Because the Torah portion of Bamidbar is always read before the festival of Shavuot, this article will discuss Rav Yosef bar Chiyah, one of the great sages of the Babylonian Talmud, who would make a special feast on Shavuot.
If Not for This Day
The Talmud says that Rav Yosef would ask his household members to prepare a third-born calf (which was considered particularly tasty) for the holiday of Shavuot. He would exclaim, “If not for this day which caused (me to be great), how many Yosef’s are there in the marketplace?” (That is., what makes me unique is the Torah I learned; otherwise I would be the same as everyone else. So, since the Torah was given on Shavuot, it’s appropriate to celebrate.)
The commentaries wonder what Rabbi Yosef is teaching us with this comment and why it’s important for us to know that his special Shavuot meal included a third-born calf.
Rav Yosef’s Extraordinary Memory
Rav Yosef had an extraordinary memory and was therefore compared to Mount Sinai. Later in life he became ill and forgot some of his vast knowledge.
Orach Chaim 428:4.
Pesachim 68b.
See Likutei Sichot vol. 16, page 211 and on, which discusses this matter at length.
See Rashi on Horayot 14a D.H. Sinai, “Rav Yosef was called Sinai because the Mishnayot and Braitot were arranged (in his head) as they were given at Sinai.” See also Brachot 64a.
See Nedarim 41a, “Rav Yosef fell ill and forgot his studies. Abaye restored his studies by reviewing what he had learned from Rav Yosef in the past. This is the background for that which we say in numerous places throughout the Talmud, that Rav Yosef said: ‘I did not learn this halakha,’ and Abaye said to him in response, ‘You said this to us, and it was from this Baraita that you said it to us.’”
The Talmud says that the breaking of the first set of Tablets is what caused the Jewish people to (occasionally) forget Torah. According to the Midrash, because the Torah (and the accompanying first set of Tablets) was given in a public manner (“by day”), it caused an Ayin Hara (evil eye), which led to the breaking of the first set of the Ten Commandments.
As such, Rabbi Yosef was saying, if not for the fact that the Torah was given by day (i.e., in a public manner), which caused the breaking of the Luchot and the forgetfulness in Torah, I wouldn’t be so special in terms of my phenomenal memory as no one else would be forgetting the Torah either.
Extra Celebration on Shavuot
Earlier, the Talmud cites two opinions as to whether or not one must eat on the Yomim Tovim (holidays). Rabbi Eliezer is of the opinion that one can either feast all day (besides praying) or fast all day and dedicate the Yom Tov to serving G-d by praying and studying Torah. Rabbi Yehoshua, on the other hand, says that one should spend half the day in prayer and Torah study and the other half in feasting.
The Talmud says that both opinions agree that on Shavuot one must eat in order to celebrate the day on which the Torah was given. Tosfot explains that this is based on logic rather than on a verse in the Torah.
The Chida asks, since generally the halacha follows the view of Rabbi Yehoshua over that of Rabbi Eliezer (who was a student of the school of Shammai), why is it necessary to stress that, even according to Rabbi Eliezer one must eat on Shavuot since, according to Rabbi Yehoshua, one must anyway eat on every Yom Tov?
He explains that we can derive from this teaching that, even according to Rabbi Yehoshua, one must make an extra feast on Shavuot in order to show that we’re happy to have received the Torah. Proof to this can be brought from the fact that Rabbi Yosef had a special calf made on his behalf as mentioned above.
(This may be an additional reason to have a dairy feast on Shavuot in addition to the regular meat meal as the extra feast fulfills the idea of celebrating more on Shavuot than on other holidays.)
Humility – Key to Retention of Torah
The Talmud says that if a person allows himself to be tread upon like a desert, he will be able to retain the Torah that he learns. This is derived from the verse “and from the desert, a gift” i.e., if a person humbles himself like a desert, he will get the Torah as a gift.
The Chortkover Rebbe explained that by receiving the Torah, the Jewish people attained a very elevated state. And the only way that a person can reach a vastly more elevated level is if he is absolutely humble, similar to a seed which must rot before it can take root.
A Humble Person Need Not be Reincarnated
The Kabbalists teach that one who is humble will be saved from having to be reincarnated. This is because a humble person subjugates the evil inclination and can therefore fulfill all of the mitzvot so he need not be reincarnated to make up for mitzvot which he didn’t fulfill.
This is alluded to in the verse, “For He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breath that does not return,” which can be understood to mean that if one is humble and realizes that he is nothing more than a piece of flesh, his spirit will pass from this world and will not have to return.
Three Lessons in Humility
Rabbi Yosef said about himself that he was particularly humble, which explains why he was so successful in his learning. His humility led him to forgo on becoming the head of the yeshivah which, in turn, led his life span to increase by 20 (healthy) years.
Rav Yosef learned the importance of humility from Mount Sinai, as he said, “A person should always learn proper behavior from the wisdom of his Creator. As the Holy One, Blessed be He, disregarded all of the mountains and hills and rested His Divine Presence on the lowly Mount Sinai. Similarly, when appearing to Moses, He disregarded all of the beautiful trees and rested His Divine Presence on a lowly (thorny) bush.
In addition, the importance of humility can be learned from the fact that the Torah was given in the ownerless desert (as mentioned above) and that it was given by Moshe, the humblest person ever to walk the earth.
This is why Rav Yosef made a third born calf – to recognize that he learned humility, which led to his greatness in Torah, from three sources – Sinai, desert and Moshe Rabeinu.
No Later Versions of Rav Yosef
Due to his humility, Rav Yosef felt that he wouldn’t need to be reincarnated as explained above. This is why he proclaimed, “If not for this day (on which the Torah was given), how many Yosefs would be in the marketplace.” I.e., If not for the Torah being given in a manner that taught me humility (in the desert, on Mount Sinai, and by Moshe Rabeinu), I would have to be reincarnated and there would have been many “Yosefs” – later versions of myself – in the marketplace (i.e., the world at large). In fact, since Rav Yosef had achieved complete humility, reincarnation wasn’t necessary.
May We Merit to be Humble and Achieve Great Success in Torah Study!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom UMevorach and a Chag Same’ach!
Copyright 2025 by Rabbi Aryeh Citron
