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"This day, God, commands you to perform these statutes and the laws (of the Torah), and you shall observe and perform them with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 26:16).

Moses proclaimed this statement at the end of the 40th year in the desert as the Jewish nation was about to enter Israel.

The Medrash Tanchuma (Kee Tavo 1) asks, why use the phrase "This day?" The Torah was given 40 years earlier at Mount Sinai, just seven weeks after leaving Egypt.

The Tanchuma answers, "This day -- On each day the Torah should be cherished, as if you received it today on Mount Sinai." An individual should perform the commandments of the Torah with the utmost love, as if he had just received the Torah.

Is this realistic? The Torah was received 3,320 years ago. How is possible to cherish its laws and perform them as if we had just received the Torah today?

Rabeinu BeChaya (14th Century) says that understanding the Torah was given on Mount Sinai by God himself in front of 3 million people gives a person the ability to cherish the Torah as if it was just given to him no matter how much time has lapsed and no matter the external circumstances.

Just as the Torah is the blueprint to the world and the key to a fulfilling life, its laws are fresh and relevant to our every day life. Once a person recognizes that such a gift is directly from God to him, he can learn to cherish its laws as if they were given today.

Rabbi Chaim Lobel is spiritual leader of Young Israel of Aberdeen.
www.yiaberdeen.com