How to Host a Shavuot Study Session

Suggested Resources for Your Hakhel Event

Installment 9 | Month of Sivan | Focus on Shavuot
 ‫ב"ה‬

Hakhel, which we are celebrating all year,

is a way of re-experiencing the unity and
inspiration that we all felt when the Torah
was given at Sinai more than 3,300 years
ago. And here we are. It’s Shavuot, the
anniversary of the giving of the Torah.
What a perfect time to host a Hakhel!

This month, we are sharing some resources

for a study session, which you can hold on
Shavuot night, when we stay up all night
learning, during the long holiday afternoon,
or whenever else is convenient—including
before Shavuot, if that’s what works.

With wishes for a beautiful and joyful

Shavuot,

The Chabad.org Hakhel Team

What You’ll Need In Advance:

• Study texts (such as page 3-13)
• Something to munch (we got some recipes on page 14-15)

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 The Rebbe’s Letter
Free Rendition
By the Grace of G‑d
In the Days of Preparation
5720—200th Anniversary of
the Histalkus-Hilulo of the
Baal Shem Tov, of blessed
memory. Brooklyn, N.Y.
“To the House of Jacob”—the Women
“And to the Children of Israel”—the Men
G‑d be with you
Greeting and Blessing:
The Days of Preparation for the Receiving of
Our Torah call for special, deepfelt reflection on
what the Torah is.
The holy Torah is not a collection of laws for
special occasions. It embraces the totality of the
Jew, from his first moment to his last, and in all
the minute aspects of his day-to-day life.
This is the essential meaning of the Torah,
Toras Chayyim, the “Law of Life.”
Furthermore. Our Sages of blessed memory
explain that the Torah embraces the totality of
Creation, citing the example of an architect who,
before erecting a building, draws up blueprints
and plans, covering every
detail of the
structure. So the Creator used the Torah as a
“blueprint,” as it were, for the Creation, down to
the minutest particle in the inanimate material
world.
This, indeed, is one of the basic doctrines
of General Chassidus as expounded by the
Baal Shem Tov, based on his interpretation
of Scripture: Forever, O G‑d, Thy words
standeth firm in the heavens (Psalms 119:89),
and explained at length in the teachings of
Chassidus Chabad by the Old Rebbe, of blessed
memory, author of the Tanya and Shulchan
Aruch, especially in his Shaar Ha-Yichud Veha-
Emunah—
Everything—in the heavens above and down
to the earth below, in all their particulars—
exists only by virtue of the “word” of G‑d
(“Let there be a firmament,” and the other
Divine fiats), which created, creates and
vitalizes all things continuously, every
instant, without interruption.
From this follows the next basic doctrine—
Hashgocho Protis—G‑d’s direct knowledge
of, and Providence for, all particular things—
extends to each and all minute details of the
Creation, from individual man,
the supreme creature, to
the lowest thing in the
inanimate world.
From the above there
follows yet another
corollary, which is
likewise basic to
the teachings of
Chassidus and
which was
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especially emphasized by the Baal Shem Tov, of Mattan Torah, which is also the anniversary of
although it is, of course, a law in the Shulchan the Histalkus-Hilulo of the Baal Shem Tov, and
Aruch, namely, that—
Transforming it into the detailed aspects of the
It is incumbent upon the Jew to serve G‑d in daily life, both in one’s personal life as well as
and with all details and aspects of his life and in one’s surroundings, and in all aspects of the
surroundings, beginning with the study of the world, according to the dictum—
Torah and the fulfillment of the 613 Divine
Let thy fountains spread forth outside, whereby
precepts, down to the simplest acts and
the fountains of Chassidus, that is, the Inner Light
conditions of the daily life, and that
of the Torah, will overflow and irradiate even the
Everything in one’s surroundings is a lesson “outside”—the external and most distant details
in love of G‑d and fear of G‑d, the primary and aspects of the entire Creation—
wellsprings from which the Jew draws the
Will speedily bring the true and complete
proper inspiration to fulfill the Torah and
Geuloh, the Redemption through our righteous
Mitzvoth, the positive commandments
Moshiach, when the whole Creation will
(Mitzvoth-Asseh) and prohibitions (Mitzvoth-
recognize and experience the meaning of I am
Lo Taaseh), permeated with true vitality and
the L-d, thy G‑d.
fulfilled with perfection.
With prayerful wishes to receive
The concentrated reflection on all that has
the Torah with joy and Pnimius
been mentioned above, reflection with intensity,
(inwardness), and a Happy Yom Tov
animation and illumination,
/signed/ MENACHEM SCHNEERSON/
Especially in these auspicious days, on the eve

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 Short Insights: A Dwelling Below
• By Tzvi Freeman •
By far the most important event in human
history is the Giving of the Torah — the
divine revelation at Mount Sinai recounted
in the 19th and 20th chapters of the Book
of Exodus. But what exactly happened on
the spring morning when the Children of
Israel gathered to hear G‑d pronounce Ten
Commandments from a flaming mountain
is not entirely clear. After all, the Torah was
already being studied and observed for
thousands of years — by Adam, Noah, Shem,
Eber, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and
his brothers. So either G‑d had already given
it to someone, or some enterprising human
had gotten a hold of it on his own. What,
then, was the "Giving of the Torah" about?
The Midrash offers a parable: "Once there
was a king, who decreed: 'The people of
Rome are forbidden to go down to Syria,
and the people of Syria are forbidden to go
up to Rome.' Likewise, when G‑d created the
world He decreed and said: 'The heavens
are G‑d's, and the earth is given to man.'
But when He wished to give the Torah to
Israel, He rescinded His original decree, and
declared: 'The lower realms may ascend to
the higher realms, and the higher realms
may descend to the lower realms.'"
The Chassidic masters explain: Before the
Giving of the Torah there was a physical world,
and a spiritual realm. You basically had a
choice: you could live a physical life, or you
could pursue a spiritual existence. Or you
could alternate between the two (physical
on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, spiritual
on Mondays, Thudays and Saturdays). Maybe
you could even be both simultaneously.
But you could not integrate the two. At
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the Giving of the Torah, G‑d rescinded the
"decree" and "schism" (the dual meanings of
the word "gezeirah" the Midrash uses) that
separated the two realms, enabling and
empowering us to begin fulfillment of what
our sages describe as the purpose for which
G‑d created the world in the first place: "G‑d
desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms."
What follows is a series of meditations
by Tzvi Freeman on the nature and
meaning of this "dwelling below" (dira
b'tachtonim, in the terminology of
Chassidic teaching), based on the writings
and talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe:
Infinite Light that contained all things and is
the perfection of them all. Within that light I
imagined the shadows of many beings, and
I withdrew that light so that the shadows
could become real. And they are you and
your worlds, sustained by a glimmer of a
reflection of a ray of the Light that manages
to squeeze its way in. Each world lower than
the next, the Light successively diminished
through endless filters and contractions."
"Do I then have a need
for the descent of light? Is
there anything your
worlds can
provide that I

Where the Essence Dwells

We were at Mount Sinai, and every
dimension of Heaven was folded upon
the Earth as fine sheets upon a mattress.
It was then that G‑d declared, "I have
come to my garden, to the place I most
desired from the very beginning."

The angels were stunned. Since the outset of

existence, they were praising their Creator
in sublime harmony. Amongst them, there
is no jealousy or unpleasantness, only
love and brotherhood. No ignorance, no
confusion, only revelation and vision.

The angels look upon our world of cruelty

between man and man, of mortal blindness
to the most obvious of truths, and they say,
"This place He desires?! This He calls a garden
of delight?! Of all possible worlds, this is the
lowest, the ultimate descent of His Holy Light!
And this He chooses for His holy dwelling?!"

So the Almighty replies, "For Me, even the most

elevated of worlds is a descent. I began with

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lack? I have no needs, no need for fulfillment,
therefore I need no reason for anything I
do, including the very act of existence."
"I fashioned your worlds not with a need,
not from any cause, yet with a purpose
and a desire: It was that the Infinite Light
should meet with the Absolute Darkness
and in their marriage My Essence would
be found. And where is it that these two
can meet? Only in the lowest of worlds."
This is what is written in the ancient
Midrash, "The ultimate purpose of creation
of all worlds, upper and lower, is that
the Holy One, blessed be He, desired a
home in the lowest of all worlds."
How to Be Spiritual
Phil Sofer is an enlightened being. He spends
his life in the wilderness far from humanity,
focusing his mind on the higher realms.
Harriet Goldberg is a schoolteacher. She
spends her life cultivating small minds,
hoping to nurture their sense of wonder
for the world in which they live.
Who is closer to G‑d?
If the world came from G‑d as light comes
from the sun, spontaneously, but with
no real interest, then Phil is closer.
If G‑d created a world deliberately,
because that is what He desires and
cares for, then Harriet is closer.
You choose.
Heaven Above, Man Below
Heaven above and the soul of Man
below are two halves of a single form,
two converse hemispheres that fit
together to make a perfect whole.
Attuned in perfect consonance, they
dance a pas de deux of exquisite form,
each responding to every subtle nuance
of the other, mirroring and magnifying the
most subliminal inner thought, until it is
impossible to distinguish them as two.
Within the human being is the consciousness
of G‑d looking back upon Himself from
within the world He has made.
We sit upon the vortex of Creation.
At the Essence
Do not be misled by those who
claim there is no purpose.
They may know life, but not the
bowels of its fountain.
They may know darkness, but not its meaning.
They may have wisdom, but they cannot
reach higher, to a place beyond wisdom
from which all wisdom began.
They may reach the very source from which
all rivers flow. To the place where all known
things converge, where all knowledge is one.
But they have not touched the Essence.
At the Essence there is nothing — no
light, no darkness, no knowledge, no
convergence, no wisdom — nothing but the
burning purpose of this moment now.
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In the Work of Our Hands
People imagine that since G‑d is not physical,
He must be in heaven. But the heavens — and
all things spiritual — are just as much creations
as the earth. Less dissonant, more harmonious,
more lucid — but finite realms nonetheless.
Angels burn with jealousy each time
a human being turns himself around
and creates beauty in this world.
Heaven is nice, but on the best things,
earth has exclusive rights.

G‑d is found not because the capacity of a

place, but because of His desire to be there.
One World
And where is the place He desires to be? In the
People might tell you,
work of our hands, as they fix up His world.
"When you come to work, leave your
In the heavens is G‑d’s light. In our handiwork
spirituality at home. Don’t bother us
dwells G‑d Himself, the source of all light.
with your peculiar lifestyle, your ethics,
search for meaning… That’s all nice, but
this is business. This is the real world."
Underrated Earth
There is only one real world,
For thousands of years, souls wait up in
and it belongs to one real G‑d.
heaven, longing for their moment upon
this earth to do another soul a favor.

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 Question: Where Is Mount Sinai?
• By Yehuda Shurpin •
I’ve seen lots of theories about the location
of Mount Sinai. Is there any validity to those
theories? I know that Judaism reveres the
Temple Mount as the site of the Holy Temple,
but is there any location that Judaism reveres
or at least recognizes as Mount Sinai, the
place where G‑d gave the Torah and where
the Jewish nation was born? And if not, why?
There are lots of theories, but none of
them are even close to conclusive. Why
is that? Why have the Jewish sages not
preserved a tradition regarding the
location of the most monumental event
in all of history? Why the ambivalence?
Once the Jewish people received the Torah
on Mount Sinai and continued their journey
to the Land of Israel, there is just one biblical
mention of anyone going back to Mount Sinai.
We read in the Book of Kings (I Kings 19) how,
hundreds of years after the giving of the
Torah, Elijah the prophet fled the wicked
queen Jezebel and took refuge in a cave
on “the mountain of G‑d, Horeb,” which is
identified as none other than Mount Sinai.
But on closer examination, this incident
itself only underscores the question.
The day after Elijah took refuge, the
word of G‑d came to him: “What
are you doing here, Elijah?”
After the prophet complained about
his lot and the bad deeds of the people,
G‑d told him to step outside and stand
on the mountainside. Elijah did so,
and then, in one of the most stirring
moments in Scripture, we read:
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 Behold! the L‑rd passes, and a great
and strong wind splitting mountains
and shattering boulders before the
L‑rd—but the L‑rd was not in the wind.
And after the wind, an earthquake—
not in the earthquake was the L‑rd.
After the earthquake, fire—not
in the fire was the L‑rd.
And after the fire, a still small sound.
And as Elijah heard, he wrapped his
face in his mantle, and he went out and
stood at the entrance to the cave, and
behold a voice came to him and [again]
said: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
G‑d then told him to go back to the people,
with instructions on how to deal with them.
Mount Sinai was the site of great drama, but
G‑d told Elijah that His eternal place is not
in great noises and rumbling earthquakes.
Rather, He can be found in our quiet,
humble day-to-day actions. His message
was clear: “You don’t belong here. Go
back to the people and do your work!”
Honoring the Place
Perhaps the rabbis’ attitude toward
Mount Sinai can best be explained
by the following piece of Talmud:
It is not the place that honors the person;
rather, the person honors his place, as we
found with regard to Mount Sinai, that as
long as the Divine Presence rested upon
it, the Torah said: “Nor let the flocks nor the
herds graze before that mountain (Exodus
34:3).” Once the Divine Presence departed
from the mountain, the Torah said: “When
the shofar sounds long, they may come up
to the mountain (Exodus 19:13)” [indicating
that the sanctity was not intrinsic to the
place, but was due to the Divine Presence
resting there] (Talmud, Taanit 21b).
Mount Sinai itself was not inherently
holy. Rather, what was done there gave
honor and holiness to Sinai, so once
the people received the Torah and
moved on, Sinai was no longer holy.
We read a similar story from the Talmud:
Rabbah bar bar Chanah said: “Once
we were traveling in the desert, and we
were accompanied by a certain Arab. .
. . That Arab also said to me: ‘Come, I will
show you Mount Sinai.’ I went and saw
that scorpions were encircling it, and
they were standing as high as white
donkeys . . . (Talmud, Bava Batra 74a)”
The commentaries explain that scorpions
represent the forces of evil. Once
the Divine Presence left the place, it
became susceptible to unholiness.
Thus, though Sinai was holy during the giving
of the Torah, once it had accomplished
its purpose it was void of significance. At
Sinai we were given a mission to learn the
Torah and uplift and refine the mundane,
outside world. Simply hanging around
Mount Sinai would defeat the purpose.
But it does not end there.
The Return of Mount Sinai
The Talmud states that in the messianic
era, all of the synagogues of the diaspora
will be transported to the Land of Israel:
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 Rabbi Elazar HaKappar says: “In the
future, the synagogues and the study
halls in Babylonia will be transported
and reestablished in the Land of Israel,
as it is stated: ‘Surely, like Tabor among
the mountains, and like Carmel by the
sea, so shall he come (Jeremiah 46:18).’
There is a tradition that these mountains
came to Sinai at the giving of the Torah
and demanded that the Torah should
be given upon them. We can therefore
extrapolate: Just as Tabor and Carmel,
which came only momentarily to Torah,
were relocated and established in Israel
in reward for their actions, all the more
so should the synagogues and study
halls in Babylonia, in which the Torah is
read and disseminated, be relocated
to Israel (Talmud, Megillah 29a).”
Commentaries explain that this refers to
all the synagogues from throughout the
generations. Since the Divine Presence
rested upon them, and they were
considered holy places, their holiness
is never entirely erased, and they will
be transported to the Land of Israel.
In a fascinating talk, the Lubavitcher
Rebbe explains that if this is true for
all the synagogues and houses of
Torah learning, then it is surely true for
Mount Sinai itself, which was in a sense
responsible for all the future generations’
learning of Torah and performance of
mitzvahs. Thus, in the messianic era,
Mount Sinai will regain its holiness and
be transported to the Land of Israel.
May it be speedily in our days!
For more on this, see Sefer Hasichot 5749, vol. 2, p.
464, fn. 77; Torat Menachem 5748, vol. 3, p. 354.
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 G-d’s Nourishment
• Retold by Yanki Tauber •
In his early years, before he went public with
his teachings and disciples came from far
and wide to learn from him, the founder of
the Chassidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal
Shem Tov, was an incessant traveler.
Dressed in the clothes of a simple villager,
he would travel from town to town and
from hamlet to hamlet, asking questions.
"How are things?" he would inquire of the
water-carrier yoked to his pails, of the
market-woman minding her stall, of the
child playing in the doorway of his home. "Is
there enough to eat? Is everyone healthy?"
"Baruch Hashem, blessed be the Almighty,
all is fine" or "Thanks to the Almighty, things
are improving," these simple, G‑d-fearing
and G‑d-trusting Jews would reply, and the
traveler would depart with the gratified step
of one who has found what he was seeking.
One day, Rabbi Israel arrived in a village
and made his way to the study hall. There,
in a corner, sat an ancient Torah scholar
over his books, wrapped in tallit and tefillin.
This was the village porush ("ascetic"), who
led a life of holy seclusion. From sunrise
to sunset, not a morsel of bread or a sip
of water would pass his lips; he spoke to
no one and never lifted his eyes from the
sacred tomes. For more than fifty years he
had kept to this regimen, utterly removed
from the mundane cares of material life.
So why was this stranger pestering him?
"How are things?," he was inquiring, "Is there
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enough to eat? Is everyone healthy?" The
ascetic made no reply, hoping the stranger
would go away. But the stranger only leaned
closer, and his questioning grew more
insistent. Impatiently, the ascetic waved
him away, pointing him to the door.

"Rabbi," the stranger now asked, "why

are you denying G‑d His livelihood?"

The words had their desired effect:

the old man was roused to indignant
attention. G‑d's livelihood?! The audacity
of this uncouth peasant! "What are you
saying?" he demanded in a thunderous
voice. "How dare you disturb me with
such blasphemous babble!"

"Only what King David, the sweet singer of

Israel, proclaims in his Psalms," replied the Baal
Shem Tov. "Tell me, Rabbi, what is the meaning
of the verse , 'And You, the Holy One, who
dwells by the praises of Israel (Psalms 22:4)'? "

"We mortal beings," continued the Baal

Shem Tov when the porush made no reply,
"subsist on the sustenance that G‑d provides
us in His great kindness. But what does G‑d
'subsist' on? On the praises of Israel! When
one Jew asks another, 'How are things' and
his fellow responds by praising and thanking
the Almighty, they are nourishing G‑d,
deepening His involvement with His creation."

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 By Miriam
What’s On the Menu? Szokovski

Quinoa Salad with Pops of Goodness

Ingredients
• 3 sweet potatoes (drizzled with 1-2 tbsp oil)
• 1 ½ cups raw quinoa
• 1 cup parsley leaves
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• 15 purple grapes
• 2 oz (55 grams) feta cheese
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp oil
• ⅛ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp salt (more if you
don’t use the feta)
• Pinch of black pepper
(use fresh cracked if
you have a grinder - it
makes a difference!)

Directions

1. Cut the sweet potatoes into small

cubes and spread across a large
baking sheet. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp oil and
sprinkle with salt. Roast at 425°F (220°C)
until crunchy on the outside and soft
inside, approximately 45 minutes (but
timing will vary based on oven, type
of pan, and the size of your cubes).
2. This will take the longest time, so
do the rest of your prep while the
sweet potatoes and in the oven.
3. Cook the quinoa according to
the directions on the packet. Fluff
with a fork and set aside.
4. Chop the parsley, crumble the
feta, and slice the grapes very
finely. In a separate bowl, whisk the
dressing ingredients together.
5. When the sweet potatoes are ready, mix
all the ingredients into the quinoa. Serve
immediately or refrigerate for later. NOTE:
If preparing in advance, try to add the
sunflower seeds and grapes just before
serving. But it does last a good few days
in the fridge even once mixed together.

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 Classic Cheesecake with Fresh Fruit
Prepare the pan:
• You will need a 9-inch springform pan for
this recipe. If you don’t have a springform
pan, you can use a regular pan, but the
cake will be difficult to remove. You may
need to cut it while it’s still in the pan.
• This cheesecake cooks best in a water
bath, so you’ll need a larger pan that
the springform pan can sit in.
• Wrap the outside of the springform
pan in 2–3 layers of foil. This helps
keep the water from seeping through
the crack around the base.
Crust Ingredients:
• 4 oz. / 120 grams tea biscuits, crushed
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 8 tbsp. butter, melted
• Pinch of salt
Cheesecake Directions:
1. Let the cream cheese come
to room temperature.
2. Using an electric mixer (stand or
handheld), beat the cream cheese
until smooth. Add the sugar, and
mix until fully incorporated.
3. Add the eggs one a time. Wait
until each one is fully incorporated
before adding the next.
4. Pour in the lemon juice, vanilla and
salt, and mix. Slowly pour in the heavy
cream, and mix until smooth.
5. Pour the cheese mixture over the base.
6. Place the springform pan into
the larger pan, and add 1 inch
of water to the larger pan.

7. Bake at 350° F for approximately 60–75

Crust Directions:
minutes. In order not to overcook the cake,
1. Crush the tea biscuits to a fine crumb, and turn off the oven when the center is still
mix with the sugar, salt and melted butter. jiggly (but not completely wet). Leave the
cheesecake to cool in the oven for an hour.
2. Press the mixture down firmly into the Then remove and let it cool completely.
base of the springform pan. Use the back
of a spoon to help compress the mixture. 8. Refrigerate cake until cold. Run a knife
around the edge of the pan, then
3. Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes, gently release the springform.
then set aside to cool.
9. Top with fresh fruit. I used orange,
kiwi and strawberries.
Cheesecake Ingredients:
• 24 oz. cream cheese (3 cups)
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2½ tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1¼ cup heavy cream

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Credits:
Compiled by Menachem Posner
with writing by Tzvi Freeman
Art: Sefira Lightstone & Rivka Korf
Design & Layout: Shneor Cortez
© Copyright Chabad.org, all rights reserved.

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