We are approaching one of the most forgotten festivals of the Torah. In Israel, even those living on kibbutzim, who generally do not live an observant life, remember this festival because of its connection to the harvest and the first fruits brought to the Temple. However, in the Diaspora, this festival was relegated to the background after the other two major festivals: Passover and Sukkot.
The reason for this, in the simplest sense, is that Passover has Matzah, the Passover Seder, kneidlach, afikoman, and a host of other elements that make it a holiday conducive to family gatherings, sharing freedom, and so on. Sukkot, on the other hand, features the sukkah, a booth with a roof of branches or leaves, which invites people to share a pleasant moment by moonlight (if it doesn't rain...), not to mention the lulav, the etrog, and other components that make it a joyful celebration. Furthermore, both holidays last 7 or 8 days (depending on whether it's in Israel or in the Diaspora).
But Shavuot does not have any of these "different" ingredients: it has no laws of its own about what to eat, where to eat (eating dairy foods is only a custom, it is not in the Written Torah, like Matzah or Sukkah) and it lasts only one or two days.
That's why Shavuot became (in the diaspora) a holiday that sadly passes without fanfare...
However, it is thanks to Shavuot that the other holidays exist. And not only that, but the message of Shavuot is so profound and fundamental that it allows for the existence of the entire Jewish people as we know them today.
Of course, it is very difficult to explain all the depth of this celebration in an editorial whose objective is to be short and to the point; however, in short, a short story.
One of the things that occurred in preparation for Shavuot, and which has been solidified in this festival for all generations, is God's choice of the Jewish people to be a "nation of priests." While discussing this with a friend, he remarked, "I don't want to be a priest...""
Of course, the context of the word priest that I used is different from what my friend understood... And herein lies one of the messages of Shavuot and one of the (deeper) explanations of why it is a forgotten holiday.
God created the universe and placed within it a world, which we call Planet Earth. In that world, He created thousands of creatures, from inanimate objects like stones, to plants, animals, and finally human beings.
Then, from among humankind, He chose a people, the Jewish people, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to be the priestly people. What does this mean? God created a physical world, governed by the natural and normal rules of coexistence, but He did not stop there. Instead, He introduced into creation a Torah, that is, a method by which one can rise above worldliness and ascend to spirituality—not to the false mysticism created by humankind, but to the true spirituality of the most spiritual Being of all: God.
And it didn't stop there either; rather, through the Torah itself, this chosen people has the capacity to introduce that sublime spirituality into worldly matters, transforming everyday time and space into holy time and space.
That is the context of a priest. A person who rises above his own limitations by connecting with God, who is beyond human understanding and limitations, and at the same time, brings that same transcendent God to earth, revealing Him in the simplest and most everyday things in life.
That is the achievement of Shavuot: the connection of the physical with the spiritual, of the mundane with the holy. And this is achieved through a people of priests—a people given the power to connect and unite the mundane with the holy and bring God to earth.
But this requires effort and commitment, faith and responsibility toward oneself, one's neighbor, and the world around us. Perhaps that is the deeper meaning of why Shavuot is a forgotten festival and why my friend didn't want to be a priest...
May we receive the Torah with joy and internalize it,