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מלמד שכפה הקב"ה עליהם את ההר כגיגית
ואמר להם אם אתם מקבלים התורה,
מוטב, ואם לאו שם תהא קבורתכם
The four questions on שבועות
1) Where is there בחירה when a gun is pointed
at you and you are forced to accept it.?
2) Why were the other nations not threatened
with שם תהא קבורתכם and why was the mountain
not dumped on them for refusing to accept the Torah?
3) Why the need to force them to accept the Torah
when they already said נעשה ונשמע and were ready
to accept it ( תוס' שבת פ"ח ע"א)
4) Why שם תהא קבורתכם "there" why not פה "here" under
this mountain?
Answer:
Perhaps, Hashem wasn't threatening or forcing
the בני ישראל to accept the Torah on הר סיני. There was
no need to do so, being,
a) they had already done so (נעשה ונשמע)
b) no point in forcing to accept the Torah by having
a gun pointed at them.
Hashem told the בני ישראל after they said נעשה ונשמע
that it was a good decision they made by accepting the
Torah. The only way for עם ישראל to survive & remain a
nation forever is by accepting and keeping the Torah.
Otherwise, had they not accepted the Torah then they
too would ח"ו end up "שם" over there where the other
empires & nations of the world are buried and disappeared
from the face of the earth.
" אין אומתינו אומה אלא בתורותיה
Our nation is a nation only by זכות of its Torah" (רב סעדיה גאון)
.אמבצי
WHAT TO BAKE FOR SHAVUOS
(a) Seven-layer cake
(b) 3 cornered kreplach- ( Haman Taschen)
(c) Saffron Matzah
(d) Saffron cake
(e) 4 cornered Challah
(f) Honey cake
(g) Butter Challah
NO source for cheesecake
SOURCE:
The Sefer יוסף אומץ ס' תתנ"ד writes the Minhag was to make a cake/kugel in the shape of a (a) seven-rung ladder. The reason for it is because, during Matan Torah, Hashem tore open all 7 heavens to show that אין עוד מלבדו.
The Minhag in many German Kehilos was to bake for שבועות a seven-layer cake for the seven weeks we counted.
The Sefer מנהגי ישורון writes of the Minhag to eat (b) 3 cornered Kreplach (Haman Taschen) to commemmerate Matan Torah דיהיב אוריאן תליתאילעם תליתאי ע"י תליתאי ביום תליתאי בירחא תליתאי (MULTIPLES OF THREE)
The כל בו writes that "the מנהג בכל ישראל* is to eat on שבועות,
(c) Matzah baked with Saffron.The Chok Yaakov O. Ch 494 has a
(d) girsa “עוגה” (cake) instead of Matzah. The כל בו gives the reason " because it is *משמח את הלב (brings joy to the heart)."
*Saffron has an ancient history of use as a drug. It has a narcotic effect
similar to opium. (GOOGLE)
The כל בו also writes to bake a (e) Challah with four corners (looks like two) to remind us of the שתי הלחם and/or it
symbolizes "twins" (מזל סיון תאומים)
The רוקח writes that on Shavuos morning you bring the
children for the first time in Shul and serve them a specially
inscribed (f) honey cake.
The משנה ברורה quotes from the מגן אברהם to bake
(g) one Challah with butter. This will force you to have a second Challah (זכר לשתי הלחם) to eat with the meat.
According to the בני יששכר on Tu B'shvat
According to the Gemoro on Shavuos
(בעצרת נידונים על פירות האילן)
