This is a letter written by HaRav Oshry, zt"l, to his son
about a droshoh that he gave on Shavuos.
Friday, erev Shabbos Kodesh, leseder "Kumoh Hashem
veyofutzu oyevecho veyonusu mesan'echo miponecho"
(Behaalosecha) 5687 (1927)
To my dear son, Liber neiro yoir, and his wife, my
daughter-in-law, Moras Zissa, and their son Yosef Dovid,
Sholom uvrochoh, Greetings!
I would like to copy over for you in brief what I spoke about
in the beis medrash on Shavuos. I began with
Megillas Rus: Why was Megillas Rus designated
for the festival of Shavuos?
In addition to all of the reasons given, I thought, perhaps,
that the Torah sought to give us an accurate picture of the
lifestyle of our people according to Torah in those ancient
times. Indeed, we find dramatic descriptions of family and
social life in Eretz Yisroel; we see glowing depictions of
exalted men of stature like Boaz, and distinguished women
like Naomi, as well as an exemplary convert, Rus, of course.
All of them join to form a marvelous harmonious tapestry
which has no comparison among all the other nations or
languages in the world, especially those of ancient times.
Only in the Jewish Chosen Holy Land and by the holy Jewish
people which was privileged to stand at Har Sinai and hear
the Torah transmitted from the very mouth of Hashem and which
accepted upon itself the entire body of commandments as a
code of life for the family and the society — only here
can one see such holy scenes played out in real life.
This is a refutation to all those Sadducees and their ilk,
throughout the ages old and new, who impute ridiculous and
evil lies, saying that the Jews in Eretz Yisroel of yore
lived as all the other pagan nations — a life of
licentiousness, emptiness, abominations — and only in
their exile when Jewry had lost all of its precious
possessions did they confine themselves to the `four cubits
of Torah,' of halocho, and constrict themselves to
being a people of Torah. Along comes Megillas Rus to
refute their imputation, showing that they are saying pure
lies.
In our talk, we continued with some insights into the
particular wording exchanged between Naomi and her two
daughters-in-law. At first both of them said, "We will return
with you to your people," without mentioning "to your G-d."
Later, Naomi says to Rus, "See, your sister-in-law has
returned to her people," and Naomi adds, "and to her gods."
This addition is repeated in Rus' words, "Your people are my
people and; your G-d is my G-d." Why the change? Furthermore:
Why doesn't the Torah give a special sign or concretization
to the festival of Shavuos as it does to the other festivals,
the "mikro'ei kodesh — holy appointed times"
— such as matzoh on Pesach, succah and
arba'a minim on Succos, shofar on Rosh
Hashonoh, fasting on Yom Kippur? What is the Giving of the
Torah different from the other "holy appointed times"?
We may also ask, before tying it all up, why each tribe was
given a different banner and a different color. Each banner,
as the Midrash states, had a different emblem depicted
upon it as well. And most surprising of all is the fact that
the tribe of Levi, which was chosen of all the other tribes
to stand and serve before Hashem and to hand down the
statutes of the Torah to the people and was commanded to
encamp around the Mishkan and be the very hub and
center of the entire people together with the Mikdosh, was
not given any identifying flag at all. Why? Because of a lack
of colors? A dearth of emblems? Nor did the priesthood have
its own banner. Why is this?
The answer is that the color was given in order to
differentiate between the different tribes. One can only give
a color to things of which there are many of the same in the
world, and which differ from one another by a lot or a little
by an aspect or a picture or both. Not so with something that
has no compare, no comparable kind or sort, is one and
unique, and its name testifies to it — and that is
it!
The Jewish people is outwardly a nation like others and is
made up of national organs like other nations which are also
composed of components and parts that make up its whole
entity as a national sovereign body. Each tribe has its own
unique attributes and strengths which are vital to the makeup
of the entire nation. That is why each tribe was given a flag
with its individual color: to differentiate it from the
others, each one according to its nature and strengths. But
this is merely like the shell of other nations and shows no
special character unique to the Jewish people, just as in his
physical body a Jew is no different from a gentile.
A Jew has 248 organs and 365 sinews, like a gentile. Both of
them are required to behave according to basic decency in
order to live in society. So how does one distinguish the
Jew?
Through his internal makeup. The entire existence of a
gentile revolves around the person himself; he is the be-all
and end-all. And his life is wrapped up in materialism and
tangibility.
One might say that Jews are a unique nation, for their entire
existence revolves around their G-d and His code of law, the
Torah. The Jew, himself — and his entire earthly life
— are secondary with regard to his G-d, Who is the
Source of everything, and unto Whom he strives to cleave with
his whole heart and soul to attain eternal life and reward.
Thus in his personal life; thus in his national life.
This is why it is impossible to give him a color or an emblem
to symbolize it, for Israel has no comparison as a nation or
language. Other nations can be characterized or epitomized
but there is no color or depiction that can symbolize Israel
and therefore, it has no flag.
Symbols and pictures can only be attributed to something
concrete that can be grasped by one of the five senses and
conceived in our intellect. That is why the gods of the
nations are products of their imaginations; they are tangible
or at least conjurable things that can be depicted by an
image, by an idol. The banners and emblems of their essential
beliefs are the products of their imaginations but they are
entities which can be grasped and represented.
With Israel, only its outwardness is tangible and real. Its
inner essence is spiritual; it strives towards Hashem. And
this defies depiction; its center is the Mikdosh and
the Kohanim and Leviim who serve therein.
Without any color or ensign — only Hashem alone, Who is
represented upon the forehead of the Kohen Godol
— that is the banner of all of Jewry.
This is the main difference between Israel and the other
nations. The later have a banner that centralizes and unifies
them. At the fulcrum of Israel there is no banner.
This is, perhaps, the meaning of the verse, "These by
chariots and these by horses . . . " (Tehillim 20).
The various gentile nations pride themselves with these
accouterments of physical power, whereas we hold aloft the
banner, as it were, of Hashem.
From all this it is clear why the Torah did not provide a
tangible sign for this day of the Giving of the Torah. This
day is unique; nothing can compare with it, just like Hashem
and Israel are unique. It has no identifying color to
differentiate it from other national codes because the latter
are the products of their nations; they are human inventions
and as such, cannot be more representative than their
originators. And they are subject to change from generation
to generation, as human styles, mores, values and concepts
all change and are modified with the times.
Not so the Torah. It is immutable since it is not a product
of human intellect but was transmitted to mankind. It has
not, and never will, change as we testify daily, "I believe
that the entire Torah which is now in our possession is the
same as was given to Moshe Rabbenu." And "I believe . . .
that it will not be changed and that there will never be any
other law from the Creator."
Only mortals are subject to change, whims, styles,
vicissitudes. Whereas the Torah can be compared to the sun,
moon and stars which are constant. As they were, so will they
continue to revolve in their orbits for all time, and all the
more so the Torah, which is altogether divine and
transcendental. Just as the Creator will never change, so
will the Torah remain the very same.
Generations will come and go, but the teachings of Hashem are
pure and will never be interchanged with others. Everyone
will eventually come back to the Torah for it, alone, is
eternal.
We come back to Rus and Orpa who at first declared they would
return with Naomi "to your nation." Naomi understood that her
daughters-in-law only wanted to remain with her people, but
not to cleave unto their G-d, Hashem, and His commandments.
They wished to be Hebrew-nationals, without religion, and to
still maintain their idolatrous practices. This is why she
tried time and again to dissuade them, to make them return to
their homes.
Orpa finally capitulated but when Rus persevered, Naomi then
understood that she would be willing to assume the mitzvos as
a Jewess, and she said to her, "Look, your sister-in-law has
returned to her people and to her gods." You cannot follow me
and still remain loyal to the gods of Moav!
When Rus declared emphatically that "Your people are my
people and your G-d is my G-d," Naomi was finally convinced,
satisfied, and willing to accept her.
