Timeless Torah

“The only true free man is he who occupies himself with the study of Torah.” (Ethics of our Fathers 6:2)
Most people wonder at the veracity of such a statement. “Can subjugation to Torah with all of its strictures be equated with freedom?” It can be argued that no one in our world is truly free. There are laws: the laws of nature, the rules of man, and the conventions of society. Simply stated, true freedom cannot exist, for no individual is completely free to do whatever he desires.
Only G-d can be free. Only He can do what He wants, at any time that He chooses with no restraints whatsoever. For man to taste this freedom, he must seek association with G-d. That affiliation is made possible by connecting to G-d’s word, Torah. Freedom is an essential ingredient to being human. The ability to consider and select options is a feature peculiar to man. At Sinai, the Jews accepted more than Torah, they recognized that hard choices were now to be a part of their life.
The seasonal offerings brought at any given time (holiday) allude to this particular ‘human’ quality; that unlike animals we are not beholden to natural instinct or societal pressure. On the second day of Passover, a sheaf of barley was offered at the Temple. Raw barley is normally reserved for animal food, signifying that the Jews were still wrestling with their animalistic drives and passions. Seven weeks later, on Shavuos, the offering consisted of two loaves of bread made from wheat flour. Bread is human food, indicating that with the acceptance of the Torah, the former slaves from Egypt had finally attained full human status.
Holidays don’t just happen, one prepares for them. Long before Rosh Hashana, seats are reserved; prior to Succos, lulavim and esrogim are acquired; and of course, there is the endless cleaning and cooking that ushers in Pesach. The one exception to the rule seems to be Shavuos, which celebrates the giving of the Torah. Nothing needs to be built and there are no lavish preparations. In fact, pop a blintz into the oven and voila, Shavuos is done.
The difference lies in what each of the festivals accomplished. Rosh Hashana introduced physical man on this planet, on Sukkos we harvested the fields, and Purim and Pesach granted us freedom from Haman’s sword and Pharoah’s whip. Shavuos and Sinai, however, wrought no physical changes, but a spiritual metamorphosis.
Physical advancement require physical preparation, spiritual growth needs spiritual preparation. In view of this, we can understand the need for the study of Ethics of Our Fathers, during this period of the calendar. A Jewish treatise that demands diligent study of morality implies that we are naturally born making good choices. Visit a local playground in which one child is particularly fat, short, emotionally, or intellectually disadvantaged and you are likely to observe cruelty that would shock any adult.
What is worse is that quite often people don’t even feel responsible for the evil they commit. They blame someone else; parents (or lack thereof), violence on TV, the environment, economic circumstances, or government cutbacks. Thus, instead of addressing the evil-doers’ values, politicians and others focus their energy on changing the ‘outside’ societal influences. Hence, the irresponsible young men who impregnate irresponsible young women, according to these policy makers, don’t need lessons on how to make judicious choices. They merely require more sex education and freer access to condoms.
There are those who believe that the battle for a better world lies in the struggle between the individual and society. Society, of course, being the great evil while the individual is held unaccountable. Ethics of our Fathers reminds us that the true battle for man's soul takes place not in the streets, but in man's heart and mind. All this brings us to Shavuos; a holiday that celebrates not only becoming Jewish, but also becoming human. Or better said, becoming a Mentsch.
This is just one reason why our children belong in a Jewish Day School. There they will learn more than the three R's of 'Reading, 'Riting and 'Rithmetic. They will incorporate the fourth R as well - knowing the difference between Right and Wrong.