What if the most important part of Shavuot was not the thunder, lightning, or even the giving of the Torah itself? What if it was the silence?

We celebrate Shavuot as Zman Matan Torateinu, the Time of the Giving of the Torah, on the sixth of Sivan. But the Magen Avraham raises a startling question about this. According to the Talmud in Shabbat 86b, the Torah was not actually given on the sixth of Sivan. It was given on the seventh.

That means the day we call the Time of the Giving of the Torah may not have been the day the Torah was actually given. How can that be?

Our story begins a few days before the gathering at Mount Sinai…

On the fourth of Sivan, Hashem told Moshe to prepare the Jewish people “today and tomorrow,” and on the third day the Torah would be given. At first glance, that should have meant that the Torah would be given on the sixth of Sivan.

Moshe, however, understood Hashem’s words more deeply. “Today and tomorrow” had to mean two complete days of preparation. Just as “tomorrow” would be a full day, “today” also needed to be a full day.

Since part of the fourth of Sivan had already passed, Moshe added an extra day of preparation. The Torah would now be given on the seventh of Sivan. The Talmud even confirms that Moshe added this day “according to his own reasoning,” and Hashem agreed.

That leaves us with an obvious question: If the Torah was given on the seventh of Sivan, why do we celebrate Shavuot on the sixth?

Some........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)