Shavuot And Moshiach

When most people hear about a shofar they’re probably thinking about Rosh Hashanah.  In reality, the shofar is used other times as well.  The shofar was blown in the year of yoval and in times of distress such as a war or on a fast day.  At Maatan Torah the shofar was sounded as well.  Do all these shofras carry the same tune, is there a common denominator, or they different sounds?  The Gemora in Shabbos 89a says when Hashem spoke all the Jews died and they were revived with the dew which will be used to revive the dead people in the future.  What is the point of having the Jews die and subsequently reviving them?  Why do both the shofars of Maatan Torah and that of the final redemption come from the animal which Avraham offered in place of Yitzchak as it says in the Pirke D’Rebbe Eliezer?  Are we celebrating on Shavout receiving a book of rules or is there something more than just a set of rules in the Torah?  According to Tosfos in Chagiga 17a in the name of the Yerushalmi, Dovid Hamelech died on Shavuot.  Another great figure who died on Shavuot was the Bael Shem Tov.  What is the connection between these great men and Shavuot specifically?

The Maharal in his commentary to tractate Rosh Hashanah 11b explains that shofar always means redemption.  In yoval the slaves went free, on a fast day or in war we are saved from enemies or other attackers and on Rosh Hashanah we are saved from harsh judgment.  Therefore, it would follow that by the giving of the Torah there was a redemption as well.  What is the redemption of the Torah?  In Teferes Yisrael chapter 30 the Maharal writes that the idea of a shofar is something coming to fruition just as the sound brings out the power of the shofar.  In his footnotes, Rabbi Hartman explains that this goes hand in hand with the previous Maharal since bringing the powers of a person to fruition is the redemption of the person.  Rabbi Hartman goes on to explain the redemption that accorded by Maatan Torah is that through the Torah a person can connect to Hashem.  This is the redemption of the human being because that is the point of a person.  That is bringing out the power that exists within everyone in order for them to fulfill their potential.  The Maharal himself in his Derush Alhatorah explains that’s why the shofar of Yitzchak’s ram was used, since that was the ultimate connection of a person to Hashem which is what is accomplished through the learning of Torah.

According to this explanation we understand that Shavuot has in it an element of redemption, however it seems to be a redemption as a onetime event.  However, we can understand that the redemption of Maatan Torah was not just a onetime act, but it is also setting the stage for (and was) a taste of the final redemption as explained in Tanya chapter 36. Therefore, there is a direct link between the two events of Maatan Torah and the coming of Mashiach.  This explains why both shofars came from the same animal.  Maatan Torah and the future redemption go hand in hand.  That is also why the Jews died and were revived, because Maatan Torah was actually a taste of the final redemption which will be accompanied by the resurrection of the dead. 

What is the connection between Maatan Torah and the future redemption?  Maatan Torah was an event in which Hashem connected to the world and gave us the Torah.  However, it was more than just a giving of the Torah, it gave us the ability to bring holiness into the world.  Pre-Maatan Torah it was impossible to infuse the world with holiness.  Torah was just an esoteric study that didn’t permeate the world with kedusha.  Only with the giving of the Torah in a physical form does it become a possibility for the world itself to become elevated.  This is the beginning of the process of the final redemption for Mashiach will come when the world has been illuminated with Torah and mitvos and Hashem will “feel comfortable” in it.  Maatan Torah was a point in time were the physical world became infused with kedusha since Hashem revealed himself in the world. Therefore, it was a temporary state of the final redemption.  But much more importantly than being a temporary state of messianic times, is that it is what gives us the power to make the final redemption a reality.  The giving of the Torah is much more than giving a book of rules to adhere to, it is giving over the power to make the world a place where kedusha can be found in it.  When the world will finally become infused with the holiness of the Torah and mitzvos than Mashiach will arrive.

Now we can understand why Dovid Hamelech is very much connected to Shavuot since he is the beginning of the line directly leading to Mashiach.  (That is one of the reasons why we read Ruth on Shavout.)  The Bael Shem Tov was one who expounded and explained many concepts to show the innate kedusha that exists in creation.  It is also written in a letter by him, that Mashiach told him that he will come when the Bael Shem Tov’s teachings are spread throughout the world. So, he too is greatly connected to the coming of Mashiach which is the culmination of the process started at Maatan Torah (see Likutay Sichos volume 8.)