Parshas במדבר is always read on the שבת preceeding שבועות. Chazal explain the reason as תכלה שנה וקללותיה
We want to separate the קללות of בחוקותי from שבועות and קבלת התורה, and that is done by reading Parshas במדבר.
The Mishna in ראש השנה states:
בארבעה פרקים העולם, בפסח על התבואה, בעצרת על פירות האילן, בראש השנה כל באי עולם עוברים לפניו כבני מרון, ובחג נידונים על המים
There are 4 judgment days in the year: Pesach: for the crops, Shavous: for fruit trees, Rosh Hashana is the judgment day for all creatures, and Sukkos is the judgment time for water.
Harav Moshe Shapira זצ”ל asks: For each of the ימי הדין discussed, there is a unique act that is done to influence the judgement On ראש השנה we Daven and blow the שופר. On Pesach we say תפלת טל, and on Sukkos תפלת גשם. This is all done to influence the דין of that day. What then do we do on שבועות, that influences the דין of פירות האילן?
We say by ברכת התורה
אשר נתן לנו תורת אמת וחיי עולם נטע בתוכינו Hashem implanted a life of eternity in us, through the Torah he gave us. By learning it and following it, we guarantee ourselves an eternal life. And this gift was given to every member of Klal Yisrael, for all generations, at Har Sinai on Shavous
Explains Rav Shapira, when the משנה speaks of the דין of פירות האילן on שבועות, it’s not only alluding to the fruit trees. It’s also alluding to the deeply ingrained roots that are inside each and every one of us; the roots of the חיי עולם that Hashem implanted in כלל ישראל.
On שבועות we are judged on how much תורה we will obsorb in the upcoming year. And through that תורה we are strengthening the roots and our connection to eternity. And so on שבועות we ARE doing something to help with the דין of the day. We spend the night of שבועות engaged in לימוד התורה; to help us merit a good judgment; a year of connection to תורה and a strengthening of the roots deep inside of us, the roots of וחיי עולם נטע בתוכינו, which help us merit eternity.
And that is what the משנה is alluding to by stating בעצרת נידונים על פירות האילן. Not just fruit trees, but also the deep roots inside each and every one of us.
We’ll conclude with a famous story about the greatness of תורה learning on שבועות night, as told over by Rav Shlomo Alkavetz, who witnessed it.
This story accured some 400 years ago, when the בית יוסף and some of his חברים stayed up to learn שבועות night. At around midnight on the 1st night of יום טוב, the voice of a מלאך appeared to them and declared in a great and powerful sound;
שמחו ועלצו ודעו כי אתם מבני עליה…וזכיתם להיות מהיכלא דמלכא, וקול תורתכם והבל פיכם עלה לפני הקב”ה
” Rejoice since your learning has gone straight up to שמים and הקב”ה himself is listening to it.”
Continues Rav Elkavetz: ” We stayed up the 2nd night as well, and again the voice appeared; אילולא נתנה רשות לעין הייתם רואים האש הסובבת הבית הזה A great fire is surrounding the בית מדרש attesting to the קדושה of your תורה learning!”
Such is the greatness of learning תורה on שבועות.
Gut Shabbos and Gut Yomtov
Weekly Parsha Shiur 