The Torah is Ours...
After a miraculous exodus from Egypt , our ancestors traveled for seven weeks time through the Sinai Desert until they arrived at the foot of Mount Sinai . It was at this mountain that G‑d asked us for our ‘hand in marriage’. It was at this mountain that we exchanged our vows: G‑d guaranteed our eternal and immortal existence for all times as His chosen People and we in turn took an oath that we will remain a faithful spouse by observing the Torah and its mitzvahs.
Our sages pose the following question:
Could G‑d not have picked, perhaps, a more appropriate or romantic location on which to hold this cosmic union and marriage? The desolate and barren Sinai Desert hardly seems like an ideal location!
Yet, as in every facet of our Torah, there is a profound and insightful lesson that G‑d is teaching us. And this lesson is expressed precisely by the location at which G‑d chose to give the Torah – a desert.
A desert is ‘no man’s land’. No one can claim ownership or rights to it. The same is true of the Torah. Each of us has an equal right and claim to the Torah: the rabbi & businessman, the yeshiva student & college student, the newborn child and the grandparent. We have all inherited this precious gift.
So as we stand one week away from receiving the Torah for the 3320th time let us take advantage of our sacred heritage and heirloom. It has been preserved and flourished for 3 millenniums and, with due effort and diligence we can make this inheritance our very own and – with health and joy - pass it on to our children.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick
