| SHAVUOS EDITION\TIME TO UNITE "The number of the Children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor counted (Hosea 2:1)." The Talmud (Yoma 22b) asks: The first section of the verse states that the number of Jews will be equal to the number of grains of sand of the sea. Therefore, although the number will be gigantic, nevertheless, it will still be a finite number, like the sands of the sea. Conversely, the second phrase states: which cannot be counted - suggests that number of the Children of Israel will be infinite. Hence, the verse contradicts itself regarding the quantity of Klal Yisrael, whether or not they will be able to be counted. The K'sav Sofer offers an insightful resolution to this question. He explains that the infinite scope and endless depths of the Torah make it impossible for one individual to fulfill the entire Torah. Indeed, the complete fulfillment of the Torah requires the participation of every member of Klal Yisrael. Each soul must contribute his unique portion of Torah. Only when all the Torah portions of every Jewish soul - are joined together - is the entire Torah manifest. In general, the number of people in a group can be counted because each person is separate entity. Whereas, regarding the group of Klal Yisrael, each member is only a complete entity when joined to all the other parts - forming together the entire Torah. Hence, there can be no completion of the part (i.e., the individual) or the whole (i.e., Klal Yisrael) without the inclusion of every single Jew. In light of this, we can understand the verse from Hosea. The number of the Children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea - meaning that Hashem will bless Klal Yisrael so that there will be a massive quantity of Jewish people. Which cannot be measured nor counted - it is irrelevant to count them individually because all of them together will be considered as one individual. Hosea's vision of the Messianic age is that Klal Yisrael will unite to create the manifestation of the Torah. Hence, the level of one Jew over the other will be insignificant. Instead, Klal Yisrael will join together under one leader - with one singular goal. There will be not divisiveness among them, and they will have one common mindset - to link together to fulfill the Torah. With this understanding, we can see that Shavuos is not a contest to learn the most Torah knowledge, individually. Rather, it is a holy day for us to unite and collectively bring forth Hashem's Torah.
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