Shavout: Independence Day and Constitution Day

The following is taken from my father's writings. 

The entire history of the People of Israel revolves around the day of Shavuot, the most important day in our history. It is Independence Day, and Constitution Day, the day on which the Children of Israel voted to accept their national constitution, without knowing its exact contents, when they said “na’aseh v’nishmah.”

When we stood at Mount Sinai to receive God’s law, we reached our goal (or more exactly, God’s goal for us), completing the process of freedom which began seven weeks earlier with the exodus from Egypt.

Yet, beyond its significance to Israel, Shavuot celebrates the greatest event in human history: God’s revelation to mankind. This day is the greatest in man’s history, but not only Israel’s, because it changed the course of mankind.

In truth, Shavuot should be celebrated by all civilized nations, for when Israel accepted Torah they laid the foundation for civilization. Without Torah, without the message of Sinai, there would not be a Jewish people, but neither would there be civilization. God’s law and the realization that all people are His creation must be the foundation of any civilized nation.