This Shabbos we discussed parsha Bamidbar, and the holiday of Shavous which occurred this year the 2 days immediately following Shabbos. We discussed how in the parsha a count was done, of all those men of draft age - 20 and up. We discussed how doing this count, symbolizes that each and every one of us is important, not only during the time of the parsha, but also today in each one of our communities around the world.
David spoke about Shavuos, and how this is the time in which there is a marriage between Hashem and the Jewish people. The same way that a bride and groom would have trouble sleeping before the big day, we stay up all night in anticipation. It has become customary to spend the entire night studying to get ready to "receive the Torah".
We discussed again how Judaism is not a religion in which we abstain from physical pleasures, but a religion in which we bring spirituality to the physical world. We discussed how Shavuos is the one holiday in which we try to maximize this spiritual elevation of the simple pleasures around us. David spoke about how it is the custom to eat dairy, but that we can eat the dairy in addition to meat, in order to “elevate the sparks of kidusha” to the maximum amount possible.
We discussed again what a miracle it is, that we have survived for so long. We discussed the importance of the continuity of the Jewish people. There are certain procedures that we can carry out to come up with new laws, however, certain principles will always trump whatever we come up with. Our continuity is what is most important.
This is a summary of what we discussed. No Halachic rulings are intended or should be inferred.
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