Remember you heard it here first. One can have meat meals throughout Shavuos and eat no blintzes or cheesecake without fear of Divine retribution. Although Shavuos comes and goes relatively quickly it carries a message that far transcends the dining room menu that often seems to dominate it.
There are two famous traditions about Shavuos. One recounted in the Sifrei on Devarim 33:2 is that G-d offered the Torah to all the nations of the earth. However they felt that its restrictions against murder adultery and theft were too limiting for their lifestyles so they respectfully declined. But when G-d offered the Jewish People the Torah they responded with naaseh v’nishma (Shemos 24:7) — “We will do what is in the Torah and we will listen to its precepts.” In other words Israel accepted the Torah with no preconditions but simply out of love for G-d and willingness to submit to His laws.
But there is a second well-known Shavuos tradition that seems to counter this in which Israel far from being willing recipients of the Torah seems to have been coerced into accepting it. In this source (Shabbos 88a) G-d holds the mountain over them and declares “If you accept the Torah fine; if not this will be your burial place.” So Israel having no choice accepted it.
Which one was it? Did we accept the Torah willingly or were we coerced? Particularly baffling is that the mountain was held over our heads after we had already said naaseh v’nishma.
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