On Sunday this week we celebrated the holiday of Shavuot, the holiday of the giving of the Torah. For the giving to be complete, there is also a need for acceptance – the reception of the Torah. This requires action on our part, which expresses our willingness to receive the Torah.
We are in the "days of payment" of Shavuot, when we can make up for anything we may have missed during the holiday itself. Therefore, it is time to discuss the place of the Torah in each of our lives.
The Jewish people have always been called the "people of the book." Jews felt a natural affinity with the world of books and learning. In every community and community, in every generation, it was a natural sight to enter the Beit Midrash in the evening and find the craftsmen, merchants, and dignitaries of the city sitting there, studying.
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This is the Gemara, this is the Mishnah, this is the Pentateuch, this is the Shulchan Aruch, and those who do not know how to study – read Tehillim.
This natural affinity with the Torah is what made us the 'people of the book.' The common man on the street knew verses, sages' sayings, and midrashim by heart. His small talk was saturated with idioms from the sources, and was therefore rich and valuable.
This atmosphere educated the younger generation to love books and to want to learn, and thus the Jewish people distinguished themselves from the peoples around them, and their spiritual level was several degrees higher than theirs. The Torah and its study gave the Jewish people the taste for life, in the sense that "they are our life.".
Shallow language
It is therefore unfortunate that in recent generations this natural approach to books has been lost by many sections of the people. Listen to the language spoken today and you will hear a flat, shallow language, devoid of proverbs and a background from the sources.
As a result, even those who know the book avoid reciting a verse or proverb, because there is a high chance that the listeners will not understand its meaning.
We all have the duty to restore to all classes of people the direct connection to the Torah. First and foremost, it is required that all those who understand the importance of the Torah make sure to have a daily 'ration' of Torah.
Many are so busy with work and household chores that Torah study is pushed aside, and they hardly open a book.
This must be changed.
A regular Torah lesson is an essential necessity. The Lubavitcher Rebbe advised to view the time of Torah lessons as if it were Shabbat. After all, on Shabbat, even if the phone rings over and over again, no one will answer. This is how the regular time for Torah study should feel. No phones, no texts, no emails, no interruptions.
Strengthening commitment
Self-study is not enough. We must also work to introduce Torah study to all segments of the people. We must convey the message that the Torah belongs to all of us and that it is the duty of every Jew to know the weekly Torah portion and to become familiar with basic concepts in Jewish Torah.
In recent years, there has truly been a change for the better. Torah lessons have become a central part of the landscape of the country.
Today, there is no city that does not have hundreds of Torah lessons each week, in all Jewish subjects, for women and men, for beginners and advanced.
This is the time to strengthen the commitment to Torah study. To return and truly be 'with the Book'.
