Shavuot: Between Revelation and Revolution

On the festival of Shavuot, Jews all over the world celebrate God's revealing of the Torah to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. Whether a Jew believes that this revelation is a one-time event that occurred more than 3,000 years ago or chooses to see the composition of the Torah as a divinely inspired human endeavor that took place over many centuries, the message of Shavuot is that the Jewish people have a responsibility to accept the Torah anew in each generation.