With all due respect to cheeses and dairy foods, the main essence of Shavuot is, as the holiday is defined in the prayers said during it – 'the time of giving our Torah.' It is the day when we received the Torah and became a 'pure people.'.
On this day, God descended in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai, and gave us, with voices and lightning, the Torah and the commandments. This is the day on which the Jewish people were entrusted with the special mission of sanctifying the physical and material world, and making it a "dwelling place" for Him, blessed be He.
Today's challenge
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The Sages recount that before the giving of the Torah, God, blessed be He, said to the Children of Israel: "Bring Me good sureties to keep it, and I will give it to you." The Israelites said: "Our fathers are sureties for us. Prophets are sureties for us." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: "They also need sureties. But bring Me good sureties and I will give it to you." They said: "Our sons are sureties for us." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: "These are certainly good sureties, by their hand I will give it to you.".
This Midrash has a deep and eternal meaning. The existence of the Jewish people cannot be based solely on the study of the Torah of the 'prophets' or the 'fathers'. The guarantee of the eternity of the Jewish people and their continued hold on the heritage of Israel is when the children are connected to it, and grow up to be Jews with deep roots.
This challenge has become more difficult in recent generations. Today's children are exposed to global fashions. Advanced technology transmits ideas, cultures, and lifestyles at an incredible speed, creating a flood that is difficult to resist. In order for the younger generation to withstand these winds, it needs strong roots and a deep and stable Jewish foundation.
Thanks to the children
Shavuot is an important time to instill Jewish values in children, and to tie them even more closely to the traditions of their ancestors. Hence the call made by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to bring children to synagogues on Shavuot, so that they may be present at the reading of the Ten Commandments. The Rebbe asked to bring even newborn babies to this event, because even though they do not understand what is happening, their souls perceive and absorb the sanctity of the event.
This reading is based on the Midrash: "The Holy One, the Blessed One, said to Israel: My sons, read this portion every year, and I raise it up to you as if you were standing before Mount Sinai and receiving the Torah." When we read the Ten Commandments on Shavuot, it is considered as if we are re-experiencing the scene of Mount Sinai. And just as all the members of the Jewish people were present at that scene, so too are we required to be there with our companions – the children.
It is worth mentioning that several rabbis have raised the need to organize a prayer minyan in every synagogue on the holiday during regular hours, and not just early in the morning, to allow those who were not awake at night or those who are not early risers to pray the holiday prayers in public and hear the reading of the Ten Commandments.
This is the place to call on the synagogue collectors to prepare for the arrival of the children, and even to prepare appropriate refreshments for them. The children are our guardians, and with them we will soon go forth toward our righteous Messiah and say to Him: "See the crops we have grown.".
