Parshat Naso is generally read immediately following Shavuot, and there is one pasuk within it that reflects our mood now that the holiday behind us (Bamidbar 7:1):
It came to pass, on the day Moshe finished erecting the Mishkan, and he anointed it and consecrated it and all of its utensils, and the Altar and all its utensils, and he anointed them and consecrated them.
Generally, when a Torah chapter opens with the word וַיְהִ י, a negative connotation exists, whether reflecting sorrow at that moment or future distress on the horizon. The Midrash says (Tanchuma, Naso 12), this pasuk is telling us וֹת מֹשֶׁה וַי בְּיוֹם כַּל – woe on the day that Moshe finished, but the reason for this sorrow is not obvious to us, as the day was a miraculous and celebratory one, with no apparent negative element. The Midrash explains, the relationship between Bnei Yisrael and Hakadosh Baruch Hu took on a holy and pure form all the days they were busy constructing the Mishkan, but now that the work was complete and they’d be moving on, Hakadosh Baruch Hu feared the impending challenges and thus expressed וַי – woe.
Why did I bring up this expression and Midrash? Because we have just concluded the holiday of Shavuot, after a long spiritual journey that began on Pesach and lasted a full fifty days. But we now have nearly four months until our next holiday, and quite naturally, we’ll feel that element of decline and the associated sadness.
We may be inclined to say וַיְהִ י or וַי on this day but let us take heed of the teachings of the Klausenburger Rebbe for the days of Elul and Tishrei and apply them to today. When we part from the Yamim Nora’im, after ascending for fifty-one days of teshuva, the separation from the holiday occurs on Simchat Torah. What is this similar to? It is like a doctor who keenly knows all his patients but needs to travel abroad for six months of training. The serious patients come to him and say, “Listen, you won't be here for six months, what will happen to us?!” The doctor reassures them, “For you, I’ve prepared special pills with everything you need in them, all in the exact dosages. Whenever you feel unwell, take one capsule and you’ll feel better.” After successfully passing fifty days of the Yamim Nora’im, including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and then sitting in the shade of Hakadosh Baruch Hu during the holiday of Sukkot, what is our special prescription? It is Torah:
נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּך, בָּך בִּישׁוּעָתָך, בְּתוֹרָתָך – Let us exult and rejoice in You; You, in Your salvation, and You, in Your Torah (Yalkut Shimoni 782:27; Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1:4). Our cycle of holidays concludes with Simchat Torah so that we can connect with Hakadosh Baruch Hu through Torah, and He will then accompany us at all times and in every hour.
Indeed, we have exited the holiday of Shavuot, but everyone knows that a person who is connected to the Torah has no decline. They are constantly ascending. When we finish the holiday of Shavuot and enter the four months of slumber until Rosh Hashanah, those who are connected to the Torah will experience no decline. On the contrary, these days are days of spiritual elevation for them.
