Q: Yetzias Mitzrayim we have a mitzvah to remember, to mention it twice a day, by day and by night, and then on Pesach we even have a special night dedicated to it. If Matan Torah is so important, why does it get only a short two day Yom Tov?
A: The answer is that here the mitzvah is not only in the morning and night, it's in between the morning and night too. A Jew must be always cognizant of Ma’amad Har Sinai; he must be aware of Matan Torah at all times. Every day of his life and all day long.
There’s a possuk like this: „ֹ‡ ¿מך¿ׁ ̆¿נַפ מֹר¿ׁ ּ̆וָך¿ל ָׁ מ∆רּ ̆ƒה – Be on guard and watch yourself very much. You hear that? “Be very much on guard.” What’s this all about?
ָ∆יך≈ﬠ ינּו‡רָ ׁ∆ ר ֲ̆‡ יםƒבָר¿ּ„הַ ̇∆‡ ַחּכ¿ׁ ̆ƒּ̇ פּ∆ן – Lest you will forget what you saw with your eyes, חֹר≈ ב¿ּבָ∆ יך ֹ̃ל¡‡ 'ה נ≈י¿פƒל ָּ̇¿„ﬠָמַ ׁ∆ ר ֲ̆‡ יו ֹם – the day that you stood before Hashem at Chorev. It means always; never to forget that.
You’ll say, “Well, that's a very big demand to make.” So I’ll tell you that it’s like saying never forget that you're a Jew. What does a Jew mean? A Jew means Kabolas HaTorah. It's like saying that when you wake up in the morning, when you go out in the street, when you're in business, when you're in yeshiva, when you’re with your family, when you're asleep, you have to be a Jew all the time. That you understand, right? Well, being a Jew means only one thing; remember Kabolas HaTorah. A Jew doesn't mean anything else except Kabolas HaTorah. And that, you should never forget.
And not only to never forget about it, but to speak about it too. That’s the mitzvah of the Torah. ָ םּ̇¿ַ ע„ֹהו¿ו ...ַחּכ¿ׁ ̆ƒּ̇ פּ∆ן „ֹ‡ ¿מָך¿ׁ ̆¿נַפ מֹר¿ׁ ּ̆וָך¿ל ָׁ מ∆רּ ̆ƒהָבָנ∆יך נ≈י¿בƒל¿וָבָנ∆יך¿ל – You should make it known to your children. Speak to your children and to your grandchildren.
So when you’re an old man and your grandchildren come to your house, say, “Kinderlach, you know what happened on Shavuos? We all were assembled at Har Sinai and we heard a Voice.”
The children say, “What kind of voice was it?”
“Kinderlach, I cannot tell you exactly. But it was a sweet and dreadful voice. It was so sweet that ֹרוּ¿ַ ב„ ¿ב ָה‡ ¿ˆיָ ׁ יƒ ̆¿נַפ – our souls went out when He spoke (Shir Hashirim 5:6, Shabbos 88b). We all fell down on the floor when we heard that voice. Malachim had to come and revive us! Ooh, was that an experience.” Tell that to the children.
It’s a mitzvah to think about standing at Har Sinai. Once in history, at least two million people were standing in front of Har Sinai and they heard the Voice of Hashem. ֹרוּ¿ַ ב„ ¿ב ָה‡ ¿ˆיָ ׁ יƒ ̆¿נַפ – When He spoke, they fainted from happiness. They were delirious. They fell down on the floor in happiness. They had to be revived. They got up; they were groggy, they were intoxicated with happiness – ֹרוּ¿ַ ב„ ¿ב ָה‡ ¿ˆיָ ׁ יƒ ̆¿נַפ.
יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ וֹל ̃ ﬠָם ָׁ מַע ̆הֲ – Was there ever such a thing that a nation should hear such a sweet and dreadful voice?! (ibid. 4:33). They fainted; they died and had to be revived! It was a tremendous excitement, an unbearable experience; and yet it was the most happy and joyous experience ever.
You have to speak about that to your children more than you speak about anything else.
About Matan Torah the Rambam in his Iggeres Taiman says, ﬠַלּל≈הו¿ּ„ַּ‚לָהּו„ ¿ּ‚ ָלּכ – Make this the most important of all great things to speak about. You have to speak about Matan Torah. Speak to your wife about Matan Torah. She should speak to the children about Matan Torah. Get excited about it. Make that bigger than the biggest things. Don’t get excited over small things. Here, people are getting excited, let’s say, over the news of a dybuk in Eretz Yisroel; about water coming out of a rock, about a fish that talks.
People’s minds are on small things. What’s so important? What difference does it make? This is what is important, thinking about Har Sinai!
“I don’t forget about it,” you’ll say. “Of course, I wouldn’t forget about Matan Torah.” But you’re not remembering it.
So why not get busy now, on Shavuos? You’re walking around in the street and you’re trying to recall Ma’amad Har Sinai, how once in history the Jewish nation all stood together – the entire Jewish nation! They weren’t scattered over the world! All together in one place! And they all swore — mushba v’oimed mei’Har Sinai — they swore, “We’re going to keep the Torah.” It was a moment of the greatest excitement! And even Hakadosh Baruch Hu was excited kavyachol. He said, “ז∆ה בָבָם¿ל הָיָה¿ו ≈ ןּ ̇ƒי ֽיƒמ יםƒָמּהַי ָלּכ ...יƒ ֹ̇‡ ָה‡ ¿רƒי¿ל לָה∆ם – If only this kind of heart that they have today would that would it be forever! Hashem was excited at that great moment!
And therefore as much as possible we have to keep that scene in our minds. The Rambam says that every Jew should make that the greatest of all things to talk about. If you can’t find somebody to talk to, think about it. That glorious one day in history! יםƒ ֹ̃ל¡‡ וֹל ̃ ﬠָם ָׁ מַע ̆הֲ – Did a nation ever hear the Voice of Hashem ָ הּ ַ̇‡ ָּ̇¿ָׁ מַע ̆ ׁ∆ ר ֲ̆‡ַּכ – like you did hear. A glorious experience! Never before or after!
