This week we celebrated the holiday of Shavu’ot, the Feast of Weeks. In Christian tradition it is often called Pentecost, the holiday of the 50th Day. It is the second of the three pilgrimage festivals ordained in the Torah, tied to the first (Passover) by the ritual of counting the Omer – we count 49 days after the first day of Passover, and the 50th day is the holiday of Shavu’ot.

In Biblical times, and to some extent still in modern Israel, Shavu’ot was a strongly agricultural holiday, falling as it does when the first wheat and barley harvest is to be expected. In 2000 years of exile, we developed new meanings for it – the rabbis proclaimed that the revelation at Sinai, the giving of the 10 commandments and the rest of the Torah, happened on Shavu’ot, 50 days after the Exodus. Therefore, as Passover is the celebration of freedom from slavery, Shavu’ot is the celebration of the giving of the Torah, our way of life.

That way of life has evolved quite a bit since the Israelites first stood at the foot of the mountain and saw/heard/felt voices of thunder. Even the meaning of the word Torah has expanded in that time – from the original Five Books of Moses, which were codified and committed to parchment at some point, to include the Oral Torah and teachings of the Rabbis over the millennia. Indeed, one could argue that whenever humans consider the ancient words and make them relevant to their own lives and times, that is Torah. While the original Torah on the parchment does not change, the interpretations that we give those words can and must be according to the needs of our time, not theirs.

There is a story in the Talmud of a dispute between the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel – famous scholars and their disciples. Shammai’s followers were inclined to rule in the most stringent way possible, while those of Hillel were more inclined to be lenient and gentle. A voice was heard from Heaven, declaring “these and these are the words of the Living G-d, but the ruling is according to the House of Hillel”. So while eventually we have to make a decision one way or another (preferably in the more loving and empathetic direction), it is important to remember that people we disagree with can still speak “the words of the Living G-d”. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own righteousness, we forget that our opponents are also human. That is something that hasn’t changed since ancient times.

Happy Shavu’ot! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.