- Shabbat and Holidays
- Shavuot
- Articles about Shavuot
848
"And all the people saw the sounds ..." (Ex. 20:15).
The Midrash calls our attention to an amazing aspect of the revelation at Sinai: the Jewish people were able to see what is normally only heard. What does this mean?
Standing near the Source
At their source, sound and sight are united. Only in our limited, physical world, in this alma deperuda (disjointed world), are these phenomena disconnected and detached. It is similar to our perception of lightning and thunder, which become increasingly separated from one another as the observer is more distanced from the source.
If we are bound and limited to the present, if we can only perceive the universe through the viewpoint of the temporal and the material, then we will always be aware of the divide between sight and sound. The prophetic vision at Mount Sinai, however, granted the people a unique perspective, as if they were standing near the source of Creation. From that vantage point, they were able to witness the underlying unity of the universe. They were able to see sounds and hear sights. God's revelation at Sinai was registered by all their senses simultaneously, as a single, undivided perception.
Rabbi Chanan Morrison of Mitzpeh Yericho runs ravkooktorah.org, a website dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
(Gold from the Land of Israel p. 135. Adapted from Mo'adei HaRe'iyah, p. 491)
What is special in Shavout
Rabbi Berel Wein
The Lesson of Elimelech
Rabbi Macy A. Gordon | Sivan 5768
To Perpetuate the Name of the Dead
Megilat Ruth
Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Sabato | 5757
Shavuot and the True Value of Torah
Rabbi S. Yossef Weitzen | 5759
Hamapil for Those Who Take a Long Time to Fall Asleep
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Shvat 5773
The Religious View of the Secular State of Israel
Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5769
Pizza, Pretzels and Pastry
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Hamapil for Those Who Take a Long Time to Fall Asleep
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Shvat 5773
Bilam [No Nation] and Balak - Dealing with Domestic Strife
Rabbi Haggai Lundin | 15 Tammuz 5785
P'ninat Mishpat: End of Tenure of Development Company – part I
based on ruling 77097 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Beit Din Eretz Hemda - Gazit | Tammuz 5785
Daf Yomi Avodah Zarah Daf 11
R' Eli Stefansky | 3 Tammuz 5785
