Have you ever walked by a disco and seen a wild scene of dancing and revelry inside? If you cannot hear the music or sense the rhythm, you may wonder what all the hoopla is about. If you see the fans celebrating at a sports event but are not privy to what they are spectating, you might be amazed at their energy and intensity.
If you are on the inside, however, things are entirely different. If you yourself have won the tournament, you are gushing with visible excitement. You are leaping from your seat after your team wins the Super Bowl. Your body is moving in harmony with the tempo. Your soul is absorbing the tune.
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The conclusion of this week’s parsha Naso, describes how Moshe would hear the instructions from the Almighty.
“When Moshe would come into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would hear the voice speaking to him from the two cherubim above the covering which was over the Ark of Testimony, and He spoke to him.”
The Talmud explains that “the voice” refers to the very voice which spoke with him at Mount Sinai, which was loud and clear. But when the voice reached the entrance, it stopped and did not proceed outside the tent.
Therefore, although this was the same powerful voice as all the Jews heard at Sinai – now only Moshe was able to hear the voice. In fact, at Sinai the voice was so powerful that every fiber of creation absorbed it. Nonetheless, it was impossible to hear that very voice at the Tent of Meeting – unless you were Moshe.
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In other words, at Sinai we were all “inside the disco,” absorbed in the moment captivated by the holiness and power of the divine revelation. But at the Tent of Meeting, only Moshe heard the voice.
Does this mean we are spiritually handicapped and cannot truly appreciate the divine?
Quite the contrary. The words we heard at Sinai were not a one-time deal. That song is still playing today. At every moment the voice is reverberating throughout the cosmos. G-d is constantly calling out to us.
Which is why the words of the Torah are relevant to each and every one of us, at all times. Especially the Shabbat after Shavuot. Now is the time to carry the energy and message of Shavuot forward.
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G-d’s “disco” is in full throttle.
The question is: “Are we listening carefully?” If we truly pay attention, we will jump and dance to the beat.