Last updated 8:10 p.m. ET on 10 May 1999.

Shavuot - A Midrash

This midrash tells that when G-d was about to give the Torah to Moses, he told Moses that the Children of Israel would need to guarantee somehow that they would continue to observe the Torah and its commandments. The Israelites first offered their righteous ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob, Rachel, and Leah as guarantors of their future compliance. God did not accept the patriarchs and matriarchs.

The Israelites next proposed that the prophets and sages of the Jewish people should guarantee their compliance. But still the Ruler of the Universe would not accept them as guarantors.

Finally, the children of Israel offered their children and their children's children as a guarantee that they would observe the Torah. This time, the Holy One accepted the offer.

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