Klal Yisroel at Har Sinai was given the ultimate ultimatum: either choose to accept the Torah or be crushed under the mountain. The gemara (Shabbos 88a) tells us that HaShem held the mountain over their head like a גיגית (barrel) to coerce the Jewish People into making the right choice. Rashi, on the gemara, explains that a גיגית is a large vat used to make beer.
Of all the comparisons to make, why was Har Sinai - such a sanctified place where HaShem revealed Himself to the entire nation - likened to a vat of beer? Seems rather odd at face value.
What happens in a vat? Raw ingredients are entered, for example water, hops and barley; fermentation occurs, and the result is beer – a finished and completely different product than the original components.
A vat is a vehicle for transformation. That’s the lesson for Torah. By learning Torah and performing mitzvos, we have the opportunity to change ourselves, to affect an outcome whereby the finished product is qualitatively different than the original. We have the ability to elevate ourselves to the highest levels, achieving the ultimate transformation personally, nationally and globally.
But, as we know, change isn’t always easy. Frequently, in fact, it’s rather challenging, especially at the beginning.
“And now,” HaShem said just prior to Matan Torah, “If you listen well to My voice and observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples, for all the world is Mine,” (Shemos 19, 5).
Rashi, on this verse, teaches that “now” means that circumstances will be pleasant going forward, but that at the start, things can be difficult.
Throughout life, we are faced with decisions to make necessary changes in our actions. These adjustments can seem overwhelming at first, especially when it comes to our behaviors with food. “I have to start a diet and lose all 50 pounds!” “I can’t eat another piece of cheesecake for the rest of my life?!” “I can never get my kids to stop eating junk food!”
We can be paralyzed by the prospect of permanent change – and all the time and effort involved, or we can choose to focus on just making the first right step, and trust that HaShem will make the rest of the journey pleasant and rewarding. All beginnings are difficult. But they’re only impossible if we don’t take the first step. Good שבת.
Rabbi Eli Glaser, CNWC, CWMC is a Certified Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Management Consultant and Director of SOVEYA (Changing the Jewish World - One Pound at a Time). To contact Soveya: 443-501-3082, info@soveya.com or www.soveya.com
