I will share with you a very strange story from the Talmud. The Sages encoded deep ideas into such stories. This story conveys a profound truth about who we are, what Torah is, and why we were given the Torah.

When Moses ascended to Heaven to get the Torah, the ministering angels said to the Holy One, praised be He, "Sovereign of the universe, what is one born of a woman doing among us?" In other words, what is this imperfect human being doing among perfect beings? How could mortal man ascend to the level of angels?

"He has come to receive the Torah," responded God. "He's not staying. He just came to pick something up -- the Torah."

The angels were even more upset. "What?! Are You about to bestow upon frail man such a cherished treasure? How can You give human beings your holy Torah? Keep it in heaven. Give it to us!"

Accepting the Torah means you are accepting a Divine mission.

People often say that the Torah is a manual for living from God. But it is really more than that. It is an assignment from God. The Torah is a mission from God to be performed on God's behalf. That's why the Torah was in the angelic realm. An angel is an agent for God appointed to perform a divine mission. Man also has the opportunity to perform a mission on behalf of God. Accepting the Torah means you are accepting a Divine mission. You become a Divine agent. According to Jewish law, if you appoint someone to be your agent, he is equipotent to yourself. You have given him your power of attorney, to act on your behalf. This is the amazing power, responsibility, and privilege entrusted to us through Torah.

The angels did not know what was in the Torah. All they knew was that God must really cherish this mission if He had been holding on to it for so long time and had not yet appointed anyone to perform it. When Moses showed up to receive the Torah, they were in absolute shock. All this time, they had heard about this incredible, lofty, exalted mission, and who does God finally chose to entrust it to? A human! This is absurd. Humans are such lowly creatures, filled with base inclinations and evil deeds. Humans are going to act on God's behalf?!

God says to Moses, "You have to respond to these angels' complaints." In other words, you have to understand why you deserve this mission. What are your qualifications?

Most people think that the theme of Torah is about believing in God. That's only half the story. Torah is also about believing in yourself. To accept Torah, you must have a tremendous amount of self-esteem. You must believe that you are worthy to be God's agent on Earth -- you were sent here to fulfill a sacred mission.

The message of Shavuot is: You are important and significant to God. You have been given the opportunity to represent the Almighty. You have been entrusted with His power of attorney to act on his behalf.

Arguing with the Angels

God says to Moses, "I cannot answer for you. Unless you realize for yourself what your qualifications are, you can't be entrusted with the mission."

Moses holds on to the Holy Throne, and is charged with amazing confidence to face the angels. In their presence, he asks God, "What's in Your Torah?"

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt."

Moses then challenges the angels, "Did you go to Egypt and serve Pharaoh? What relevance is the Torah to you?" In other words, Moses argues, "Did you have to serve Pharaoh? Were you oppressed slaves for 210 years?"

The angels concede. They had lived only a perfect blissful life in heaven.

Moses continues to make his case, "God, what else is written in Your Torah?"

"Thou shalt not have other gods."

Moses confronts the angels, "Are you living among nations who worship idols?"

To really understand Moses' question you need to appreciate what idolatry was really all about. Idolatry was a lot of fun. Most idolatrous practices revolved around sexual promiscuity. The idolaters believed that orgies were a service to their gods. Therefore Moses' point to the angels was, "Do you live in a society which challenges you daily with constant allurements and seductions?"

The angels say, "Nahh, we're angels!"

Moses continues, "God, what else is in the Torah?"

"Keep the Shabbat. Honor your father and mother. Don't murder. Don't commit adultery. Don't steal."

"Angels," Moses challenges, "do you work hard? Do you need rest? Do you have fathers and mothers that you have to honor? Does jealousy exist among you? Do you have an evil inclination?"

These are the qualifications Moses presented to merit the mission of Torah for humankind: We live in a materialistic society filled with daily seductions. That's why we should get the Torah! We qualify for this mission because we make so many mistakes. We are inundated with problems and challenges from within and without. We are perfect for this job, because we are so imperfect! So the next time you call us "born of a woman," say it with respect.

The angels are indeed impressed. They even want to befriend humankind, and give Moses useful secrets to help humans in their difficult mission.

Human Goodness Inc

What is the mission of Torah? It is to overcome negative and destructive urges and choose goodness. Goodness that has been chosen is the highest form of goodness. We are highly qualified for this mission because we are inclined to the allurements and seductions. We are able to fail, but also to succeed. We are able to destroy, but also to build. We are able to choose to do great evil, but also to choose to do amazing good.

Angels are perfect; they have no negative inclination. They have no free choice. They can't struggle. They can't fail. They cannot choose goodness.

Our mission, if we're willing to accept it, is to choose goodness. This is how we serve God. Angels sing God's praises in a perfect heavenly world. However, human praises surpass those of the angels because we praise God from Earth, soiled with imperfections, problems, and challenges. This is our greatness.

A person can stand in Torah only after he has failed at it.

God does not expect us to be perfect. In fact, if we were perfect, we could not have qualified for the mission of Torah. The Talmud teaches that a person can stand in Torah only after he has failed at it. In other words, part of the mission of Torah is to fail, regret, resolve, change, choose goodness, and succeed. We humans are the perfect candidates for the job.

When the angels understood this, they gave Moses gifts -- useful secrets. They wanted to invest in the human enterprise. They wanted to be shareholders in Human Goodness Inc. If you can't work for the company, at least invest in it, and enjoy dividends as a shareholder.

God is the major investor in Human Goodness Inc. God invested a spark of the Divine Self in human beings in order to participate in this world. This is the meaning of the mystical tradition that teaches that God desires to be in this world. God lives and participates in this world through you and me -- if we accept the mission. This is the real meaning of God creating man in His image.

Every human being has the potential to be an agent and vehicle for God. Everything we do can be for God's sake. This is the greatest honor and pleasure a person could experience. To live for myself is no great honor, but to live for God, to choose goodness for God's sake -- this is Heaven on Earth.