This Shabbos is the twelfth day of the Hebrew month Sivan.  It is considered the culmination of the Shavuos holiday, since in the times of the Temple they would continue bringing sacrifices associated with the holiday of Shavuos until the twelfth day of Sivan.

When the Jewish people stood at Mount Sinai we were given a mission to elevate the world and to be a light onto the nations.  However many nations did not like our message and persecuted us because of it, yet not only did we survive, but in the midst of all the turmoil we somehow managed to get our message out.

Some 3300 plus years ago when the Torah was given idol worship was rampant and most nations did not follow a code of moral ethics and justice.  Nevertheless, the Jewish people stubbornly held on to its values and slowly the world started to copy us until we reached the point where the world’s major religions are based to some degree on Judaism.

The famous book of the Kuzari which is attributed to Rabbi Yehudah Halevi compares the above phenomenon to a seed which is planted into the ground and disintegrates.  To the human eye, it seems that there is no trace of the seed left. However, in truth, the seed is transforming the earth and water into its own substance and from this seed and water a new tree will emerge.  Similarly, even though it appears that other nations reject the Jews and the Torah, they are in effect  transformed by it and influenced by its authentic truth.

May we merit to see the completion of the elevation of the world with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.