The Sfas Emes (and many others) point out that the Parsha of Bamidbar always precedes Shavuos because there are many important messages we need to glean from the Parsha as we prepare for Kabbalas HaTorah. One of the classic questions on the giving of the Torah is, why of all places was the Torah given in the Midbar? The Medrash (Yalkut Shemoni) explains that had the Torah been given in a city it would have "belonged" to its inhabitants. The people of the city would claim that only they know the truth of the Torah and how it should be lived. In contrast, the desert is a place that is ownerless. Everyone can walk through the desert. By giving the Torah in a desert, Hashem was teaching us that the Torah belongs to no one individual. And because it belongs to no one person or community everyone is deeply connected with it. This is a call to action. If we are deeply connected to the Torah then we are obligated to share it with those who have not been fortunate enough to be exposed to it. The kiruv movement is seemingly illogical. We invest millions and millions of dollars in reaching out to our brothers and sisters and to what end? How many of them will actually make Judaism an important part of their lives? But there is a fallacy in this way of thinking. It assumes that the goal of kiruv is to turn people into observant Jews. I strongly disagree. The point of kiruv is not to force our way into people's lives and demand (albeit politely) that they become more Torah observant. The
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