Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in Partnership with the International Rabbinic Fellowship & Maharat Present SHAVUOT TORAH Shavuot 5781 May 2021 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 A Celebration of Female Friendship in the Book of Ruth Rabba Wendy Amsellem 4 The Revelation’s Ongoing Messages Rabbi Marc D. Angel 6 Embracing the Infinite Rabba Dina Brawer 8 On Bonfires, Hubris, and the State of Civil Discourse Rabbi Barry Dolinger 10 Shavuot: The Renewal of Torah Rabbi Jeffrey Fox 13 10 to 10 & the Movement from Passive Creation Receiver to Active Sinaitic Partner Rabbi Aaron Frank 14 The Ten Commandments: Plan A or Plan B? Rabbi Nati Helfgot 16 Shavuot Jews vs. Pesach Jews Rabba Sara Hurwitz 18 Moving from the Real to the Ideal In the Time of Coronavirus Rabbi Dov Linzer 21 The Night of Potential Rabbi Eryn London 23 My Last Conversation with Rav Amital Rabbi Dr. Yehudah Mirsky 26 Shavuot: The “Atzeret” that Drives Purposeful Action Rabbi Dina Najman Novelty of Offering The :(מנחה חדשה) Minhah Hadashah 29 Rabbanit Leah Sarna 32 The Tree of Life and the Path to Hope Rabbi Adam Scheier 37 God, Torah, and Community Rabbi Dr. Devorah Schoenfeld 39 The Decalogue and the Shema Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich 41 Na’aseh Ve’nishma: On Being Hearing-Impaired Rabbi Avi Weiss Introduction וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן ּכֻלּוֹ ּמִפְנֵי אֲשֶׁר יָרַד עָלָיו ה׳ ּבָאֵשׁ וַיַּעַל עֲשָׁנוֹ ּכְעֶשֶׁן ּהַכִבְשָׁן וַיֶּחֱרַד ּכָל־הָהָר מְאֹד׃ וַיְהִי קוֹל ּהַשׁוֹפָר הוֹלֵך ְ וְחָזֵק מְאֹד מֹשֶׁה ּיְדַבֵר וְהָאֱל ֹקִים יַעֲנֶנּוּ בְקוֹל׃ שמות יט:יח–יט And Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for the Lord had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The blare of the shofar grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder. Exodus 19:18-19 הולך וחזק מאד. מִנְהַג הֶדְיוֹט ּכָל זְמַן שֶׁהוּא מַאֲרִיך ְ לִתְקֹעַ קוֹלוֹ מַחֲלִישׁ וְכוֹהֶה, אֲבָל ּכָאן הוֹלֵך ְ וְחָזֵק מְאֹד, ּוְלָמָה ּכָך ְ ּמִתְחִלָּה? ּלְשַׂבֵר אָזְנֵיהֶם מַה ּשֶׁיְּכוֹלִין לִשְׁמֹעַ׃ When people sound a shofar for a long time, they begin loudly and become quieter over time. But here God’s sound becomes louder and louder. Why? To make their ears receptive so they could hear what was possible for them to hear. Rashi In the theophany of the Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai, human beings, finite by nature, experience the awesomeness of God, infinite and beyond comprehension. While we will never fully understand what our ancestors saw or heard on that first Shavuot, there remain many lessons—both theological and educational—that we can learn from that moment of divine revelation. In that spirit, Rashi points us to reflect on one particular event—the sound of the shofar, representing the voice of God, began softly, and grew louder over time. Rashi’s understanding of this verse reminds us of the need for all teachers, human or divine, to make sure that their words can be heard, understood, and internalized by their students. Without that intention, a teacher can speak so loud- ly, get so caught up in the content of what she is communicating, without attending to the needs of the students in front of her. When a teacher makes the effort to understand and connect to her students, to consider what they most need “to make their ears receptive” for the lesson, her teaching can be transformative, changing the course of a student’s life. The Divrei Torah gathered in this compilation represent countless hours of scholarship and work by some of our finest rabbinic leaders, scholars, and alumni, all of whom know and have learned that the way to give over God’s Torah so that it can heard, internalized, and uplift, is to start with a focus on the student and what he or she needs to “make their ears receptive” for learning. We are grateful to each of our contributors and their ongoing work in the Jewish world serving Klal Yisrael, and we thank those publications which allowed us to republish certain pieces, as is mentioned throughout this work. Thanks to Rabbi Yonah Berman, Jen Vegh, and Rabbi Jason Herman for overseeing our three organizations’ collabora- tive efforts on this project, to Rabbi Aryeh Leifert for his editing work, and to Rachel Jackson of Binah Design for her masterful layout. As we celebrate Zman Matan Torateinu, may we continue to hear the words of God and transmit those words the world over with love for all of God’s creations. Rabbi Dov Linzer Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School Rabba Sara Hurwitz Maharat Rabbi Saul Strosberg International Rabbinic Fellowship 1 A Celebration of Female Friendship in the Book of Ruth Rabba Wendy Amsellem Rabba Wendy Amsellem (Maharat Advanced Kollel ‘18) is a member of the Faculty and Publications Editor of Maharat. It is hard to find a conversation in the Bible between Naomi seems not to know what to make of Ruth’s two women. Sarah and Rebecca never speak to an- dedication. She walks on in silence as the two women other woman in Genesis. Rachel and Leah speak with make their way to Bethlehem. Upon their arrival, Nao- one another just once. Deena, Jacob’s daughter, never mi declares, “I left here full, but God has returned me speaks at all. In the Book of Esther, Esther speaks often, empty” (Ruth 1:20-21). Despite Ruth’s pledge of love and with power, but never to another woman. Against and loyalty, Naomi does not even acknowledge Ruth’s this background, the Book of Ruth stands out as a cele- presence. bration of female friendship. As the story progresses, Ruth continues to demon- As the book begins, Naomi does not see the value in strate her devotion to Naomi. Disregarding the danger, women’s relationships. She urges her daughters-in-law she goes out on her own to glean in the fields for barley to leave her, noting bitterly, “Why should you go with for Naomi. When Boaz offers her lunch, she carefully me? Have I any more sons inside of me who can be hus- saves some of the food to bring back to Naomi (Ruth bands for you?” (Ruth 1:11). In the next verses, she points 2:18). She cares for the older woman, making Naomi’s out that even if she were to conceive sons that night, comfort and security paramount, and she seems to it would not make sense for her daughters-in-law to want nothing in exchange other than Naomi’s company. wait until the babies had grown to marrying age. Naomi Naomi, though, continues to understand her value to understands her relationship to her daughters-in-law as Ruth as connected to her ability to provide Ruth with a existing only by virtue of their connection to her sons. husband. She constructs a plan where Ruth will surprise Since her sons have died, and she has no other sons Boaz in the middle of the night on the threshing floor who could be potential husbands, Naomi believes that in an attempt to persuade Boaz to marry her. Ruth has she has nothing to offer the younger women. not evinced any particular interest in Boaz, but keen to Orpah heeds her mother-in-law’s advice and returns make Naomi happy, she responds that she will do what- home. Ruth, though, is determined to stick with Naomi. ever Naomi asks her to do (Ruth 3:5). Boaz turns out to She declares her loyalty in a powerful, poetic speech be amenable, and he sends Ruth home in the morning that has become a timeless testimony of devotion. She with six measures of barley. When Ruth returns to Nao- promises, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you mi, she presents the barley to her, saying, “He gave me lodge, I will lodge; your people are my people; and your these six measures of barley, for he said that I should God is my God” (Ruth 1:16). Ruth tells Naomi that she not come empty to [you].” This is an important moment. does not want to be with her because of any potential We have no evidence in the text of Boaz intending the suitors that Naomi can provide. Instead, Ruth explains barley for Naomi. It seems instead that because Ruth is that she just wants to be with Naomi—now, forever, until always thinking of Naomi, she understands any gift as a death separates them. gift for Naomi. In addition, the language of not coming 2 home empty-handed to Naomi recalls Naomi’s painful statement upon her return to Bethlehem that God has brought her back empty. Ruth is aware of Naomi’s emptiness, and she is trying her hardest to fill the void. By the middle of chapter 4, Ruth and Boaz have mar- ried, and Ruth has given birth to a son. This could be understood as a validation of Naomi’s worldview. She has proved valuable to Ruth by providing Ruth with a husband and a son. The chorus of women in the town, though, understands the events in a different manner. They say to Naomi, “[This baby] will revive you and sustain your old age because your daughter-in-law who loves you bore him, she who is better to you than seven sons” (Ruth 4:15). The women urge Naomi to recognize that the primary person in her life is Ruth. Through Ruth’s love and devotion, Naomi has been redeemed and made full. Ruth is important not because she has provided Naomi with a son, but because of the way she herself cares for Naomi.