Mother's Day and Shavuos

For all those who forgot, today is Mother's day, so quick call your mother. Or don't, it depends on how you feel about Mother's Day. You see, every Mother's day there I end up in debate. Some people are completely against mother's day and insist that "Every day is mother's day," and that the holiday is a ridiculous invention by hallmark. Mothers should be appreciated and celebrated every day.Then there are people like me, who understand that point of view, but think that the fact is that mothers aren't always appreciated and it's great to have the opportunity to say, "Hey Mom, you're awesome and I just wanted to make sure you know that I feel that way." Why not take advantage of the chance to do something nice for your mother and do Kibbud Av V'Am? It's like birthdays. You're alive every second, but once a year it's nice to take the chance to recognize that fact.

I was thinking about this and how it is also true for Shavuos. The Torah does not give a specific date for Shavuos, rather it tells us to count 50 days from Pesach. Why is that? Because accepting the Torah and keeping the Torah is something we should do every single day. Each day we are supposed to accept Torah as though it was given to us today. Like we say in shema, "Asher Anochi Mitzavcha Hayom," that I commanded you today. So if we do it every day, why have a chag at all? We need Shavuos because the reality is that we don't always keep the Torah as though it was something new every day, and we need the chance once a year to celebrate, to remember Matan Torah, and to accept the Torah on ourselves again.

As Shavuos approaches, may we all be zoche to use these last days of the omer to absorb the messages of the omer and learn to live Torah as though it was given to us brand new every single day.