Paradise a deeper look at the weekly Torah portion and Jewish Holidays

by

Elchanan Shoff

Shavuos, hidden letters, and working together

When the Jewish people stood at Sinai, they were totally unified as one person with one

heart.1 It was then that the Divine revelation of Heaven could come into this world, and they

could become the nation of Hashem; a light unto the nations. When this unity was lost, so

was God’s Temple2, because for some reason, when people are separated and live in discord

there is no way that the Jewish people can continue their mission, and stay in their land. Any

yet we have to wonder why this is so? Surely, unity is crucial and critical. But why is it that it

is the one thing that either makes or breaks our connection to Torah, and Hashem?

“Abaye said, ‘You’ve got to hand it to me, for when I see a young student3 complete a

mesechta4 I make a party for all of the Rabbis.”5 For some reasons, when a person finishes a

1 Rashi to Shemos 19:2, s.v. vayichan

2 Yoma 9b

3 The words are “tzurba mirabannan,” Rashi to Taanis 4a s.v. tzurba renders this “a sharp young man,” and explains that an

older scholar can never be referred to as a tzurba mirabannan, he explains that the words tzurba literally means “fully cooked,”

and cites Beitzah 7a, where this word is used regarding eggs. However, there seem to be times when this word is indeed used

for older scholars, see Encyclopedia Litoarei Kavod Biyisrael of Avraham Orenstein, s.v. Tzurba Mirabannan, p. 2128. See also

the Aruch, who says that it comes from the word “strong.” See Yam Shel Shlomo (Bava Kamma 1, 41) where he speaks of

talmid and tzorev, and the Levush (introduction 3) where he speaks of every “rav and tzorev.” 4 Regarding the name mesechta, see Shem Mishmuel (Moadim, Simchas Torah, 5676) where he explains that the oral torah is

something that only the Jewish people have a meaningful connection to, as opposed to the written Torah which was translated

by Moshe into all seventy languages. Therefore, he writes, the sections of the Talmud are called mesechta for they are akin to a

curtain, a masach at separates the Jewish people into their own unique place. It would seem that the simplest reason for the

name mesechta would be along these lines – it is a divider, much like a curtain, separating relevant subject matter into one

volume, or course of study. See the Tosafos Yom Tov in his introduction where he asserts that the name mesechta is similar to

mascha yeina, or the words for properly diluting and mixing wine. Each mesechta is a fine mixed drink, containing a delicate

section of Torah study, there was a party for all of the students, even those who were less

diligent perhaps. But that is not all. We are taught that there is a level of merit that accrues to

the person who is present at the siyum party celebration that completion of study, that is

similar to that of the person who completed the mesechta himself!6 And that is perplexing.

After all, once person achieving something may be reason for his friends to celebrate with

him, but to feel as if the achievement was theirs as well, when he was the one who spent a

year or two toiling over his studies, and they did not, seems odd.

The Vilna Gaon taught7 that hidden in the word siyum, which is the name for the party that

celebrates the completion of the study of a section of Torah, is a secret message. Each letter

in the Hebrew language can be spelled out as a full word as well. For example aleph the first

letter, is represented by the image א and spelled לףא when spelled out in its entirety, aleph,

peh and hey. The letter that represents the word aleph is referred to as the nigleh or the revealed

part of the letter. The letters that are not represented, but are nevertheless part of the word

aleph are called the nistar or the hidden part of that word. The word siyum is unique in that it

is made up of letters, namely samech, yod, vav and mem, whose nigleh and nistar share the same

gematria, or numerical value. The first letter samech is made up of samech mem and chof; samech

equals 60, as do mem (40) and chof (20) when added up. So the nigleh and nistar share the same

value. The same goes for the next letter yod which is spelled yod, vav, dalet; yod is 10 as are vav

(6) and dalet (4). And for vav (6), for it is spelled vav vav. The final letter mem (40) is the same

as it’s nistar for it is spelled mem mem. This teaches us that hidden members of the siyum are

just as important, and get just the same credit as the person who we see, on the outside, who

the siyum celebration is ostensibly for. We discover than not only is the bystander receiving

mixture of various teachings, he writes. Sefer Chasidim (928) tells us that it is from a word that means “weaving”, for it brings

many things together. In his Viheyei Bracha R. Zvi Elimelech of Dinov (the Bnei Yissaschar) writes that it is called as mesechta

because that is the same of the implement used in weaving, which moves the thread from east to west, and that through

repetitive motions, over and over, the item of clothing is created. He explains that this teaches us that in the study of the oral

Torah, we must also review again and again, for each time we will see new things. See also the comments of R. Yonason

Shteiff in his Chadashim Gam Yeshanim to Brachos, Pesicha, Siman 2. 5 Shabbos 118b

6 Tshuvos Maharam Mintz (119) emphasizes that the whole community should be invited, for they will received some reward

just for being there. Yam Shel Shlomo to Bava Kamma Ch. 7 write of the great mitzvah of celebrating at a siyum even when

on did not finish the mesechta himself. See also Sdei Chemed, Maareches Mem, end of Klal 198, where he writes that when

people join in for a mitzvah, they all get the credit as if they all did the whole thing, and therefore, he writes, it is the custom

for people to divide up that Talmud and study it all together, and they each get credit as if they studied the entire thing. See

also the Vilna Gaon cited below. 7 Cited in Shaalos Uteshuvos Riva Hakatan 470, 53. See also Mishneh Halachos (Tinyana O.C. 449) who rules that one who

did not learn is nevertheless part of the siyum to such an extent that he can be the one who recited the hadran.

some sort of benefit as an onlooker, but as a hidden member of the very achievement of

successfully completing some Torah study. Yet we still wonder why.

The answer lies in the nature of the Jewish people and their mission in this world, and

indeed in the mission of all humanity. If a bunch of us invest our money in a small new

company, and then one person achieves such success that the company’s value rises by

millions upon millions of dollars, we all rejoice. For when we are all working towards the

very same goal, and share the same mission, then the success of one person in achieving

those goals is something that we all gain from equally in some sense. Surely there is a

personal benefit in succeeding oneself, but in the grander scheme of things, there is the same

benefit to every one of us when any one of us is successful. We are all on one team; our

mission is to bring this world to a place where it reflects kvod shomayim, where it reflects the

goodness and mercy that Hashem built it with. We want to spread truth and light, and dispel

pain, suffering and darkness. That is what life is all about. It’s what the Torah teaches in its

every letter. When one person has a good marriage, or gives a full ten percent of his net

income to the needy, or completes the very important task of learning some Torah, it has to

give us the same joy, on some level, as when we ourselves reach such an exalted level. Abaye

was proud not only that youngsters in his academy were completing their studies, but even

more so was he proud of how his other students would celebrate the successes of their

friends.

Rabbi Akiva was meant to be passing on the Torah to a new generation of people, he

emphasized therefore the importance of loving your friend.8 He even taught his students the

incredible value of supporting others and the value of that when he told them all that all of

his achievement as well as those of his students were really his wife’s achievements9 due to

her influence and sacrifice in helping to develop Rabbi Akiva into the giant that he became.

And yet his students did not pass on the Torah; instead they all died, since they did not

respect on another as they should have.10 There were twelve thousand pairs of students who

all died, in the time leading up to the giving of the Torah; between Pesach and Shavuos. The

message was clear. They were twelve thousand pairs, not twenty four thousand individuals.

But they didn’t see that the way that they should have. The time leading up to the giving of

8 Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:4

9 Kesuvos 63a

10 Yevamos 62b

the Torah is meant to be a time for people to respect one another, to love one another, and

to see that we are all in this together.

When the Jewish people stood at Sinai, they all united in accepting the mission of making

this world a better place – a place where the divine message could permeate this simple

jungle of a world, elevating everything and everyone. There was only unity, and love, and

harmony. When the Jewish people did not understand how they were all meant to be

working together that was unforgivable. They no longer deserved their land. “The Jewish

people will not be redeemed unless they are entirely united,” teaches the Midrash.11 It is only

in unity that we actualize ourselves as the nation of Hashem, and the people who can be

light unto the nations,12 and ultimately that we can unite all of the universe in the glorious

song of the Torah.

11

Tanchuma, Nitzavim 1 12

Yeshaya 49,6, see also there 51:4 and Radak ad loc.