“Count the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou count them.” (Bamidbar 3:15)

I was once driving past a public school in a small town in Ontario, Canada, and the children recognized me as a Jew and began shouting all sorts of curses and profanities at me. I recall at the time my hands were shaking, but not because of the language (I had experienced much worse language in the past, as well as being physically attacked and robbed – just for being a Jew). What bothered me so much this time was that this was a community without any Jews in it, and I was driving 45 MPH, and these children were still able to identify me as a Jew and hurl those insults at me!

I realized from this firsthand experience that there are many people who are so anti-Semitic to their core that they can just “smell it”. This same idea was said over by Reb Yerucham, the mashgiach of the Mir Yeshiva (Rav Yeruchom Levovitz 1875-1936). He said that he would walk down the street in a non-Jewish part of Poland, and the gentile children would throw stones at him. “How did they know at such a young age that I am Jewish and they are supposed to hate me?” he asked himself, and then answered, “It is in their bones!”

This concept is one that many of us are familiar yet uncomfortable with.  However, there are also certain character traits that Jews have in their genes. Chazal state, “Dovid Hamelech said: There are three distinguishing marks of this nation, the Jewish people. They are merciful, they are bashful, and they perform acts of kindness.” (Yevamos 79a) To the point that if someone does not have these three character traits, we should question their lineage.

Eisav is also a grandchild of Avraham, yet his descendants do not have these character traits. According to many of the meforshim, these character traits were put into our DNA at Har Sinai when we received the Torah, as the verse says, “So that you should have Yiras Hashem al pneichem.”

Reb Yerucham points out that the job of the tribe of Levy was to be the guardian of the religious objects of the Bais Hamikdash. This was not just an assigned job, rather this was an ingrained trait of shevet Levi. Rav Yerucham says that because this trait is something they were born with, the Leviim are counted from one month old (when they are no longer considered a “still born”), because even though they can’t yet physically watch anything, they are already guards of holiness in their essence.

As we get ready for the kabalas hatorah and we think about that which we received at Har Sinai, it seems to me that it is an opportune time for us to strengthen ourselves in those areas that made us a special people due to kabalas hatorah. We should all try to do something in the area of bayshanim (being modest), rachmanim (being compassionate), gomlei chasadim (doers of acts of kindness), to make us eligible to be carriers of the Torah to future generations. Let us make sure that we leave Shavuos on a more elevated status than how we came in.