1 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • SHAVUOT TO-GO • SIVAN 5771 Sivan 5771 Dear Friends, may serve to enhance your ספר It is my sincere hope that the Torah found in this virtual .(study) לימוד Shavuot) and your) שבועות We have designed this project not only for the individual, studying alone, but perhaps even a pair studying together) that wish to work through the study matter) חברותא more for a together, or a group engaged in facilitated study. להגדיל תורה ,With this material, we invite you to join our Beit Midrash, wherever you may be to enjoy the splendor of Torah) and to engage in discussing issues that touch on a) ולהאדירה most contemporary matter, and are rooted in the timeless arguments of our great sages from throughout the generations. Bivracha, Rabbi Kenneth Brander The David Mitzner Dean, Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future RICHARD M JOEL, President, Yeshiva University RABBI KENNETH BRANDER, David Mitzner Dean, Center for the Jewish Future RABBI ROBERT SHUR, General Editor RABBI MICHAEL DUBITSKY, Editor Copyright © 2011 All rights reserved by Yeshiva University Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future 500 West 185th Street, Suite 413, New York, NY 10033 [email protected] • 212.960.5400 x 5313 For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Genene Kaye at 212.960.5852 or [email protected]. 2 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • SHAVUOT TO-GO • SIVAN 5771 Table of Contents Yearning for Salvation Rabbi Elchanan Adler . Page 4 The Two-Fold Nature of Chag HaShavuot Rabbi Azarya Berzon . Page 8 Converting to Kindness Rabbi Reuven Brand . Page 13 Torah Study: Results Are Also Important! Rabbi Joshua Flug . Page 17 Why Break the Tablets? Rabbi Shmuel Goldin . Page 22 Aliyah Laregel Bzman Hazeh Rabbi Yosef Kalinsky . Page 27 How is this holiday different than all others? Mrs. Deena Rabinovich . Page 32 A Brief History of Tikkun Leil Shavuot Rabbi Dr. Andrew Schein . Page 40 Yatziv Pitgam, One of Our Last Aramaic Piyyutim Dr. Lawrence Schiffman . Page 43 Habakkuk: The Man, the Mission, the Haftarah for the 2nd Day of Shavuot Ms. Shuli Taubes. Page 47 Collected insights from members of the Graduate Program in Biblical and Talmudic Interpretation at Stern College Ruthie Braffman, Shlomit Cohen, Meira Rubin, Miryam Spiegel. Page 58 Dedicated in memory of Ruth Buchbinder Mitzner, Chaya Rivka bas Harav Yaakov Tuvia, A Teacher of Torah and a Lover of Zion The Mitzner Family, Houston, TX Dedicated in honor of our dear father Robert Segal and in loving memory of our dear mother Susan Jane Buchalter Segal (Sara Charna bat Shmuel Gershon) z"l, who passed away on Shavuot ten years ago. Shirah and Chuck Davidson, Gershon and Devora Segal, Yonina and Andrew Schein, Miriam and Aharon Haber, Michael and Aliza Segal, Ari and Atara Segal, and Aaron and Chaya Segal 3 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • SHAVUOT TO-GO • SIVAN 5771 Yearning for Salvation Rabbi Elchanan Adler Rosh Yeshiva, RIETS The theme of emunah, faith, lies at the heart of Anochi Hashem Elokecha, the first of the Ten Commandments. This commandment1, which is an imperative for every Jew to believe in Hashem’s existence, has a lesser known aspect especially relevant for our times. According to the medieval work SeMaK (Sefer Mitzvos Katan, authored by Rabbeinu Yitzchak of Kurvil), this commandment requires us to cultivate tzipiya liYeshu’a, yearning for salvation: שכשם שיש לנו להאמין שהוציאנו ממצרים Just as we must believe that He took us out of Egypt, as it דכתיב אנכי ה' אלהיך אשר הוצאתיך וגומר. ”says, “I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of Egypt ועל כרחין מאחר שהוא דיבור, הכי קאמר, Since this is one of the Ten Commandments, it must … כשם שאני רוצה שתאמינו בי שאני הוצאתי ,mean that just as I wish you to believe that I took you out אתכם כך אני רוצה שתאמינו בי שאני ה' I wish you to believe that I am Hashem your G-d and that אלהיכם ואני עתיד לקבץ אתכם I will gather you and save you in the future. As indeed, He ולהושיעכם. וכן יושיענו ברחמיו שנית, will in His mercy save us again, as it says, “He will return כדכתיב (דברים ל') ושב וקבצך מכל העמים וגו'. ”.and gather you from all the nations Sefer Mitzvos Katan, §1 ספר מצוות קטן א The element of yearning for Hashem’s ultimate salvation is a recurring theme in our liturgy. כי we say מצמיח קרן ישועה Each day in shemoneh esrei just before concluding the blessing of because for Your salvation we yearn all day.2 - לישועתך קוינו כל היום Of the Rambam’s thirteen fundamentals of faith, the twelfth, which deals with the belief in the coming of Moshiach, emphasizes not only belief in Moshiach’s coming, but also “longing” for this to even though he - ואף על פי שיתמהמה עם כל זה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבא :happen each and every day delays, nonetheless I long for him each day, that he should come3. This notion is echoed in the poem ישלח לקץ :of Yigdal, recited at the outset of our prayers, which encapsulates the thirteen principles He will send our Moshiach at the end of days to redeem those - הימין משיחנו לפדות מחכי קץ ישועתו who long for His ultimate salvation. Similarly, this affirmation appears in the shacharis kedusha for .reign over us because we long for You - ותמלוך עלינו כי מחכים אנחנו לך :Shabbos Anticipating the Redemption: Dogma or Virtue? Let us explore the Talmudic discussion about this longing; what it suggests, and its significance. 1 According to many rishonim, the dictum “Anochi Hashem Elokecha” constitutes an actual commandment to believe in a Creator, rather than being merely an axiomatic statement. 2 This expression, as explained by Abudarham and Rabbeinu Yehuda b. Rav Yakar, is based on two Biblical verses: ”אותך קויתי כל היום“ - and Tehilim 25:5 "לישועתך קויתי ד'“ - Bereishis 49:18 ”אם יתמהמה חכה לו כי בא יבא“ The wording is based on Chavakuk 2:3 3 4 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • SHAVUOT TO-GO • SIVAN 5771 אמר רבי שמואל בר נחמני אמר R. Shmuel b. Nachmani said, R. Yochanan said, “a blight on those רבי יונתן: תיפח עצמן של מחשבי who calculate ends, for they say, ‘since the end arrived and קיצין, שהיו אומרים: כיון שהגיע Moshiach did not come, he will no longer come.’ Rather, long for את הקץ ולא בא - שוב אינו בא. him, as it says, ‘if he tarries, long for him.’ Perhaps you will say that אלא חכה לו, שנאמר אם יתמהמה ,we long for him, but He does not long for us? The verse says חכה לו. שמא תאמר אנו מחכין ‘Hashem therefore will long to be gracious with you, and He will והוא אינו מחכה - תלמוד לומר ולכן יחכה ה' לחננכם ולכן ירום rise to show you mercy.’ Now that we long, and He longs, who is to לרחמכם. וכי מאחר שאנו מחכים stop [the redemption from occurring at once]? The midas haDin והוא מחכה, מי מעכב? - מדת הדין strict attribute of justice) stops [the redemption]. Now that the) מעכבת, וכי מאחר שמדת הדין attribute of justice stops the redemption, why long for it? To receive מעכבת, אנו למה מחכין? - לקבל ”.’reward, as it says, ‘praiseworthy are those who long for him שכר, שנאמר אשרי כל חוכי לו. Sanhedrin 97b סנהדרין צז: Even without delving into the full depth of this enigmatic passage, we glean several important ideas: 1. While one should not engage in specific calculations regarding the time of Moshiach’s arrival, one should actively await his coming. 2. It is not only we who wait; Hashem, Himself, does the same. 3. The delay in Moshiach’s coming is caused by midas haDin, making the process of anticipation something of a struggle in futility; yet, precisely for this we are assured special reward. In contrast, the Rambam writes: וכל מי שאינו מאמין בו, או מי שאינו Anyone who does not believe in him, or who does not long for מחכה לביאתו, לא בשאר נביאים בלבד his coming, denies not only the prophets, but denies the Torah הוא כופר, אלא בתורה ובמשה רבינו, ,and Moshe Rabbeinu. For the Torah testifies about Moshiach שהרי התורה העידה עליו שנאמר ושב as it says, “Hashem will return your captivity and have mercy ה' אלהיך את שבותך ורחמך ושב upon you; he will return and gather you … even if your וקבצך וגו' אם יהיה נדחך בקצה השמים scattered ones are at horizon’s edge … Hashem will bring וגו' והביאך ה', ואלו הדברים המפורשים בתורה הם כוללים כל you.” These explicit words of the Torah include everything הדברים שנאמרו על ידי כל הנביאים. .spoken by the prophets Rambam, Hilkhot Melachim 11:1 רמב"ם הלכות מלכים יא:א The plain sense of the Rambam’s words suggests that not only is belief in Moshiach’s coming a critical tenet of Jewish faith, but that the process of anticipating his arrival is equally critical. One who does not actively await Moshiach’s arrival is considered to have denied the Torah. How can this be reconciled with the passage in Sanhedrin which implies that the process of anticipation is inherently irrational, and serves only as a means of earning extra reward? Two Tiers of Yearning Sefer Siach Yom, a commentary on Shemoneh Esrei4, suggests that there are two distinct aspects of longing for Moshiach. The first is referred to as tzipiya beRu’ach, a spiritual vision of longing. This means that one is not merely required to believe in the coming of Moshiach, but one is 4 Authored by Rabbi Yosef Roth and Menachem Stein (Bnei Brak 5760), pp. 300-304. 5 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • SHAVUOT TO-GO • SIVAN 5771 equally obliged to recognize the deficiency of a world which has yet to be perfected by G-d’s salvation.