          Shavuot, the Festival of the Giving of the Law
                          May 5, 1991
                      by Gary M. Cooperberg

       Chag Shavuot comes exactly seven weeks after Passover, commemorating the fact
that G-d gave us the Torah seven weeks after our deliverance from slavery in Egypt.  Our
physical liberation was only the first step towards the goal of our spiritual liberation.  Only
when the Jew accepts upon himself the yoke of heaven can he be said to be truly free.  And
this freedom and independence can only be fulfilled when the People of Israel observe the
Torah of Israel in the Land of Israel. 
       G-d wanted to give us Eretz Yisrael soon after giving us the Torah, but our years of
slavery in Egypt made it difficult for us accept the stark change in our lives.  Had we the
courage and faith to face the challenges before us as masters, and no longer slaves, we would
have entered the land immediately.  Instead we were afraid and not prepared to fully meet the
challenge and thus were forced to wander in the desert for forty years until the adults from the
generation of the spies had all died.
       The same generation that witnessed the incredible miracles in Egypt, saw the hand
of G-d at the Red Sea, and heard the voice of G-d at Mount Sinai, yet was unworthy of
entering the land of Israel.  How can it be then, that we, who cannot even approach the
spiritual level of that generation which was nurtured on manna from heaven, have been given
the privilege to go up to the Land?  We, like them, have experienced the "slavery" of exile. 
But in our case, we have been "enslaved" for two thousand years.  It is no wonder that we too
have much difficulty in accepting the fact that we are no longer ghetto Jews subject to the
whims of the antisemitic majority.
       The G-d of Israel took us out of Egypt with an outstretched hand so that the entire
world would know of His greatness.  He spoke to every Jew from atop the burning Mount
Sinai so that no future generation could ever claim that our Torah was not from Him.     "We will do and we will listen," was our unanimous promise to our G-d.  Although
He was pleased by it, He knew that we could not live up to it, and that we would go astray. 
He told us in His Torah what would happen to us--- and it happened.  Jerusalem and the Holy
Temples were destroyed and the Jewish People were scattered all over the world where,
despite the many contributions we made to humanity, we were hated, degraded, beaten and
murdered, just because we were Jews, the chosen of G-d.
       But just as the terrible evil that G-d warned us about did come to pass; so then must
come the positive part of the decree.  The G-dly promise of Jewish redemption must come
true.  He told us that He will gather our scattered remnants from the four corners of the world
and return us to our own land.  He will set up a descendent of King David to be our King and
all nations will respect and pay tribute to us there.  We have already seen with our own eyes
the rebirth of a Jewish State in our ancient homeland.  We are watching prophesy come true as
Jews begin to come home in ever increasing numbers defying nature.  How can any honest
observer think that G-d would make all of these unusual decrees, begin to fulfill them, and
then stop this G-dly process and not bring it to completion?  Can anyone honestly think that
we can find "peace" by working against this process?  What possible logic is there in trying to
give away our rightful Jewish Lands that G-d miraculously gave to us; and hoping that Bush
and Arafat will save us from destruction?
       The holiday of Shavuot comes to remind us that The Torah that was given to us on
Sinai, is as relevant today as it was then.  It is clearly our guarantee that we cannot ever lose
this country.  We, as individuals, may not be worthy of His miracles.  But the time has come
for our redemption, and His promise to our Father, Abraham, is irrevocable.  
       My dear fellow Jew, living in the glitter of the exile, heed the lesson of our sins
which prevented us from entering the land immediately after our receiving the Torah.  Look
around you and see that the exile is coming to an end.  Your home in Israel awaits you.  The
future here is guaranteed by G-d.  The exile is becoming increasingly more dangerous.  Save
yourselves and your loved ones and hasten the redemption for us all.  Come home.  