Special Dvar Torah for Shavuoth


A Shavuoth Thought

Dear Family,
As we approach the festival of Shavuot thought should be given as to what did we actually received at Mount Sinai. To answer that question would take a lot of cyberspace so let us delve into at least one aspect.

There is a custom that is shared both by the Sefaradim and Ashkenazim alike to read the book of Ruth on Shavuot. Many reasons are given for this. One of them is to recount the lineage of King David who was born and passed away on Shavuot. Is it just by coincidence that the house of Jewish nobility has its inception on the same day as the giving of the Torah?

Let us look at the story of Ruth to see what was her special trait through out the whole Megila. She was born to a Moabite aristocratic family and was not lacking any material want or desire in the world. She married the son of one of the most affluent men at the time. Then she decides to do a 180 and throw everything to the side and follow her mother-in-law Naomi to the land of Israel to live a life of poverty and destitution. Lest we think that she was coerced into this by Naomi, the Megila tells us that Naomi tried to dissuade her from this decision but to no avail. The question that must be asked is what got into her?

The answer is (leaving out the intricacies for the sake of brevity) she understood that being that the world has a Creator who is constantly supervising, there must be a master plan that everyone fits into. If we follow our plan, instead of his, we will miss our opportunity to fulfill our real purpose for being here. She was willing to give up everything to find her spot in the “master plan”. Her bet paid off because she became the “Mother of the kingship,” and had her throne next to King Solomon’s.

This is the concept of monarchy in Judaism. To be a servant to Hashem and follow his plan is the mission of our kings. It is no wonder therefore that King David’s roots lie in Shavuot because his purpose is to lead us in Hashem’s plan as prescribed by the Torah.

We read and study the book of Ruth to further understand that the Torah is our blueprint to our goals and wants in life and through it we can fulfill our lives and achieve great heights.

I would like to end off with a prayer that the light of Torah should shine in all our hearts amen.

Moadim Lesimcha

Michael