By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

The following thought is a synopsis of Rav Yerucham Olshin in the new Kuntrus Yare’ach LaMoadim section II #3.

The Gemorah in Psachim 68b tells us: Rabbi Elazar says, “All admit that on atzeres – we require lachem – it should be for you as a holiday. What is the reason? Because it is the day that the Torah was given.”

The Meforshim explain that this Gemorah means we should be happier on this yom tov than on others. Indeed, Rav Yechiel Yehoshuah Rabbinowitz, the Biala Rav, in his Seder HaYom writes this explicitly. The yesod veshoresh haAvodah (Shaar HaTzon 10) develops this idea explaining that it is because we received this remarkable treasure of the Torah.

The Shla HaKadosh (Meseches Shvuos Ner Mitzvah 18) adds another level of insight. He writes that it is the day we merited the “Crown of Torah.” He cites the Gemorah in Psachi where Rav Yoseph states that were it not for this day, he would be just another “Joe” in the marketplace.

It is not just the fact that we received the Torah that makes us happy – it is the fact that we merited its crown.

To understand this thought, the Rambam tells us (Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:13), “Even though it is a Mitzvah to learn Torah day and night, a person only learns the majority of his Torah at night. Therefore, someone who wishes to merit the crown of Torah should be careful to study it each night not missing even one of them in sleeping, eating, drinking, conversation etc. He should only engage in Talmud Torah and Divrei Chochma. This is called the Rina of Torah.

The Av Beis Din of Ponovech explained (cited in Zichron Shmuel p. 574) that there are two aspects of studying Torah. There is the aspect of studying it in fulfillment of the Mitzvah of Limud HaTorah. There is also an aspect of learning it as “HaShira HaZos.” In other words it is the song of the life of the person. In it he delights and takes pleasure. He does not delay in sticking to it on any account. Any difficult situation he engages in it and he sleeps in the depth of its halacha. Even when he is tired he studies it.
This is the fundamental idea of the Crown of Torah.

We can now better understand the Shla’s explanation of Shavuos.

The custom of Klal Yisroel learning all night is now also understood better. It is not just to make up for the fact that we slept then. No, the essence of the problem in that we slept was that we were not yet at the state where it was “the song of our life.” We are thus correcting this flaw in who we were or are as a nation.

We should take greater pleasure and joy in this Yom Tov because it symbolizes the song of our lives.

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