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In the Haggadah of Pesach, we say in Dayenu:
אילו קרבנו לני הר סיני ולא נתן לנו את התורה דיינו
“If G-d had brought us near Mount Sinai and had not given us the Torah, that would have been enough”
We usually sing this text, and sometimes we do not think about the words. But if we think about it a little, this sentence seems very strange. We are saying that it would have been enough (Dayenu) for G-d to bring us to mount Sinai without giving us the Torah!!! What does this mean? What was so important and special about this station at Mount Sinai, that it was worth it, even without receiving the Torah?
When the Torah describes the arrival of the Jewish people to the desert of Sinai (where Mount Sinai is found), it says:
ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר (שמות יט ב)
“and Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.” (Exodus 19:2)
It speaks about the entire Jewish people, more than 3 million people. [Only the men between the ages of 20 and 60 were more than 600,000, without counting the elderly, women, and children.]
And the verse speaks in the singular form, as if they were only one person!!! Our Sages explain that when they arrived to the desert of Sinai, the inherent unity of the Jewish people got revealed. The Jews were reconciled with one another, with such love for one another that they were like one person. In the same way that feet and hands belong to the same body. This unity was what made them worthy of receiving the Torah.
Next week, on Wednesday 12/05/21, will be the first day of the Jewish month of Sivan. On a spiritual level, the same energies get revealed again every year on the same day. In other words, on this day (1st of Sivan), the potential for such a unity gets revealed again. It is up to us to utilize it in order to reveal the love that unite us for the rest of the year. This is how we prepare for the receiving the Torah on the upcoming holiday of Shavuot.
Shabbat Shalom,
Arie from the Yeshiva
