Chag HaShavuos 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- May 22
- 2 min read
אנכי ה' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים ... (שמות כ-ב)
In the Haggadah shel Pesach we say that if Hashem had only brought us before Har Sinai, but not given us the Torah, that would have been sufficient cause for us to give Him thanks. This seems puzzling; what purpose would there bein bringing us to Har Sinai if He had not given us the Torah?
Additionally, throughout the weeks of Sefirah, there is a minhag to learn Pirkei Avos. This, too, seems strange. Being that we are supposed to be preparing for Matan Torah, would we not be better served in learning the sixth perek alone, which discusses and extols the many aspects and virtues of Torah study? Why do we learn the other perakim as well?
The Avudraham answers that this is because aside from the study of Torah itself, there is also a Hakdamah to the Torah, a necessary prerequisite to its study; as per the Mishnah in Avos, that Hakdamah is derech eretz, i.e., to have good middos. Thus, in anticipation of Matan Torah, we busy ourselves with the middos tovos and ethical conduct outlined in Pirkei Avos so that we may come to receive the Torah having acquired the prerequisite for doing so.
Now, if good middos are the Hakdamah to Torah, the first lesson one must learn is the first dibbur given at Har Sinai: "אנכי ה' אלקיך", to believe in and be aware of Hashem. But R’ Tzaddok HaKohen of Lublin zt”l adds a moiradike hosafah. He writes that just as one is thus obligated to believe in Hashem, so is one obligated – in the exact same measure – to believe in himself! A yid must say "אנכי", I am "ה' אלקיך". In other words, I, too, possess a spark of Hashem, my חלק אלוק ממעל. I am G-dly! אנכי ה' אלקיך! This is the aleph-beis of avodas Hashem, and of the entire Torah.
This is what the Haggadah means to say. At Har Sinai, we gained so much more than the Torah itself. We gained the awareness that we are a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, an elevated, holy nation. We got our zich, the knowledge of who we are and how each and every one of us has the potential for gadlus! That, indeed, is enough to require us to thank Hashem for all eternity.