Shavuot

As the year is winding down, Jews around the world have been counting up, starting with the second night of Pesach when we counted, “Today is the first day of the Omer.” We have been adding one day until we have completed 49 days, which is equivalent to seven full weeks. As we know, the day afterwards, which would be the 50th day, is the holiday of Shavuot.
 
On Shavuot, we celebrate Matan Torah and the Bikkurim, which represent the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai and the first fruits of the harvest brought to Yerushalayim.

At first glance, it seems as though two distinct events are being celebrated, one historical and one agricultural. However, the Sfas Emes explains that the bikkurim (first fruits), in addition to their role in the harvest celebration, also explain the essence of what occurs on Shavuot.
 
Let us delve into the explanation.
 
In Ma’aseh Bereishit, the Torah concludes each day with וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶרתתת, יוֹם שֵׁנִי””
 “And it was evening and it was morning a second day,” (each day appropriate for that day of Creation).
 
However, when it came to the sixth day of creation, the Torah says,
“וַיְהִי-עֶרֶב וַיְהִי-בֹקֶר, יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי” And it was evening and it was morning, The Sixth Day.”  Rashi wonders, what is so unique about the sixth day that the Torah write יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי, “The” Sixth Day, whereas each previous day is just described as “a” day.
 
Quoting a midrash and a Gemara, Rashi explains that Hashem is conditioning the world for a future event that happened on “The Sixth Day.” Which sixth day is that? It is the Sixth day of the month of Sivan when, in the future, Am Yisrael will stand at the base of Mt. Sinai and accept the Torah.
 
While it may seem that Ma’aseh Bereishit, the Creation of the World, is complete, Rashi concludes that the actual final completion of the world will occur only when, in the future, Am Yisrael accepts the Torah. The Sfas Emes adds that it is this event, the acceptance of Torah by Am Yisrael, that gives the appellation “Yom HaBikkurim” to the day of Shavuot. Bikkurim, says the Sfas Emes, means ripening. It is at this moment, when Am Yisrael accepts the Torah, and only at this moment, that the world ripens and reaches its maturity. In terms of humanity, the name Yom Habikkurim also evokes an image of a spiritually attuned world and a spiritually inspired people.
 
It is this day, The Sixth Day of Sivan, which culminates the process of creation. Ma’aseh Bereishit depicts the completion of the physical process of creation while Shavuot, the giving of the Torah, describes the spiritual ripening of the world. It is only at this point, when the physical process of the creation of the world is complete and it is imbued with the way to achieve a spiritual dveikut with the Ribono shel Olam that G-d can finally say

וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂ, וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד
And it was evening and it was morning, and, behold, it was very good

Shabbat Shalom