Receive-and Give-Your Torah
Today Jews all over the world celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. On this day, the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, they commemorate Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. This holiday also is known as the Festival of Weeks named in Exodus 34:22 and Deuteronomy 16:16. Shavuot is celebrated seven weeks and a day (50 days) after Passover. Christian texts call this day “Pentecost” (50).
On Shavuot, we remember and celebrate the giving of the Torah at Sinai. However, the Torah is not just the scrolls that contain the stories of our ancestors or, as some people believe, the word of God. The Torah contains wisdom imparted to us in the form of those stories and in the words of God. At Sinai, Jews also received the Oral Torah.
More than that, we each have a Torah of our own. We have our own wisdom, much of which comes from our own lives and the stories we tell about them. It comes from the lessons we have learned as we have lived and how we then share that wisdom.
Everyone has a Torah–unique and individual as well as part of The Torah. It all blends together.
Today, on Shavuot, whether you are Jewish or not, consider your Torah. (After all the Torah is the Old Testament or Bible; Christians read this as well. Muslims are descendants of Abraham. We are all one.) Are you open to receiving the Torah–your Torah–today? Are you willing to share it with others?
Know that the more you give your Torah (wisdom) to others, the more you will receive it (wisdom).
Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said we all must be teachers. As we teach, we open ourselves to learn more. In fact, we elevate ourselves to the next level so we can learn more, and by so doing we leave a spot open for someone else to move up and into.
Elevate yourself, and elevate someone else by giving your Torah.
Receive your Torah today on Shavuot. Ask God to Give it to you. Be open to receiving it. Then give your Torah to others. Share your wisdom: through teaching, writing, speaking.
Chag sameach (Happy holiday)!
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