Shabbat Messages

Perhaps the most curious custom of Shavuot is the eating of cheesecake. Jews around the world mark this holiday, commemorating the day God gave the Torah on Mount Sinai, by eating sweets, particularly dairy, and particularly that delicious combination of eggs, sugar, and soft, fresh cheese.

No one knows how exactly this custom evolved (you know the old saying: two Jews, three opinions on why we eat cheesecake on Shavuot), so I wanted to share one that’s feeling relevant for me this year.

This one comes from a midrash, an ancient rabbinic story that explains and expands on mysteries in our holy texts. This midrash seeks to explain why Mount Sinai was chosen to be the site for the giving of the Torah.

When word got out that God planned to give the Torah on a mountain, all the peaks from all over the Holy Land rushed to God to plead their case for being the best location for Torah transmission.

Mount Tabor spoke first, boasting, “I am the tallest mountain around, so I am obviously the best choice.” But Tabor barely finished speaking when Mount Carmel cut in, saying, “Well, I am the prettiest mountain, so I am clearly the best choice.”

Then this mountain cut in, then another mountain made its argument, until God had finally had enough. “Why are you all so agitated?” God cried out, exasperatedly. “All of you are mountains, yes–but all of you are really just hunched up hills! Spiritually, none of you are fit to receive my Torah!”

As God turned around, he saw one mountain alone by itself. This mountain didn’t tower over the others, nor would anyone argue it was the most beautiful–but it also hadn’t claimed it was. It had shown up, done its work, but didn’t need to prove itself. This mountain, God knew, would be where the Israelites would receive the Torah. And that mountain, was of course, Mount Sinai.

What does this story have anything to do with cheesecake? It depends on a three-way Hebrew pun. The word translated above as “hunched over hills” in Hebrew is גַּבְנֻנִּים, gavnunim. Here, the midrash is quoting Psalms 68:17: “Why are you agitated, hunched up [gavnunim] mountains?” In Leviticus 21:20, a person known as a גִבֵּן, gibben, is someone who is not spiritually fit to offer sacrifices to God.

According to the rules of midrash, given that each of these words share the same key Hebrew letters – gimmel, bet, and nun – they must have some connected meaning. And what’s another word that has those same letters? In Job 10:10, we have the word גְּבִנָּ֗ה gavinah, there meaning cheese. This connection serves as one inspiration for why we consume so much dairy on this holiday of receiving the Torah.

Today, our society is filled with people who boast and brag about their talents. It’s increasingly rare to find people who don’t overshare about their excellence, and even rarer for those folks to get recognized for their humility.

This Shavuot, I’m striving to be more like Mount Sinai–not brash, not braggadocious, but knowing my worth. I’m also on the lookout for the people who live their lives this way, and I’ll do my best to make sure they get the recognition they deserve. Perhaps we’ll even get to share a slice of cheesecake.

Wishing you a not-too-cheesy Shabbat of humility and all the Lactaid you need,

Ben Poor
Rabbinic Intern