Showing you believe in others creates a fundamental change in who they are, and resets the trajectory for who they may yet become.
(A:UY TWMw) ‰.YNYS RBDM WAB HZH OWYB OYRCM JRAM LARsY YNB TACL YwYLwH wDXB‰
“In the third month of the Jews’ exodus from the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.” (Shmos 19:1)
Normal grammar would have required the posuk to say, “on THAT day,” they arrived at Sinai. Instead, though, it says, “on THIS day.” Rashi tells us “this day” was Rosh Chodesh Sivan, and the Gemara in Shabbos learns this from the same usage of the word “hazeh” in “Hachodesh hazeh lachem,” regarding Rosh Chodesh.
Then he comments further. The Midrash, quoted by Rashi, explains: Words of Torah should be as new (some say beloved) to us as if they were just given “bayom hazeh,” today. The excitement of new knowledge, of a new gift, often wears off. However, when it comes to Torah, the thrill should remain, says Hashem.
It’s curious, though, that this lesson should be taught almost a week before we received the Torah. We had not been given the Aseres HaDibros yet, not experienced the lightning, thunder, and awesome majesty of Hashem communicating with us. We hadn’t even gotten to the foot of Har Sinai yet! Why did Hashem not wait until we got the Torah to tell us the excitement shouldn’t wear off and that we should feel like we got its messages today?
Perhaps, then it would have been too late. The introduction to Torah had to begin earlier than the event. We had to be told what a treasure we were going to be given, a source of pleasure in this world and the next, which contains fabulous secrets and fountains of knowledge. We were being prepared to not take this gift for granted; to appreciate it.
From the day we reached the Wilderness of Sinai, we recognized we were in the place where Hashem would betroth us, cast His shadow of protection over us, and commit to our relationship for eternity. That love and anticipation is what keeps the words of Torah fresh and alive within us, just as spending time with the person you love reignites the sparks and fans the flames of passion. This is why we were taught the lesson of feeling Torah is fresh and new even before we got the Torah, because the fact that Hashem wanted to give it to us was the greatest gift of all.
An islander known to be the shrewdest trader in the region became the subject of mirth when he was “bested” by a simple farmer. You see, this fellow wished to marry the farmer’s daughter and the custom on their islands was to provide the girl’s father with a dowry. An average girl received three cows, an extraordinary one would bring her father four cows, and the most amazing young women were worth five cows. The trader asked for the farmer’s daughter’s hand in marriage and they settled on a dowry of eight cows!
She was rather plain, and walked with a slouch. She was also somewhat dull. That’s why people were shocked that he paid the highest dowry ever heard of in the islands when he definitely could have paid less. A fellow who heard the story traveled to the trader’s home on an outlying island to see this wonder for himself. As he sat talking with the trader, the wife walked in to place flowers on the table. She was beautiful and carried herself with confidence and dignity. She no longer slouched and was pleasant and charming. When she left, the visitor asked if this was the same woman the merchant had paid eight cows for. He answered “Yes, it is the same woman.”
“I know I could have gotten her for three cows; maybe even two. But I wanted my wife to know how much she was worth to me, and I paid eight cows for her. She knows that of all the women in the islands, only she is an eight-cow wife, and this has uplifted her greatly. She may have only been worth three cows when I married her, but today, even the eight cows I paid for her hand would be far too little.”
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
