Last night we concluded Shavuot, and there is an enduring lesson that I am still thinking about. There are two canonical texts that we read on Shavuot. From the Torah, we read about the Revelation at Sinai. We read about Moshe going up to the Mountain and God giving those Ten Commandments. It was a grand moment, one that shaped our relationship with the Divine and with our tradition.
The second text we read is the Book of Ruth, from the Ketuvim (‘Writings’). It tells the story of Ruth and Naomi, bound together in friendship, in kindness, and in love. The end of the Book of Ruth teaches the genealogy of King David, which is, our tradition teaches, also the lineage of a future messiah. This is to say, I think, that whatever brings our world to a better place will be born from that very kindness and love that grounded Ruth.
Each of these stories is crucial to our tradition. One is about Truth; the other about Hesed (loving kindness). A 14th century commentator called the Abudraham taught that Ruth continued the revelation of Sinai. What began on a mountain with fire and shofar blasts, with two tablets giving law to the people, was continued in a relationship between two people, carrying out the deepest kindnesses.
I am struck by the beauty in this message. For us to continue revealing new Torah, for us - as a community - to stand again and again at Sinai to receive Truth - we must carry out Hesed. This is Torah embodied. This is Torah revealed. This is not the Torah given from the top of the mountain, this is the Torah that is given and received even in the lowest places, the most normal of places. May this be a Torah that each of us can receive, can give, and can reveal, every day.
