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Shavuot – Judgment Day for Torah Study

I know what you are thinking right now. We aren’t near Rosh Hashanah; Isn’t the upcoming holiday Shavuot, the holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah. Why are you posting an image of judgment scales, which would be more appropriate to share in a few months for Rosh Hashanah? Wouldn’t this be a better picture to depict Shavuot?

Yet, if we examine a recently I came across fromom the Shlah HaKadosh (R. Isaiah Horowitz), we would see that the celebration of receiving the Torah and the scales of judgment work come together. He writes (Aseret HaDibrot, Shavuot):

חייב אדם לשמוח בזה החג ביותר, כי הוא יום שזכינו בו לכתר תורה. ובפסחים פרק אלו דברים (סח, ב), הכל מודים בעצרת דבעינן נמי לכם. מר בריה דרבינא יתיב כולא שתא בתעניתא, בר מעצרתא ויומי דפוריא כו’. רב יוסף ביומא דעצרתא עבד ליה עגלא תילתא, אמר, אי לאו ההוא יומא כמה יוסף איכא בשוקא. מכל מקום גילו ברעדה כתיב (תהלים ב, יא), והשמחה אשר שמח תהיה שמחה רוחניית והודות והלל להשם יתברך שנתן לנו התורה, מתעורר מאוד בלבו להתקדש ולתקן מעשיו ולהיות מוכתר בכתר תורה לקיים (יהושע א, ח) והגית בו יומם ולילה, כי היום הקדוש הזה הוא יומא דדינא:

וזה לשון תולעת יעקב דף נ”ח, ודע כי כמו שבראש השנה רצה הקדוש ברוך הוא להשגיח ולדרוש מעשה בני אדם כי הוא יום הבריאה הראשונה וחדוש העולם, וכמו שתקנו לומר זה היום תחלת מעשיך כדברי רבי אליעזר שאמר בתשרי נברא העולם (ר”ה ח, א), כן רצה ביום מתן תורה שהוא מורה על החדוש העולם להשגיח ולדרוש על מעשה העולם ולדונו על פירות האילן, כדאיתא בפרק קמא דראש השנה (טז, א) בארבע פרקים העולם נידון כו’, בעצרת על פירות האילן. וכבר ביארנו כי הפירות ההם הם הנשמות הפורחות מאילנו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, והעולם נידון ביום זה על התורה שנתנה בו שבטלו עצמה ממנה והוא אמרם על פירות האילן בלא השלימם בתורה ובמצות כראוי.

To Summarize: Shavuot is a day of celebrating receiving the crown of Torah. It is a day of rejoicing, a day dedicated to the spiritual rejoicing we experienced in receiving the Torah. The day is a time to renew our commitment to Torah study and enwrapping ourselves in the beauty of Gd’s word. It is the time we have the opportunity to renew this coronation. As such, it is a judgment day like Rosh Hashanah. This is based on the Mishnah from Rosh Hashanah (1:2), which says:

בְּאַרְבָּעָה פְרָקִים הָעוֹלָם נִדּוֹן, בְּפֶסַח עַל הַתְּבוּאָה, בַּעֲצֶרֶת עַל פֵּרוֹת הָאִילָן, בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה כָּל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עוֹבְרִין לְפָנָיו כִּבְנֵי מָרוֹן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים לג) הַיּוֹצֵר יַחַד לִבָּם, הַמֵּבִין אֶל כָּל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם. וּבֶחָג נִדּוֹנִין עַל הַמָּיִם:

At four times of the year the world is judged: On Passover judgment is passed concerning grain; on Shavuot concerning fruits that grow on a tree; on Rosh HaShana, all creatures pass before Him like sheep [benei maron], as it is stated: “He Who fashions their hearts alike, Who considers all their deeds” (Psalms 33:15); and on the festival of Sukkot they are judged concerning water, i.e., the rainfall of the coming year.

Shavuot, Azteret, is the day the world is judged concerning fruits that grow from a tree. Reading this Mishnah with an eye towards the mystical, the spiritual, The Shlah suggests that the Torah, which is considered the Tree of Life, bears the fruits that result from our study and effort. What does all of this mean? How do we get judged on our intellectual output and what are we supposed to do to have a “favorable” judgment?

Reflecting on the bolded question, what keeps coming back to mind is the word effort. We are judged not on what we produce, but the effort we exert. Yes, there is a goal and desire to come up with novel, unique, deep approaches in our learning. But, this isn’t the goal and message of Shavuot. Rather, the goal is strengthening our daily connection to the Torah, to the gift and beauty of the corpus that is Gd’s word, Gd’s revealed “self” to the world. The goal of Shavuot is that this holiday is the moment each year we recommit to planting the seeds of deepening our desire to study daily. Through study, through connecting to Gd’s essence, we recommit to upholding one of the foundational points of the world (as we see from these words of Pirkei Avot (1:2)):

שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים:

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the great assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety.

When we exert effort, we are deserving of the crown of Torah. When we do our due diligence, when we put our effort in, we will see the results. To quote from a recent podcast/shiur from a friend, who was quoting from a former US President, Ask Not What Hashem Can Do For You, But What You Can Do For Hashem.

May we find that on Shavuot, whatever we learn, whenever we learn, that this holiday be one in which we recommit to our desires for spiritual and intellectual growth, putting in just a little bit more effort than we usually do, for with that effort we will find ourselves taking that most important first step forward to a New Beginning in our relationship to our spirituality and our faith.

Looking to discover your more authentic, spiritually focused self? Let me help you along this path! Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 66

Final section of chapter 37. We take one more look at the importance of Torah study, this time as a calling out to Gd. This is a version of the idea we study Torah like we pray. Through this, we see another perspective on the hierarchy of revealing Gd in the world between action and thought.

Episode 66

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Do you want to work on taking the actions of your life and find meaning in all you do and who you are? Are you struggling with your spiritual growth. Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 65

Continuing chapter 37. Today we see another layer of the debate regarding which is the greater thing, action or study. We explore how these are dueling values whose collective goals are revealing light in the world. Action reveals the light hidden in the physical while study connects to the Divine/Ein Sof light. We discuss how we determine priority of which comes first, settling on the notion that action comes first if the action can only be done by the individual, such as prayer. If someone else could fulfill the action, then study would potentially remain the priority.

Episode 65

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Audio – Lessons in Tanya 64

Continuation of chapter 37. We continue to explore how to bring out light from our actions. The discussion is the overarching value of charity for enhancing our actions while also dealing with a previous notion that study is equal to all actions, including acts of kindness/charity. We reflect on how both study and action are elements needed to reveal the light of the divine hidden away in the world.

Episode 64

All episodes can also now be heard on Apple Podcasts – here

Rebbe Nachman’s Advice # 11 – All we do is to reveal the Divine in the World

One of the most famous teachings from Pirkei Avot states:

שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים:

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the great assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety.
Pirkei Avot 1:2

The question we should ask is how are these foundations of the world? That might sound somewhat heretical, yet I think it behooves us to ask this most fundamental of questions. How do prayer, study and kindness uphold the world? Perhaps the answer can be teased out from the following passage from Rebbe Nachman:

לא. הַכְּלָל הוּא, שֶׁכָּל מַה שֶּׁאָנוּ עוֹשִׂין, הֵן תְּפִלָּה, הֵן לִמּוּד תּוֹרָה וַעֲשִׂיַּת מִצְווֹת, הַכֹּל הוּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּתְגַּלֶּה אֱמוּנָתוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ: (לק”א סי’ ע”ז)

Everything we do — praying, learning Torah, carrying out the mitzvoth — has one fundamental aim: to reveal the kingship of God (77).

The world stands on the concept of the Divine. If we break this down into the three categories of the mishnah and of Rebbe Nachman, we can see how this is foundational,

Prayer: When we pray, we are acknowledging how we cannot do it alone. We are humbling ourselves to show we are interdependent. In Rebbe Nachman’s point of view, this is our turning to Gd as we turn to a parent, asking and asking for what we need. This might be the easiest to understand for the world cannot function if we are all selfish and arrogant to think we are completely independent beings. In a way, we can define prayer as spiritual humility.

Torah study: Learning, expanding our knowledge base is also a mode of expressing our humility. I am reminded of the famous statement, the more I learn, the more I realize what I don’t know. When we can develop this intellectual humility, we also are able to make space for all who we come across in life, being open to learning from others. We become open to possibilities and hopefully can learn that there aren’t many absolutes. This expands our ability to explore the beauty of life around us.

Doing mitzvot/acts of kindness: Our activities as they relate to how we live our the final pillar. This pillar is also a cultivator of humility for when we do for others, we recognize two things. Others might need us and we need others. We also learn the importance of not presuming someone else will do it but that we must make the effort to do the actions needed.

All three of these modalities of cultivating humility make way for Gd to be experienced in the world. So often we lose sight of the divine element of the world because our lives get clouded by ego and selfhood. While it is important to work on our growth and the impact we want to have in the world, this cannot come at the expense of recognizing we are cogs in the great cycle of life.

May we always be working on our spiritual, intellectual and interpersonal growth so as to strengthen the foundation of the world so that we can continue to reveal the divine in the world.

Are you struggling with your spiritual growth? Faith? Feeling lost in the midst of the journey of life? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 34

Chapter 23. This chapter discusses the concept of the Torah and Gd are one. In this chapter, we go deeper into the centrality of Torah study as the ultimate way to be in unity with Gd. We explore how our actions allow us to be a vessel for the divine but the pursuit of engaging Gd through Torah allows us to be one, even at the level of the soul.

Episode 34

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Audio – Lessons in Tanya 22

Continuation of chapter 12. Today’s short piece engages the question of why the Beinoni is not a Tzaddik. The focus is on what the person experiences when not in a prayer state of being. I use this is piece as a jumping off point to name a couple of similarities/differences between Tanya and another book of early 19th century Eastern Europe, Nefesh HaHayyim as a way of showing different approaches to connecting to Gd.

Episode 22

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 15

episode 15

This episode discusses some key ideas from chapter 8. The chapter continues along the discussion of whether actions take precedence over thought or vice versa through a continuation about consuming permitted and forbidden food. If I eat permitted food for the wrong reason or eat forbidden food for the sake of invigorating my spiritual self, what are the negative results. Additionally, this chapter discusses idle speech, neglecting Torah study and the effect of other intellectual pursuits as it relates to spiritual growth.

Do you want to work on taking the actions of your life and find meaning in all you do and who you are? Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 10

Exploration of chapter 5. In chapter 5, we discuss a couple of different ideas as it relates to the uniqueness of Torah study. 1. Studying Torah has a reciprocal effect in our relationship with Gd. 2. Torah study is the “greatest” of the commandments. 3. A brief piece on studying Torah “for its own sake.” I then offer a short excursus on the distinctions between in depth study and cursory study as it relates to spiritual growth, repeating a few key concepts from one of last week’s recordings.

episode 10

I’m Here. If you or someone you know is in journeying along the waves of life, allow me to join you along the road to discovery. Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com

Audio – Lessons in Tanya 9

Continuing with chapter 4, we delve a bit deeper into the importance of searching and struggling in study as a means of connecting to Gd from our limited human capacity. I also share a short Hanukkah message about lighting one candle at a time as we add up from 1 the first night until 8 candles the last night of Hanukkah as a message about taking our spiritual work one step at a time.

episode 9