Milchiks on Shavuos



Milchiks on Shavuos

There is a custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuos. I would like to discuss some of the various reasons for this custom.

The Rama writes (Orach Chayim 494,3) that this is a remembrance of the korban shtei halechem; on Shavuos a korban was offered made of two loaves of bread. Just as on Pesach we eat an egg which is a remembrance for the korban chagigah, so too we want to have a remembrance for the korban shtei halechem. The halacha is that bread that was on the table for a milchiks meal cannot be used at a fleishigs meal[i]. Therefore, the Rama writes, we start our meal on Shavuos with milchiks. We have lechem mishneh like we ordinarily have at a yom tov meal. Then, in the middle[ii] of the meal we switch to fleishigs[iii]. When we bring out the fleishigs part of the meal, we need to bring out new bread because it is ossur to serve the old bread anymore. Therefore, by using two different breads- one for the dairy in the beginning and one for the meat in the end- we have created a zecher of the korban shtei halechem. This is the reason of the Rama[iv].

The gemara (Yevamos 22a) tells us that when a person becomes a convert it is as if he is a new born baby, it is a new beginning[v]. The sefer 'Yeino shel Torah' quotes an explanation that maybe we eat milchiks on Shavuos because new born babies drink their mothers’ milk. The minhag of eating milchiks should remind us of a sense of a new beginning. We have reaccepted the Torah, we have to start again in our avodas Hashem and shmiras hamitzvos. This is a second explanation of the minhag of eating milchiks on Shavuos.

Another pshat I saw[vi] is based on a remez in the posuk of “lehagid baboker chasdecha.” The first letters of those three words are the letters ches, lamed and beis, which spell out chalav, milk. The hint here is that there is a connection between chesed and Matan Torah. Rav Karelenstein zt”l offers three explanations. First, Am Yisrael’s kabalas haTorah, the Jewish people’s acceptance of the Torah, was actually an act of chesed for the entire world. Chazal tell us that if not for Matan Torah, Hashem would have returned the world to tohu vavohu. Therefore, the entire existence of the world is due to our kabalas haTorah. That was in a sense an act of chesed on behalf of Am Yisrael. Second, there is a tremendous emphasis on chesed within the Torah itself. The gemara (Sotah 14a) tells us the Torah begins with chesed and ends with chesed. Only through chesed is one zocheh to Torah.[vii] Therefore, it fits that we find a connection to Matan Toah in a posuk discussing chesed. Torah. A third angle Rav Karelenstein develops is that Matan Torah is a tremendous act of chesed for Am Yisrael. Hashem wanted to be mezakeh Am Yisrael and therefore gave us the Torah and mitzvos, and we should view the Torah and Matan Torah as a tremendous chesed from Hashem towards us. We have to appreciate this and thank Hashem and show hakaras hatov. As we enjoy eating milchiks on Shavuos, we should be thinking about these ideas.

A fourth pshat, quoted by the Mishnah Brurah, is based on the posuk “dvash v’cholov tachas leshoneich,” that the Torah is sweet like milk and honey. We should appreciate the sweetness of talmud Torah and how enjoyable it is. One of the greatest enjoyments is when one is learning Torah and understanding the dvar Hashem. If one has merited this feeling, then on Shavuos we should thank Hashem in a special way for giving us the Torah- the sweet, wonderful Torah. If one has not merited this yet, then one should daven and ask Hashem to help him get to the point where he enjoys the learning the way that one can. We are supposed to enjoy our learning -- this is part of the mitzvah of talmud Torah. There is a famous discussion in the introduction to the Iglei Tal. One can raise a question -- if one enjoys learning, doesn’t this take away from the lishmah element of limud Torah? The highest level of performing a mitzvah is to do it lishmah -- just for the sake of the mitzvah, because Hashem commanded it. If one enjoys the learning, doesn’t that take away form the lishmah? The Iglei Tal says no -- absolutely not! The enjoyment of the learning is part of the mitzvah itself. We ask Hashem every morning in the birkas Hatorah “veha’arev na Hashem” -- please Hashem make the Torah sweet for us. Hashem wants us to enjoy the learning, not as a separate enjoyment but rather as part of the mitzvah itself and this in no way takes away from the lishmah. This is a goal to achieve and is a privilege to have.

In connection with the idea that one is supposed to enjoy his learning and it is a wonderful zechus to achieve, I want to mention a famous story of the Sanzer Rav zt”l, the Divrei Chaim, which Rav Shlomo Zalman zt”l said over, and yibadel lechaim Rav Nevenzahl shilt”a quotes very often as well. After learning the whole night with his talmidim, and then davening in the morning, it was now time for kiddush with the sweet, tasty miclhiks food. The Divrei Chaim turned to his talmidim and said “until now we just experienced the chatzi lachem, now let us make sure that our eating will be chatzi LaHashem.” The gemara (Pesachim 68b) quotes the following discussion. In one place the Torah says, regarding Simchas Yom Tov, “lachem”, and in the other place, the Torah writes “laHashem.” Lachem means for you, one should enjoy yom tov and eat and drink. LaHashem means one should focus on Hakadosh Baruch Hu and spend the day davening and learning. Which one is it? The gemara tells us that we pasken, one has to do both -- chatzi LaHashem and chatzi lachem. You daven more and learn on Yom Tov, and you enjoy a good meal as well. So, of course, on a simple level, we view the learning and davening as chatzi laHashem, and we view the eating and drinking as chatzi lachem. The Divrei Chaim was saying -- this is not the pashut pshat -- that one should reach the madreigah of just the opposite -- the learning, that is chatzi lachem. It is so enjoyable to learn Torah, and one gets a geshmak when he learns. The challenge is to make sure that the eating and drinking is dedicated to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We have to eat for the right reasons and the right way, so that the eating and drinking fulfills the chatzi laHashem.

Another beautiful pshat I saw[viii] is as follows. A person needs bread and water to survive. A person can’t live only on bread -- he needs to drink water. A person can’t survive only on water -- he needs to eat as well. Yet, when a baby is born, one of the miracles of birth is that a mother’s milk provides all the nourishment a baby needs. In this sense, the Torah is like milk, because it provides us with all of the spiritual sustenance that we need. As we are eating the milchiks on Shavuos, we should be thinking that the Torah provides us all what we need. We heave to learn the Torah, keep the Torah, and make it the focus of our life.

Finally, and this is probably the most well known pshat, is the approach quoted by the Mishnah Brurah in the name of “chacham echad[ix].” Before Matan Torah, the Jewish people were not bound by the Torah’s dietary laws. Our obligation to follow these laws began at Matan Torah. Therefore, when the Jews returned to their tents after Matan Torah, they could not eat any meat, because the meat had not been prepared properly with shechitah, removal of the fats, salting, etc. We also had to make or find kosher cooking utensils, which is difficult and time consuming. Therefore, on the day of Matan Torah, it was impossible to eat meat, and the Jewish people therefore probably ate milchiks. As a commemoration of this, we eat milchiks on Shavuos.

There are several points one can raise about this pshat. First of all, we didn’t actually receive the laws of kashrus until much later in the Torah, in Chumash Vayikra. This approach is assuming that somehow, on some level we became obligated in the laws of kashrus immediately, even before Hashem commanded Moshe to tell us the specifics of the halachos of kashrus.

The Mishnah Brurah addresses this point (in the brackets) by referring to the famous comment of Rav Saadyah Gaon quoted by Rashi (Shmos 24,12) that the Ten Commandments encompass all of the Taryag mitzvos. Therefore, once we received he aseres hadibros, on some level we became obligated in all of the mitzvos. Without that comment of Rav Saadyah Gaon, this approach is lich’orah difficult.

A second point (and a very fascinating one) is as follows. There is a long sugya (Shabbos 86-88) which discusses the exact timing of Matan Torah- the date, the day of the week, etc. There is a machlokes as to the date of Matan Torah, whether it was on the 6th Sivan or 7th of Sivan. But everyone agrees that the Torah was given on Shabbos. Therefore, one can ask the following question -- of course we couldn’t eat meat that day because it was Shabbos and shechitah was prohibited. Why does the Mishnah Brurah write such an elaborate explanation- that we would have to remove the fats, and salt the food, and find cooking utensils, etc? Shechitah was assur, period! I saw that some of the Acharonim[x] say that this is the pshat -- we weren’t able to eat fleischigs on the day of Matan Torah because Matan Torah took place on Shabbos, and it was impossible to shecht because shechitah is assur on Shabbos.

I saw that the Acharonim[xi] quote that the Mishnah Berurah himself addressed this question in print[xii]. The Chofetz Chaim writes that this famous pshat is assuming that Matan Torah took place on Friday. There is a minority view in Chazal[xiii], quoted in the Pirkei D’Rabi Eliezer (Perek 46), that Matan Torah occurred on Friday. However, the Chofetz Chaim continues, it is true that if we assume the Torah was given on Shabbos, one does not need to elaborate -- shechitah is assur, and therefore one could not eat fleischigs, and had to eat milchiks.

These are some of the reasons as to why we eat milchiks on Shavuos and some of the lessons we can draw form them.

Good Shabbos abd Chag Sameach,

B. Ginsburg

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[i] See Yoreh Deah 89,4 for details.

[ii] The Mishnah Brurah writes that one does not say birkas hamazon, it is all part of one meal.

[iii] For the details of exactly what to do, i.e. rinsing out one's mouth, changing the table cloth, etc., see the Mishnah Brurah 494,16 and Yerushalaym B’mo’adeha Shavuos p. 204.

[iv] Many have a custom, based on the Zohar, not to eat milchiks followed by fleishigs at the same meal. Therefore, on Shavuos they have a milchik kiddush followed by a fleishig meal. (Some also wait half an hour or an entire hour between the milchiks and the fleishigs, also based on the Zohar.) If one has that custom, then one possibility is that having milchiks mezonos followed by a fleishigs meal with chalah also somehow fulfills the Rama’s approach. (See Piskei Teshuvos 494 Os 12.) Or they are probably following one of the other reasons as to why we eat dairy on Shavuos.

[v] The Maharal explains that this idea of “ger she'nis'ga'yer k'katan she'no'lad da'mi” does not apply in its normal way regarding Matan Torah. The Shef Shmaytsa discusses this Maharal in his introduction. However, Matan Torah is clearly some sort of a new beginning according to the Maharal as well. See the Meshech Chochmah (Devarim Perek 5) where he argues the Maharal. In fact, the Meshech Chochmah maintains that Chazal’s source for this yesod is Matan Torah.

[vi] Kuntres Inyanei Chag Hashavuos from Rav Karelenstein (p. 171)

[vii] The Chofetz Chaim in the introduction to Ahavas Chesed quotes many examples from the Chumash of the importance of chesed.

[viii] This is quoted in the name of the Imrei Noam in the Artscroll on Shavuos, p. 65. In general, the Artscrolls on the various Yomim Tovim are very good and very thorough.

[ix] Rav Karelenstein writes that people say this chacham was Rav Herschel M’krakow.

[x] The sefer Halichos Shlomo (perek 12, note 35, p. 380), quotes this simple pshat.

[xi] Ibid., and Rav Karelenstein zt”l

[xii] The Chofetz Chaim wrote this in a comment at the end of Likutei Halachos Chelek 3. I looked for this comment but could not find it. Then I saw (in the Halichos Shlomo footnote) that the comment was published only in the Petrikov edition of the Likutei Halachos, and for some reason it was not published in the later editions. This discussion is quoted in the new, Oz V’Hadar edition of the Mishna Brurah.

[xiii] See the Torah Shleimah (Shmos Perek 16, Midrashim 4-6). For a clear presentation of then timing og Matan Torah, see the Appendix to ‘Let My Nation Serve Me.’ The simple pshat in the gemara itself is that everyone holds that Matan Torah was on Shabbos. The Sfas Emes (Shabbos 87) also quotes this Pirkei D’Rabi Eliezer in the context of the timing of Matan Torah.

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