This is our faith and heritage

By Rabbi Yosef Levin | Last year there was nothing we could do. The great holiday of Shavuot was coming, a time when historically every Jew, man, woman and child, including infants, attends the reading of the Torah. Just as when Hashem gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai 3,333 years ago everyone was present, we recreate that every year. But there was grave danger to life in the streets; the deadly COVID virus closed the Synagogues and prohibited gatherings. In Torah human life takes precedence to almost anything else, so we stayed home to protect life.



Here we are a year later and once again our people are facing a grave danger. The virus threat is subsiding and gatherings are happening again, but a different type of threat has reared its ugly head. Once again the enemies of the Jewish people are trying their utmost to destroy Israel, and their friends around the world are spewing their venom unabashedly in the streets of civilized countries. Obviously any direct action has to be left up to the authorities, but contrary to last year when we were forced to stay home, this year each of us can do something about this in our own way.



In the Haggadah of Pesach we say that Hashem’s eternal covenant to us is what has allowed us to survive the attempts to annihilate us in every generation. This is our faith and our heritage. We are one people, and our strength comes from Hashem. Each mitzvah that any Jew around the world does strengthens our position. Each miraculous direct hit by the Iron Dome system is supported by our Mitzvot and Torah learning. The troops of Tzahal are bolstered by the prayers and Tzedakah of Jews all over.



Each season has its special moments, and each holiday opens a channel of blessing unique to that holiday. The path to blessings and protection from Hashem at this time of year is through the observances related to the upcoming holiday of Shavuot. We are now in the period of preparation for the holiday, and this is a time when the Torah tells us there was a unique feeling of unity among the Jewish people. When they came to Mount Sinai on the first day of the month of Sivan (which we celebrated yesterday), they were “as one person with one heart.” So it seems to me that this is the first item on the agenda: To set aside whatever differences we may have and pull together as a People. To show respect and love for one another in more than just theory - to speak well of one another, to find ways to show unity in our thoughts, words and actions. Jews around the world have been saying prayers, Psalms for example, giving additional Tzedakah, and studying more Torah to bring blessings and strength to our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world. We need to continue to do that, and to do whatever we can to find more ways to strengthen the unity between us, and our connection to Hashem as a People.



On Monday, we will celebrate the first day of the Holiday of Shavuot, as I mentioned above. This year we can show up. This year we can all re-experience the receiving of the Torah. It’s true that we are not standing at the foot of Mount Sinai and the voice is that of the reader, not Hashem Himself. Nevertheless, the words are those of Hashem, and when we hear the reading of the Ten Commandments, we can travel in our hearts to Sinai and recreate that great eternal event in our imagination. Just the fact that Jews in all corners of the world, in different countries, from different backgrounds and cultures, speaking different languages and wearing different kinds of clothes, all unite for this Torah reading, is enough to transform the world with holiness and light.



I encourage you to make every effort to walk to the synagogue this Monday with your whole family (with whatever safety precautions are necessary, of course) and be part of this powerful global event. Let’s make up for last year, let’s show our unity and solidarity, and let’s celebrate Hashem’s revelation to the world. Every one of us who shows up increases the revelation and the blessings it will bring, including peace and harmony to Israel and the world, and the ultimate revelation with Moshiach.