F9: Shavuot

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Introduction

About a month and a half after the Jews left Egypt, in Sivan 1312BCE, they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. They made camp by a small mountain of the same name and did not leave for nearly a year. Most of the Torah is dedicated to the time our ancestors spent living and learning there, but it was the end of the first week at Mt. Sinai that was to become the most important event in Jewish history: God made contact with the entire Jewish people. In the words of Abraham Heschel: "We have never been the same since the day on which the voice of God overwhelmed us at Sinai..."

Revelation at Sinai

Theologically, a revelation is any time when God communicates with humankind. Thus Noah, Abraham, Rebekah, Moses, Bala'am and some other biblical characters all experienced a personal revelation. But the Revelation at Sinai was different, it was unique. For one time only, God made collective contact with every person who was gathered at the foot of the mountain. This has never occurred since. No nation on Earth has ever claimed that they or their ancestors experienced collective Revelation on the scale of what happened to the Jewish people. According to most estimates there were at least two million people at Sinai, and the actual number is probably close to three million. Before his death, Moses reminded the people of the significance of this singular event:

"You have to find out about days gone by... find out whether, since the day that God created Man upon the Earth,...there has ever been such a great thing as this is, or even anything which sounds like it. Did ever a nation hear the voice of God...?" (Deuteronomy 4:32-33)

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