Let's Give Hashem Some Nachas

A thought for Shavuos

I once heard that if everyone walks out of a lecture convinced that they understood its message to be about something different, that indicates that the speaker spoke the truth.

If this is true of a lecture, how much more so is it true of the Torah. The Torah is understood in so many ways. Chazal taught us that there are 70 ways to understand the Torah.¹

We all understand the Torah differently, and that is ok. However, we must be careful not to get caught into thinking that the way we understand the Torah is the only way and it must be imposed upon everyone else. 

With the onset of Shavuos, we cap off the days of Sefiras Ha’Omer. The omer is a time when we are meant to reflect on the unique contribution that we each bring to the table. On Shavuos, we can now look at all the different ways of understanding the Torah and understand that it all comes from one place - Sinai. 

Years ago, one of my parents told me that the overall idea of Avodas Hashem is to do whatever you think Hashem will be …