We recently participated in a se’udat Rosh Hodesh in honour of our good friend Moshe Botbol, who has been extremely helpful to us in Chevra Shas over the past several years, from the time that we joined the Spanish.

I would like to share with you a devar Torah that I made at the se’udah.

One of everyone’s favourite songs at the seder table is dayyenu. In that song, we say that if God had brought us to Mt. Sinai, even if He hadn’t given us the Torah, dayyenu, it would have been sufficient for us.

What? How could anyone say that? How could we be a nation without the Torah? And wasn’t the purpose of coming to Sinai in order to bring us the Torah?

I once heard a beautiful explanation. When the Israelites approached Mt. Sinai, as described in Exodus chapter 19, the Torah uses four verbs, all in the plural. But when they arrived at Mt. Sinai, the Torah uses the singular verb, vayihan yisrael, “Israel encamped.”

The Midrash explains that at that moment, all of the Israelites were unified, with, so to speak, one heart.

We know that the Israelites encamped as separate tribes, and marched as separate tribes. In other words, they maintained their identity. Yet when they arrived at Mt. Sinai, they were unified.

So we see that on the one hand, they maintained their individuality; yet on the other hand, they were part of the totality.

In the years since Chevra Shaas has joined the Spanish, we have been able to maintain this duality: on the one hand, we conduct services every morning and evening, seven days a week, according to the Ashkenaz minhag that was practiced at the old Chevra Shaas; on the other hand, we are proud to be part of this great Spanish and Portuguese Congregation.

May we all be together in good health for many years: keeping our old customs, but unified in our concern for the synagogue, for one another, for the Torah, for Am Yisrael.

With best wishes for a hag kasher vesame’ah

Rabbi Dr. Emanuel (Menahem) White

Rabbi Menahem White