You Just Have to Be There

Answer

You know the saying, “You had to be there”? Like when a friend had an amazing experience, but when they tell the story, it doesn't sound so exciting. Hearing it second hand is never the same as living it yourself.

The giving of the Torah at Mt Sinai was like that. You had to be there.

The Jews stood at the foot of the mountain, and heard the voice of G-d speaking the Ten Commandments. It hit them at their core, and changed them forever. For a few moments, their souls transcended the limits of their bodies, the facade was lifted from this physical world, and the deeper reality was revealed. All sicknesses were healed, all weaknesses were overcome, they knew their mission and they had clarity. They met G-d.

This happens all over again every year on that day, the first day of Shavuot. When we read the Ten Commandments, we are there, at the foot of the mountain. The voice of G-d is talking directly to our souls. It may look like another day in shul, but it isn’t. A revelation is happening, and we are living it. It is not a reading, it is an experience.

We can go through life like we are listening to someone else’s story, or we can live it as our own. We can be observers, looking at things on the surface, or we can open our souls to what’s really going on. We learn how to do that from babies.

As adults, we filter every experience through our conscious awareness. So sometimes we miss the deeper story. But a baby experiences life unfiltered. For them, every sound is immediate and real. They live in the world of the subliminal, and they hear the voice of G-d. We all have that connection in our soul. Babies help bring it out.

So come hear the Ten Commandments this Shavuot. But don’t just listen to a reading. Have an experience. Bring your friends. Bring your family. And definitely bring your baby. Or maybe your baby is bringing you.

You just have to be there.