation of our midrashic passage that is particularly apropos:

Accordingly, the enemies of Israel are synonymous with the enemies of G-d. Whether we are worthy or not of this title; those bent on our destruction regard us as the standard-bearers of truth and justice and the representatives of the divine Law. And it is for this reason they persecute and hate us. (Studies in Bamidbar, page 91, translated and adapted from the Hebrew by Aryeh Newman)
 
Professor Leibowitz buttresses her insights with the following synopsis of Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch’s zatzal (1808-1888) interpretation of our pasukim:

Hirsch, commenting on this passage, remarks that Moses was aware that enemies would rise up against the Torah from the moment that it was given. Its demands for justice and altruism were bound to antagonize aggressors and tyrants and stand in the way of their designs. The Torah’s call to holiness would not only arouse hatred, but active persecution. (Ibid.)
 
Taken in tandem, Professor Leibowitz provides us with a clear path for understanding the very nature of anti-Semitism, and why, for example, the Haggadah solemnly proclaims: “B’kol dor v’dor omdim aleinu l’kaloteinu” — “In each and every generation there are those who rise against us to completely destroy us.” In sum, we are “the standard-bearers of truth and justice and the representatives of the divine Law.” In addition, the Torah itself, and we as its representatives, are antithetical to everything for which the tyrants of the world have stood and continue to stand.  “Its demands for justice and altruism,” coupled with the Torah’s “call to holiness,” are ideals by which our enemies cannot abide. As a result, as the “People of the Book,” that is, as representatives of Hashem’s holy Law, we continue to be hated and persecuted until this time. 
 
With the Almighty’s help and our fervent desire, may the time come soon and, in our days, when the words of Zechariah the prophet are fulfilled and proclaimed by all the nations of the world: “And the L-rd shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall the L-rd be one, and His Name one.” (14:9) Then, and only then, will the endless cycles of hatred and injustice against us cease and the words of Yermiyahu the prophet be realized, as we hear: “the sound of mirth and the sound of joy, the voice of a bridegroom and the voice of a bride, the sound of those saying, ‘Thank the L-rd of Hosts, for the L-rd is good, for His loving-kindness endures forever,’ bringing a thanksgiving offering to the House of the L-rd...” (33:11)  V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org/ using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The laws pertaining to the Nazir (Nazirite) are found in this week’s parasha, and begin with the following passage:

The L-rd spoke to Moses saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them: A man or woman who sets himself apart by making a nazirite vow to abstain for the sake of the L-rd. He shall abstain from new wine and aged wine; he shall not drink [even] vinegar made from new wine or aged wine, nor shall he drink anything in which grapes have been steeped, and he shall eat neither fresh grapes nor dried ones. (Sefer Bamidbar 6:1-3, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) often chose a haftarah (reading from the Prophets) with an underlying theme that parallels a subject found in its associated Torah portion. Our haftarah follows this approach, and focuses upon the miraculous events preceding the birth of the most famous Nazir of all time, Shimshon HaGibor  (Samson the heroic one). The essence of our narrative begins in the following manner:

And there was one man from Zorah, from the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and had not borne. And an angel of the L-rd appeared to the woman, and said to her, “Behold now, you are barren, and have not borne; and you shall conceive and bear a son. Consequently, beware now, and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat any unclean thing. Because you shall conceive, and bear a son; and a razor shall not come upon his head, for a Nazirite to G-d shall the lad be from the womb; and he will begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” (Sefer Shoftim 13:2-5)
 
A number of pasukim (verses) later, the haftarah concludes with the birth of Shimshon and explicit statements that Hashem both blessed and rested His Divine spirit upon him: “And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the lad grew, and the L-rd blessed him. And the spirit of the L-rd began to come to him at times in the camp of Dan...” (Sefer Shoftim 13:24-25)
 
Based upon his colorful nature and the all-too famous incident with Delilah, Shimshon emerges as one of the most misunderstood figures in Tanach. We are indeed fortunate that Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) address these misperceptions and help reveal his authentic persona. The Torah teaches us that two of the twelve tribes received the appellation “gur aryeh.” Ya’acov Avinu (our father Jacob) bestowed this title on Yehudah and his descendants, whereas Moshe Rabbeinu (our teacher Moses) did so regarding the tribe of Dan:

A cub (gur) [and] a grown lion (aryeh) is Judah. From the prey, my son, you withdrew. He crouched, rested like a lion, and like a lion, who will rouse him? (Sefer Bereishit 49:9)
 
And of Dan he (Moshe) said: “Dan is a young lion (gur aryeh), streaming from Bashan.” (Sefer Devarim 33:22)
 
Midrash Bereishit Rabbah (Parashat Va’yechi VII) explains “gur aryeh” as Ya’acov’s blessing to Yehudah to acquire “the strength of a lion and the temerity (chutzpah) of a lion cub.” Little wonder, then, that in his Commentary on the Torah on this pasuk (Sefer Bereishit 49:9), Rashi (1040-1105) notes that Ya’acov’s use of gur aryeh prophetically refers to Yehudah’s most famous descendant and forebear of the Mashiach, Dovid HaMelech (King David), who embodied both lion-like strength and great boldness. In addition, seven pasukim later we find, “Dan will avenge his people, like one, the tribes of Israel.” Herein Rashi, basing himself on a variety of passages found throughout Rabbinic literature, states:

All Israel will be like one with him, and he will avenge them all. Concerning Samson he [Jacob] uttered this prophecy. We can also explain, “like one, the tribes of Israel,” [as follows]: like the special one of the tribes, namely David, who came from Judah.
 
Rashi’s gloss strongly underscores the perception of Chazal regarding the relationship between the tribe of Yehudah and the tribe of Dan, as epitomized by their most famous descendants, King David and Shimshon. This idea is given powerful voice in Midrash Bereishit Rabbah, Parashat Vayechi 14: “Ya’acov Avinu saw him [Shimshon in a prophetic vision] and thought he was the Melech HaMashiach (the King Messiah)…” Clearly, Shimshon’s potential was nearly unlimited.
 
In my estimation, Shimshon’s status as one of the most outstanding Judges and protectors of the Jewish people is given its most powerful expression in Rabbi Yochanan’s words in Talmud Bavli, Sotah 10a:
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Rabbi Yochanan said: “Shimshon judged the Jewish people just like their Father-in-Heaven. As the text states, ‘Dan will avenge his people, like one [Rashi — the One of the World Who renders righteous judgment], the tribes of Israel.’” (Sefer Bereishit 49:16). And [in addition] Rabbi Yochanan said: “Shimshon was named after the name of the Holy One blessed be He. As the text states: ‘For a sun (shemesh — similar in Hebrew spelling to Shimshon) and a shield is the L-rd G-d; the L-rd will give grace and glory; He will not withhold good from those who go with sincerity.’” (Sefer Tehillim 84:12, Talmud translation my own)
 
Rabbi Yochanan compares Shimshon to the Almighty in two respects, as an honest and forthright judge and as a true shomer Yisrael — guardian and defender of the Jewish people. In his view, this was the real Shimshon, even though he grievously erred with Delilah, among others.
 
I believe another aspect of Shimshon’s greatness is found in his willingness to do teshuvah (returning to the proper path of serving Hashem), just as Dovid HaMelech did in the wake of his initial involvement with Batsheva. Shimshon rose to this level when he beseeched Hashem for the strength to destroy his idolatrous Philistine captors. When Hashem granted him this power, Shimshon was able to mekadash shame Shamayim b’rabim — sanctify Hashem’s name before the entire world:
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And the people [Philistines] saw him (Shimshon) and praised their god, because they said, “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy and the destroyer of our land, and who has slain many of us.” And Samson called to the L-rd and said, “O L-rd G-d, remember me and strengthen me now, only this once O G-d, that I may be avenged the vengeance for one of my two eyes from the Philistines.” And Samson grasped the two pillars of the center, upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, (the) one with his right hand and the other with his left. And Samson said, “Let my soul die with the Philistines,” and he bent with (his) might, and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. And the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his lifetime. (Sefer Shoftim 16:24,28-30)
 
With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may we live lives that are mekadash shame Shamayim and bring honor to His holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org/ using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Yakir Ephraim ben Rachel Devorah, Mordechai ben Miriam Tovah, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
As the Torah attests, Ya’akov Avinu’s (our father, Jacob’s) emigration from the Land of Israel to Egypt was the collective action of a family:

And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Jacob, each man and his household came: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin. Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Now all those descended from Jacob were seventy souls, and Joseph, [who] was in Egypt. (Sefer Shemot 1:1-5, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
This family’s 210-year sojourn in Egypt engendered a major change in their status, as during this period they became known as a people: “A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph. He said to his people, ‘Behold, the people (Am) of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we are.’” (Sefer Shemot 1:8-9). In a variety of midrashic passages, our Sages teach us that this recognition resulted from our ancestors’ unwillingness to change their names, dress and language. Outwardly, at least, they remained distinct from their Egyptian neighbors.
 
Sadly, however, many of the Jewish people at this time were spiritually weak and unable to maintain the uncompromising monotheism that Avraham had brought to the world. This is illustrated by the well-known midrash wherein the malachai hasharet (Ministering Angels) declared at the Sea of Reeds: “These [the Egyptians] and these [the Jews] are idol worshippers; why, then, are you saving the Jewish people and drowning the Egyptians in the Sea [of Reeds], for in truth, there is no difference between them?!” (Midrash Tehillim 1:20, 15:5, Zohar, Parashat Terumah 170, translation my own) 
 
We are indeed fortunate that the Master of the Universe had very different plans for us. He knew there was but one way to guarantee the continuity of our people; namely, we would have to abandon idol worship and become “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Sefer Shemot 19:6)  In order to achieve this goal, we needed to undergo a radical transformation — we had to become gerim (converts), and accept the Torah and Mitzvot.
 
This is precisely the significance of Shavuot, for it is on this day that we embraced the Torah and declared “na’aseh v’nishmah” (“We will do and we will hear/learn,” Sefer Shemot 24:7). At that auspicious moment, we simultaneously became gerim and Hashem’s chosen people. As the Torah states: “And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant [that is, the Torah], you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire earth.” (Sefer Shemot 19:5) My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, expanded upon this idea in a public lecture that analyzed the connection between our becoming gerim and the reading of Megillat Rut on Shavuot:
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The Parsha of Mattan Torah, receipt of the Torah at Mount Sinai, was the story of Gayrus, conversion of the Jewish people. The children of the patriarchs converted en masse [as a total group] at Ma’amad Har Sinai [the Revelation]. Hence the connection to Ruth. The story of Mattan Torah and Ruth together comprise the topic of conversion…The principle of conversion is a fundamental connection between the events at Mount Sinai and the story of Ruth.
 
As Boaz tells Ruth, she should be blessed for leaving everything behind to join a people that she did not know and for coming under the wings of the Shechina [the Divine Presence] of the G-d of Israel. In other words, she converted. The same idea is found at Ma’amad Har Sinai where the Torah tells the story of the conversion of B’nai Yisrael [the Jewish people] in conjunction with the Revelation of G-d on Mount Sinai. (Direct transcription of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s public lecture on 5/24/68. Source: www.parsha.net/Bamidbar/Shavuos2-60.doc, italics, underlining and brackets my own.)
 
The Rav is well-known for underscoring the concept that the exalted night of Pesach is existentially a re-experiencing of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Departure from Egypt). This, he opines, is what the Ba’al Hagaddah (Editor of the Haggadah) meant when he wrote, “B’chol dor v’dor chaiyav adam lirot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mi’Mitzraim”  (“In each and every generation a person is obligated to view himself as if he personally went out of Egypt”).  In other words, for the Rav, the Exodus must never be viewed as a mere historical event; rather, all Jews, for all time, were and ever will be active participants in its continuous unfolding in our lives.
 
In my estimation, we can build upon this idea of the Rav and extend it to Shavuot. In so doing, we can perceive this majestic Yom Tov as the time to declare, “na’aseh v’nishmah,” and, like Rut, come “under the wings of the Shechina of the G-d of Israel.” With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this be so. V’chane yihi ratzon.   
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org/ using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.