On Shavuot, the 6th day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, we celebrate the Torah we received on that day at Mount Sinai. The Torah was to be presented to the Jewish people through the Luchot (Tablets) inscribed with the Aseret HaDibrot (the Ten Commandments) which was given to Moshe by Hashem at the top of the mountain. When Moshe descended from the mountain and saw the Jewish people worshiping the Golden Calf he smashed the Luchot. 80 days later, Moshe brought down the second Luchot on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei which would become the day of Yom Kippur. It would seem that the receiving of the Torah that took place on Shavuot became irrelevant and it’s the second receiving of the Torah through the second Tablets that matters. Why are we then celebrating receiving the Torah on the 6th of Sivan when what happened on that day became seemingly inconsequential?

The Talmud in Shabbat 88a states: “The Torah says, ‘And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the bottom of the mountain” (Exodus 19:17). Rabbi Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa said: the Jewish people actually stood beneath the mountain, and the verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, lifted the mountain above the Jews like a barrel, and said to them: If you accept the Torah, excellent, and if not, there (underneath the mountain that would be dropped upon them) will be your burial!” The commentaries explain that this was to prevent the Jewish people from backing out in fright from their commitment to accept the Torah when they would see Mount Sinai engulfed in towering flames when the Torah was given.

Another explanation given for lifting the mountain over the people was that the giving of the Torah was to be considered as a marriage between Hashem and the Jewish people. The mountain overhead was the Chuppah canopy under which the wedding was taking place!

A rabbi once asked a group of his students who were preparing to get married, “On what do you base your future marriage upon?” They all responded, “On love and understanding!” The rabbi corrected them explaining that they can’t build their marriage on those concepts because they did not yet love or understand their respective brides. Love and understanding would grow with the experience of sharing. The foundation of a marriage is the total and absolute commitment to arrive at love and understanding of each other.

The giving of the Torah on Shavuot was not inconsequential because it formed the bond of marriage between Hashem and the Jewish people. On that day the Jewish people committed themselves to reach the goal of developing a loving relationship with the Almighty through His Torah. The marriage got off to a rocky start with the sin of the Golden Calf but things got back on track and with the second Luchot the Jewish people started again to build a loving relationship with the Almighty.

Therefore we have a lot to celebrate on Shavuot. It’s our wedding Anniversary! It’s that eternal bond formed on that day that we celebrate and continue to build upon every single day.

Shabbat Shalom & Chag Sameach!
Yitzchak