The Parsha begins with a list of the many blessings we will receive if we keep the Torah. It then says, "I am Hashem who took you out of Egypt who broke the peg of your yoke and led you upright." Chazal note that this also hints to the time of Mashiach and the rebuilding of the beit hamikdash. How do we understand this? The Chasam Sofer quotes the Gemara in Nedarim where Reish Lakish explains what will be in the world to come. Hashem will take the sun out of its cover. The righteous will be healed while the wicked will be burnt by it. The Ein Yaakov explains that the sun symbolizes the light of the Shechina. Those who toiled in Torah and mitzvot will be able to absorb its aura, while the wicked will melt away.

There were two breaking of the yokes. The first was when the Jews left Egypt. Hashem broke the yoke from their necks and made Torah and mitzvot pleasurable for them. Likewise, in the time of Mashiach, Hashem will break their yoke and they will bask in the light of the Shechina. The Sefas Emes asks, why did those who were not destined to leave Egypt die during the plague of darkness? He explains that the light of the ohr haganuz (concealed light) was so intense that the wicked were blinded by it. Those who didn't want a connection with Hashem were killed by its overwhelming power.

How does one attune oneself to this level of living with Hashem? The Maharal says man is born half animal and half spiritual. There's a continual struggle between these two opposing forces. Learning Torah has the power to cleanse the soul and to make the spirit stronger. Chazal say one's Torah should be fixed and one's work temporary. When a person invests in that where he clearly finds pleasure, it shows his spiritual intention. We say in Shachrit, l'asok b'divrei Torah. Our entire focus should be Torah and mitzvot.

We must also work to develop an awareness of Hashem's presence in our life. The Lekach Tov says we can do this by training ourselves to turn to Hashem for all our needs. We tend to do things on automatic pilot. We forget we're talking to Hashem when we pray. The Griz points out that a lack of yirat shamayim indicates a lack of a living relationship with Hashem. We're meant to develop an awareness that when we're fulfilling mitzvot we're creating holiness in this world and when we sin we bring destruction. On Shavuot, we stay up all night. As we commemorate the giving of the Torah, we show Hashem there's nothing greater than spending time with Him.

When the community of Telz was invaded by the Nazis, they rounded up the women and children. The five year old nephew of the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Bloch, was holding on to his mother's hand. Suddenly he darted into an empty beit midrash and grabbed a chumash, a siddur, and a pair of tefilin. He quickly ran out with it and rejoined his mother. Someone leaned over and asked, "What are you doing?" He answered, "I'm just a little boy. What mitzvot do I have? I barely know how to read from a siddur. I never had a chance to learn chumash or put on tefilin. I just want to take all these mitzvot up to heaven with me." This is the mindset we need to have. "Ki heim chayeinu," Torah and mitzvot should be our life.

Chazal say that the students of Rav Akiva died because they didn't accord sufficient honor to each other. One who has developed a certain trait will be unable to tolerate the opposite trait in his fellow. A person who is generous cannot abide someone who is miserly. It seems working on oneself precludes respect and honor. But in truth if one excels in a specific area it must be that his friend excels in a different area. We often view people egotistically in the context of how they relate to ourselves. But if we step out of that mode and find their unique qualities, we can truly come to respect them.

Rav Miller notes that each person heard the voice at Sinai on their level. The Midrash says it was one voice that split into seven voices which became 70 languages. Seven, the number of individuality, was multiplied by ten, the number of collectivity. The number ten indicates the power of individuals to form a single entity. The whole has much more value than the sum of its parts but it needs all the parts. Not only must we develop our own traits, but we must seek out the traits of others and pay them homage. One must constantly keep this dichotomy in mind-"Onochi afer v'afer" I'm nothing. I'm just a part of something larger. But at the same time, "Bishvili nivra h'alom." The world was created for me because without my little part in it, the machine won't function. I have to be the best I can be, take that best, and join with the community. This is what the Midrash says. King David attempted to actualize his own potential, but the time came when his feet led him to the people. He was duty bound to guide them in place of his personal quest and thereby achieve a level of perfection otherwise not possible.

This too is our mission. The path begins as a personal one. The zodiac sign of Iyar is a bull. During sefirah, we work hard on individuality. But then we move on to Sivan, when we accept the Torah as one nation bound together. The focus of sefirah is working on seven, the individual. But ultimately we must merge into 70, standing collectively at the foot of Mt. Sinai, "Kish echad b'lev echad," as one man with one heart.