Giving and receiving the Torah

פנים בפנים דיבר ה' עמכם כו' במד' הרב נותן והתלמיד מקבל כו' ע"ש.

"Face to face Hashem spoke with you..." (Devarim 5:4) — in the Midrash: the rebbe gives and the talmid receives, etc.; see there.

The Sefas Emes brings the Midrash that pictures Matan Torah as a teacher-and-student relationship: Hashem gives, and Bnei Yisrael receive.

פי' כי הקב"ה נותן התורה ונותן ג"כ כח בישראל לקבל התורה כי הכל ממנו הוא.

The explanation: Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives the Torah, and He also gives Yisrael the very power to receive the Torah, for everything comes from Him.

Even our ability to receive the Torah is itself a gift from Hashem. Both the giving and the capacity to take hold of it originate entirely from Him.

והכנת בני ישראל אל התורה הוא חסד בפ"ע שזכו בנ"י להיות מכוון פנים בפנים לקבל הדברות.

And the preparation of Bnei Yisrael toward the Torah is a chessed in its own right — that Bnei Yisrael merited to be aligned "face to face" to receive the Dibros.

Being made ready and worthy to stand directly opposite Hashem to hear the commandments is a separate kindness, beyond the gift of the Torah itself.

וזהו הי' ע"י משה רבינו ע"ה כמ"ש אנכי עומד בין ה' וביניכם.

And this came about through Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, as it is written, "I stand between Hashem and you" (Devarim 5:5).

Moshe is the channel through whom this 'face to face' connection is made; he stands as the intermediary that enables Bnei Yisrael to receive.

וזה מתעורר בכל שנה ג"כ כמ"ש עומד ולא כתיב עמדתי.

And this is reawakened every single year as well, as it says "[I] stand" — and it does not write "I stood."

The present-tense "stand" teaches that Moshe's role as channel is not a one-time historical event; the giving and receiving of Torah is renewed each year on Shavuos.

וזהו ג"כ תנופת שתי הלחם.

And this too is [the meaning of] the waving of the Shtei Halechem (the two loaves).

The two loaves brought on Shavuos hint at this twofold reality, as he now explains.

לחם מן השמים ומן הארץ.

Bread from heaven and bread from the earth.

One loaf points upward and one downward — bread that descends from Above and bread that rises from below.

בחי' תורה שבכתב ושבע"פ.

The aspect of Torah Shebichsav (the Written Torah) and Torah Sheb'al Peh (the Oral Torah).

The two loaves correspond to the Written Torah, which is given from Above, and the Oral Torah, which Yisrael develops from below.

פירוש הנתינה והקבלה שניהם מתעוררין בחג הזה:

Meaning: the giving and the receiving — both are reawakened on this Chag.

Shavuos renews both halves at once: Hashem's giving of the Torah and Yisrael's power to receive it, mirrored in the two loaves.

Summary: At Matan Torah, Hashem gives both the Torah and the very power to receive it. Moshe is the eternal channel — "stand," not "stood" — so this giving-and-receiving is renewed every Shavuos, hinted at in the two loaves: bread from heaven and from earth, the Written and Oral Torah.