The Spark of Sinai: Reawakening the Torah Within Us Every Year

1. The Torah Still Descends from Heaven
Parashat Yitro is known in Chassidic tradition as Shabbat Kabbalat HaTorah, the Shabbat of Receiving the Torah. The great Chassidic masters taught that each year during the public reading of the Ten Commandments, the same Divine flow that filled the world at Maamad Har Sinai (the Mount Sinai experience) is released anew from Heaven.

2. This Shabbat is Like Shavuot
The Chozeh of Lublin declared that Shabbat Yitro holds the same spiritual stature and holiness as Shavuot (the festival of the Giving of the Torah). Rabbi Elimelech Biderman explains that the essence of matan Torah is eternal and can be accessed all year, but it reaches its peak expression on Shabbat Yitro and again on Shavuot. Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein recounts how his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, once told a sick individual that just as all illnesses were healed at the giving of the Torah, so too this healing power returns every year. "When can one tap into this?" the man asked. Rabbi Elyashiv answered: "At the moment the Ten Commandments are read."

3. Even if You Fall Asleep in a Torah Class, It Counts
A taxi driver once told the Steipler Gaon that after working all day, he could no longer attend Torah classes because he would just fall asleep. The Steipler responded, “If you go to a Torah class, even if you fall asleep, you'll be rewarded as though you listened to the entire lesson. Hashem only asks for what is within your ability, and He completes the rest.”

4. Every Jew Is Worthy of Torah
The Chatam Sofer emphasizes that the Torah was given to the Jewish people right after they left Egypt, before they had any merits at all. He writes: “The Torah was given at that exalted moment, despite our unworthiness, to teach us that no one should despair from his portion in Torah, no matter how low he feels. He is just as worthy as the greatest scholar.”

Similarly, the Beit Aharon explains that the verse “They stood at the foot of the mountain” is a source of encouragement: Even if a person feels that he has bottomed out spiritually, he should still stand up and say, “Here I am,” ready to accept the Torah. Torah belongs to everyone. It waits in the corner for anyone to come and crown himself with it.

5. You Can Succeed in Torah Anywhere, Anytime
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter taught that the location and time of the giving of the Torah were intentionally left vague. Why? So that no one would say, “If only I were in a different yeshiva, or at a better time in life, then I’d succeed in Torah.” Rather, we must know that a person can connect deeply to Torah, the time and place notwithstanding. This is his mission in this world.

6. A New Torah Every Day
A young man once confided in the Sar Shalom of Belz that he could no longer serve Hashem after committing a serious sin. The Sar Shalom comforted him with Rashi’s comment on the verse “On this day they arrived at Sinai” (Shemot 19:1): The words of Torah should feel new to you every day. The Sar Shalom explained that this renewal allows a person to imagine that today is the first day he has received the Torah, making all his previous failings irrelevant. From this day forward, he can begin anew.

7. Hashem Needs Every Single Jew
The Midrash Rabbah teaches that if even one Jew had been missing at Mount Sinai, the Shechinah would not have descended. The Torah says, “Hashem descended before the eyes of all the people” (Shemot 19:11). The emphasis on “all” teaches that each Jew is indispensable. Even someone who feels distant is crucial to the Divine presence.

8. The Belovedness of Converts
Midrash Tanchuma recounts the words of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Converts are even more beloved to Hashem than those who stood at Sinai. Why? Because the original generation only accepted the Torah after witnessing thunder, lightning, and the voice of Hashem. Converts, however, accept the Torah without seeing any of that. They embrace Hashem purely by choice. Could anything be more precious?

9. Torah Study Saves Us From Gehinnom
The Zohar teaches that the Torah was given in fire to protect from another fire, namely the fire of Gehinnom. Rabbi Yitzchak explains that whoever immerses himself in Torah study is shielded from punishment and beloved both above and below. Rabbi Yose adds that Hashem listens to the words of such a person and does not abandon him, neither in this world nor the next.

10. Torah Time Guarantees a Respectable Livelihood
The Rebbe of Belz taught that someone who firmly commits to studying Torah at fixed times of his day, and honors his commitment, no matter what financial opportunity arises, will be guaranteed a dignified and sufficient livelihood. He will not lack for his needs.