Shavuos

We are all aware that we celebrate the yom tov of Shavuos to commemorate the day we stood at Har Sinai and​ received the Torah. I heard an interesting question regarding this. Why do we celebrate that we received the Torah on Shavuos? When Moshe came down with the luchos, the Jews had already rebelled and were dancing with the golden calf.  Then, Moshe broke the luchos and it wasn't until three months later, on Yom Kippur, that Moshe came down again with the new luchos. Demonstrating that Hashem forgave the Jewish people and  we really got the Torah. Additionally, the Gemara in Taanis quotes a posuk in Mishlay that talks about the wedding between Hashem and the Jewish people. It states: ביום חתונתו, זה מתן תורה , on the day of the wedding, that's the day of the giving of the Torah. Rashi explains that it's talking about Yom Kippur, the day we received the second luchos. In reality it's Yom Kippur that's the wedding. According to this, why don't we celebrate Shavuos right after Yom Kippur, instead of now?

On Shavuos, we read the book of Ruth for many reasons. One of those reasons says the sefer עיני העדה is because it teaches us that, like Ruth, even if one didn't grow up with Torah when they were young and wasted many years with mundane pursuits, one shouldn’t give up and feel bad. Rather, one should open a new page and start fresh. Ruth only discovered the beauty of Torah once she was forty years old. It's possible that she was Rebbi Akiva's inspiration, for he, too, also started at forty. Therefore, we read the book of Ruth on Shavuos to teach us as we're accepting the Torah, that even if we're just starting out, no matter how old we are, it's never too late.

I saw a story by R Dovid Kaplan about a boy, Elisha,  who, back in the seventies, went away from the path of Torah. Elisha worked odd jobs and slept in a rented cellar, headed absolutely nowhere in life. One day, out of a job and out of money, he started looking through the want ads. He saw that Shaar Yashuv, the famous yeshiva founded by Rav Shlomo Freifeld, was in need of a janitor. He went to the yeshiva and spoke with Rav Freifeld. Look, the great man said, seeing something in the young man that many others had missed; I don't want you to be the janitor. What I'd really like you to do is give a Shiur here. I see you have the heart and communication skills necessary to be an effective Rebbi. There is a group of boys here I want you to teach. You can come in your jeans and long hair. I don't care; just come.

Needless to say, Elisha was speechless. It had been a long time since anyone had said anything positive about him, let alone that he could teach Torah. Overcoming his initial shock, Elisha took Rav Freifeld up on the offer and eventually became a great Rebbi and taught Torah to many, many students.

Perhaps this, too, is why we celebrate the giving of the Torah now, when we first received it, even though we messed up at the time. Just as Ruth who didn't grow up with it or like Elisha who lost it originally, the Torah is demonstrating to us the importance of second chances. Even at the onset of the Torah, when we just received it and failed miserably, one might think that we should have lost it.  Instead, Hashem forgave us and He gave it to us all over again, giving us a fresh start. Therefore, we celebrate now when we received it originally, for it was that giving that showed us even if we're not always perfect, there is always a second chance!