Shavuot (Shavuos)
| TJU Sifirah and Shavuot.mp3 |
The recorded phone call below is in answer to the following email:
I actually have a question for you. I know you're busy so I'm not sure if you will see this before Shavuos, but I was thinking a lot about what we spoke about and about how our role as the Jewish people is to be the leader of the world and to bring the world to service of Hashem. I've also been thinking a lot about the question of if I found out that I wasn't Jewish what I would do. I think that it's SO important to be able to say that I understand and appreciate my Judaism so much that of course I would convert without a question. So I guess these questions have led me to think about why we're zoche to be the Jewish people in the first place. You were telling me that as the Jewish people we're like the liaison between the nations and Hashem and I like that, but I know that aside from that we have a very important role to play in the world. We also say that the world was created for the purpose of us accepting the Torah, so how does this fit together? The other nations don't have that role of keeping the entire Torah, but it seems like the purpose of the world is for Torah, so how do they take part in that? Also, how does this idea of Torah being the condition of the world's existence work in terms of Adam and Chava? If they had kept the one Mitzvah that Hashem had given them, what would have happened to the rest of the Torah? One time I think I learned that Adam was actually given the Mitzvos when Hashem told him l'avda u'lishmara that referred to the mitzvos asei and the mitzvos lo'sasei. So maybe that helps with that Torah question maybe Adam was told about the Mitzvos in the Torah,but if that's even true then is it possible that once Adam sinned that was when the need for the Jewish people was formed? But I thought that the Jewish people's role was important from the creation of the world, from what I understand Rashi says that Reishis refers to the Jews and that one of the reasons the world was created was for the purpose of Reishis (b'Reishis). Clearly the Jewish people serve a crucial role here in the creation of the world.Also, I know that the Avos and Avraham in particular chose Hashem and that's also a huge part of why we're zoche to be the Jewish people and I was listening to a couple of your classes about how Mitzrayim ensured that we would remain Jewish and would be able to receive the Torah. (I don't know how this works, but it makes sense to me that this must be true because Mitzrayim is such a crucial part of Judaism as a whole that we mention constantly.) So am I Jewish because Avraham chose Hashem and so did Yitzchak, Yaakov and the Shevatim, whose children had to go through Mitzrayim and because I'm a descendant now I have the privilege of being a Jew? I know that my parents chose to be religious, but they were still born Jewish, they didn't choose that. And I know that my goal in life is to also choose to be religious and not just be because I was born that way, but again I'm not choosing to be Jewish, am I? So then, why AM I Jewish?
I actually have a question for you. I know you're busy so I'm not sure if you will see this before Shavuos, but I was thinking a lot about what we spoke about and about how our role as the Jewish people is to be the leader of the world and to bring the world to service of Hashem. I've also been thinking a lot about the question of if I found out that I wasn't Jewish what I would do. I think that it's SO important to be able to say that I understand and appreciate my Judaism so much that of course I would convert without a question. So I guess these questions have led me to think about why we're zoche to be the Jewish people in the first place. You were telling me that as the Jewish people we're like the liaison between the nations and Hashem and I like that, but I know that aside from that we have a very important role to play in the world. We also say that the world was created for the purpose of us accepting the Torah, so how does this fit together? The other nations don't have that role of keeping the entire Torah, but it seems like the purpose of the world is for Torah, so how do they take part in that? Also, how does this idea of Torah being the condition of the world's existence work in terms of Adam and Chava? If they had kept the one Mitzvah that Hashem had given them, what would have happened to the rest of the Torah? One time I think I learned that Adam was actually given the Mitzvos when Hashem told him l'avda u'lishmara that referred to the mitzvos asei and the mitzvos lo'sasei. So maybe that helps with that Torah question maybe Adam was told about the Mitzvos in the Torah,but if that's even true then is it possible that once Adam sinned that was when the need for the Jewish people was formed? But I thought that the Jewish people's role was important from the creation of the world, from what I understand Rashi says that Reishis refers to the Jews and that one of the reasons the world was created was for the purpose of Reishis (b'Reishis). Clearly the Jewish people serve a crucial role here in the creation of the world.Also, I know that the Avos and Avraham in particular chose Hashem and that's also a huge part of why we're zoche to be the Jewish people and I was listening to a couple of your classes about how Mitzrayim ensured that we would remain Jewish and would be able to receive the Torah. (I don't know how this works, but it makes sense to me that this must be true because Mitzrayim is such a crucial part of Judaism as a whole that we mention constantly.) So am I Jewish because Avraham chose Hashem and so did Yitzchak, Yaakov and the Shevatim, whose children had to go through Mitzrayim and because I'm a descendant now I have the privilege of being a Jew? I know that my parents chose to be religious, but they were still born Jewish, they didn't choose that. And I know that my goal in life is to also choose to be religious and not just be because I was born that way, but again I'm not choosing to be Jewish, am I? So then, why AM I Jewish?
| how_we_became_jewish_erev_shavuot_5774.mp3 |
you can also hear this 72 minute conversation by dialing: (605) 475-4899 Access code: 521926 and choosing reference number 56