SHAVUOT
The date of Shavuot, Zeman Matan Toratenu, the bestowal of the Torah, was set for the 6th of Sivan, the fiftieth day
of the Omer that begins a count from the second day of Pesach. The holiday date caused a fissure in the Jewish people because the Zedukim (Sadducees) opined that Shavuot should be celebrated on the first Sunday after Pesach. Therefore, the Jewish people did not always celebrate this holiday on the same day for some years. Considering that the Torah is the fundamental feature that characterizes and differentiates the Jewish people, we will understand why the conflict produced a basic fissure.
The Torah reading on the first day of Shavuot includes the phrase: “And you will be for Me a kingdom of Kohanim and a sacred people,” an imperative that forces us to transcend material needs and devote energy and effort, both intellectual and emotional, to elevate what is material and every day and transform it into spiritual action. Each person should build a ladder that unites earth and heaven, according to the dream of the patriarch Yaacov, to reach his potential, represented by his heavenly image.
One of the main functions of the Kohen was education. Therefore, being part of Mamlechet Kohanim, “a
Kingdom of Kohanim” implies the intellectual activity, Lilmod ulelamed, “to study and teach”. The second part of the phrase exhorts to be part of the Goi kadosh: a sacred people, which according to the classical interpretation of Rashi means “to stand apart” and not to be seduced by the actions of other peoples who sometimes succumb to temptation that leads into immorality. The Kohen Gadol bore the inscription Kodesh LaShem, “sanctified unto God,” on an object he carried on his forehead. In such a way that Kohen and Kadosh are related concepts that are part of the spiritual north of the entire Jewish people, according to the verse quoted.
The central theme of the biblical reading is undoubtedly Aseret HaDibrot: the Ten Commandments, a list of imperatives that have become the “Spiritual Magna Carta” of much of humanity. As with many great works and memorable texts, the passing of the years confirms its validity. With sober, unequivocal language, it deals with the fundamental issues of society, beginning with divine intervention against Egyptian slavery that proclaims man’s natural right to freedom, a sacred condition that should never be compromised. The purity of faith in one God cannot be tainted with idolatry that is not limited to an effigy of stone or other material but includes the cult of power or materialism, among others.
The use of the second person singular for each of these Commandments implies that society is defined by its members and that no one is exempt from compliance with these ordinances, a fact that follows an ancient tradition that states that all souls, including those who would be born in the future, were present in the revelation that occurred at Mount Sinai. This revelation of the Divine Will was the crowning moment in the history of the Jewish people because it laid the moral and ethical foundations that would serve as a compass for the future development of humanity.
