Rabbi Yitzchok Bistritzky, well-known speaker, shared that Hashem gave klal Yisrael the Torah in the desert because the desert is a free place, open to everyone, and He also gave it on Har Sinai, the lowest mountain. We need to be humble like Har Sinai, but at the same time we should know our self-worth, that all we have is from Hashem and we are worthy to serve Hashem. We need the correct amount of humility and to know that everything is a gift from Hashem.
A person should be a vessel ready to accept from others. When we received the Torah on Har Sinai, there was achdus. No one was focused on “I.” They saw the good in the other person. “When you see the good in others, you will appreciate yourself, too. If you love yourself, you will love others.”
The Baal Shem Tov taught that everything we have is a gift from Hashem. “We don’t have anything for ourselves. When we are coming with Hashem’s potential, then our potential is limitless.”
Rabbi Bistritzky taught that the more we find enjoyment in Torah, the more we exert ourselves, the more we will overcome ego. “We have to warm ourselves up with the fire of Torah. Each Jew has a fire from in his heart.” The Chidushei HaRim taught that the Jews accepted the Torah because they have a natural desire for holiness. This is the natural instinct of a Jew. The reason there had to be a boundary at Har Sinai is because the Jews wanted that holiness and wanted to ascend. Stopping at that point was the hardest thing for the Jews. On the third day of Sivan, Hashem gave the mitzvah of a boundary. Do not go more than you are supposed to in spirituality. The neshamah of a Jew has to have boundaries of spirituality. Our natural self is longing for holiness. We are a holy nation. The purpose of Creation was the giving of the Torah. Klal Yisrael has to teach the world. When we act according to the Torah, the whole world learns from us. “We have to talk, think, and act like a Jew, and then we will be a holy nation.” Before you do something or say something, ask yourself if this is how a prince or princess acts or speaks. Am I part of a holy nation?
Hashem gives us the Torah every year, and every year we have to do t’shuvah before receiving it. Hashem says, don’t give up. Don’t be afraid. Come close. The main thing is: From today on, be good. Don’t sin anymore. T’shuvah is a favor that Hashem does for us. Every year, we have to say, “Naaseh v’nishma.” There was a special light when Hashem gave the Torah, and the whole world felt it.
We should each say, “Naaseh v’nishma.”
This beautiful shiur can be viewed on www.TorahAnytime.com.
By Susie Garber
