Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir
The Torah was given to the Jewish People, and not to this or that individual, neither to any particular party or stream within the Jewish People. Only when Israel were united as one man with one heart, did they receive the Torah at Sinai. The knowledge that the Torah was imparted to the entire Jewish People is bequeathed to every Jewish child when he is learning to talk. His father then teaches him, “Moshe prescribed the Torah to us, an eternal heritage to the congregation of Ya'akov” (Devarim 33:4; Rambam, Hilchot Talmud Torah 1:6). Our holy Torah is a heritage for the entire Jewish People.
Likewise, each day before we learn Torah, we bless G-d “Who chose us from amongst all nations and gave us His Torah.” The blessing refers to us in the plural. Every approach to Torah learning must start with an awareness that G-d chose us from amongst all the nations, that the Jewish People are a chosen people, a “kingdom of priests and a holy people” (see Shemot 19:5-6). Torah learning that does not begin with recitation of the Torah blessing to G-d “Who chose us from amongst all nations,” brought the exile upon us. As our sages say, “Why was the Land lost? Because they did not recite the blessings before Torah learning” (see Bava Metzia 85, Sichot HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Talmud Torah 2).
Today, how fortunate we are and how pleasant our lot that after two thousand years of exile we have finally merited to return to our land. And we are not only returning to our land, but to ourselves and to our Torah - our heritage. Here in Eretz Yisrael, the special soul of the Jewish People as a chosen people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, is increasingly being revealed for all to see. True, we are still only at the start of the process of rebirth, and there is still enormous confusion and lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the essence, identity, and purpose of our people, chosen by G-d to bring light to the world. Yet we can already see the light at the end of the time tunnel, in the form of tens of thousands of our Jewish brethren who are returning to our holy Torah, filling the synagogues and study halls, and reciting the Torah blessing, praising G-d “Who chose us from amongst all nations and gave us His Torah.” On Shavuot, we recite with enormous joy, “You chose us from amongst all peoples. You loved us and wanted us... and You lovingly gave us holidays for joy, festivals, and good times for rejoicing, including this Shavuot holiday, the festival of the giving of the Torah.”
Besorot Tovot, Shabbat Shalom, and with blessings for a joyous Shavuot,
Looking forward to complete salvation,
With the Love of Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael.
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