The Man, the Mountain - Bamidbar Shavuot

 I am dedicating this D’var Torah to a giant whom we lost this week.  Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky passed away in Brooklyn on Tuesday.  Anyone who watched the Chabad Shluchim Convention broadcasts is familiar with his face and his voice. Among other things he did the roll call of Shluchim from around the world.  He was in a very big way responsible for the tremendously successful growth of the global Chabad organization.  

I remember when I was a Yeshiva student, and I would visit his home for Shabbat meals. (His wife Rivka is my first cousin.)  He would tell me stories of the far-flung places in the world that he would visit to meet Jews who had no access to Jewish life, and how he intended to send a young Rabbinic couple there.  He was the one who suggested to Dena and me that we consider developing Chabad in Palo Alto, and subsequently the Rebbe approved the appointment and sent us here.

He dedicated his entire life, every waking moment, to Jews around the world, supporting the thousands of Chabad couples who moved out to places large and small to provide outreach to local Jews.  The Convention of which he was the Chairman, the largest annual Jewish gathering in the world, was a small taste of his incredible impact.

And through it all he was one of the most humble of men.  Which brings me to the topic I want to discuss today.  There is a famous allegory from the Sages, that all the great mountains in the Middle East argued over where the Torah should be given.  One claimed it was the tallest, another the broadest, etc.  Mount Sinai, the lowest of all the mountains, not expecting the Torah to be given on it, remained quiet.  Hashem chose Mount Sinai, to teach us that in order to truly “acquire” Torah, and to properly connect to Hashem through its study and practice, we need humility,

(This is also one of the explanations for why Hashem gave the Torah in the desert and not in some lush landscape.  Just as the desert is desolate and nothing grows there, a person must clear out their own ideas and emotions and humble themselves to what Hashem is telling us in the Torah.)  When we approach Torah with arrogance, with our own ideas of what the Torah should mean and what we think life should be like, we do not get what Hashem’s will is.  It is only when we approach Torah study with humility, recognizing that it is Hashem’s will, and then engaging our intellect and emotions to understand what the Torah is teaching us, that we are guided by its light.

The question arises:  If humility is the lesson, why give the Torah on a mountain at all?  Yes, it’s the lowest mountain, but why not give the Torah on a plain, or even in a valley?  Would a valley not be more appropriate to convey the message of humility?

The answer is that while humility is important, we must also have a sense of pride.  If someone is so humble that they are meek and have no backbone, they will not accomplish anything, thinking that they have no value.  We must recognize the great value that we have as Hashem’s creations with the ability to do Mitzvot and transform the world.  

Each of us has unique abilities and talents that Hashem has given us to do our part in bringing light to the world.  A humble person feels that all these talents and abilities are given by Hashem, and that someone else with the same talents might do better, so there is nothing to be arrogant about.  But the talents and abilities come with a responsibility, and that is to use them for a purpose, and too much humility will cause a person to miss his or her opportunities.

A healthy sense of who we are and what we can do, a drive to live up to our full potential and really make a difference, along with a healthy dose of humility, that is Mount Sinai.  And it is on Mount Sinai that we receive the Torah, creating a deep, internal connection to Hashem inspiring us into action that transforms the physical world into a place of light and goodness.

I wish you a Happy Shavuot (next Wednesday and Thursday, June 12 & 13), and I invite you to join us for services, all night study, Torah readings of the Ten Commandments, great dairy parties and more.  chabadpaloalto.com.

In the words of the traditional Chassidic Shavuot greeting: Kabbalat Hatorah Besimcha Uvipnimiyut - may you receive the Torah with joy and connect with it deeply.