The specialty of the month of Sivan is the fact that this is the third month. As we find in Chumash, that it refers to the month of Sivan as החדש השלישי as the third month. If you count from Nisan, as the pasuk says, החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים ראשון הוא לכם לחדשי השנה, that this month Nisan is the first concerning the months of the year, so Sivan is considered the third month, as the pasuk says. And the fact that this is the third month must have a special maalah, because we see that the Gemara in שבת, דף פ\"ח עמוד א', when it speaks about Matan Torah, it gives one of the maalot of Matan Torah is the fact that this was done בירחא תליתאי in the third month. It says there it was אוריין תליתאי, a Torah which is divided into three, תורה נביאים וכתובים, given to עם תליתאי, to a nation made up of three, כהנים, לויים, וישראלים, and it was given בירחא תליתאי, the third month, which is the month of Sivan. And the truth is that Rabbeinu Nissim Gaon in the Gemara there brings out 10 things concerning Matan Torah which has to do with the number three. And since the Gemara brings this out as one of the special connections to Matan Torah, obviously there must be a special maalah in the month of Sivan, the fact that this is the third month. But l'chorah, why is the number three so special? What should be special should be number one, being that we know that השם אחד, השם is one, and we know that everything that's connected to Hashem is achdut, is unity, and therefore really the Torah is also one even though it's made up of different parts, תורה נביאים וכתובים, or in the Chumash itself it's חמישה חומשי תורה, or we have כ\"ד, כתבי קודש, 24 sefarim in Tanach, or we have the different Gemaras, etc., etc., but nevertheless we know it's all תורה אחת לכולנו, it's all one Torah. Because kedushah is connected to unity, to one. So it would make more sense that a maalah for Matan Torah should be the number one rather than the number three. So why is it that the Gemara stresses the point that the Torah was given in the third month as a maalah in the number three? And not only concerning the month, but concerning all the other things which are connected to three, what is a maalah in three?

But the peshat is based on a famous question in the pasuk that we say, שמע ישראל השם אלקינו השם אחד, \"Hear O Israel, God our God, God is one.\" And the question that is asked, why do we use the לשון השם אחד? Why does the Torah say Hashem is one? It should have used the expression השם יחיד, which would mean Hashem is single. Because what we're really trying to say is that there is nothing but Hashem, Hashem is the single being. Now since He is the single being, the word for single is יחיד and not אחד. אחד means one. When you say one, it doesn't mean that there is impossible to have a second. That's why the pasuk says in Koheles, קאפיטל ד', פסוק ח', יש אחד ואין שני, there is one and no second. Why do we have to say that there is no second? Because by just saying that there is one, it doesn't mean that there is no second. You could have one, and you could have a second. The word יחיד means that there is no other. For instance, when you use the expression a בן יחיד, that means he is a single son, that means that he has no other son. But if you would say בן אחד, he's one son, then it doesn't mean he doesn't have any other sons; he is one son, there could be another son. Now this pasuk, which is the most yesodos'dike fundamental pasuk in the Torah, that teaches the true אחדות השם, the true unity of Hashem, why does the pasuk say השם אחד, השם is one? It should have said השם יחיד, השם is single. So the Alter Rebbe, the Baal HaTanya, in his Sefer Torah Or, in Parshas Va'eira, on דף נ\"ה, answers the question by saying that when is a person's belief in the אחדות השם, the unity of Hashem tested? Not when he really thinks that there is nothing else but Hashem, but when he realizes that even when it seems to him that there are other things, nevertheless, even those other things are no contradiction to Hashem, because those other things are nothing but an extension of Hashem, they're only an expression of Hashem's will. When a person feels that there is nothing but Hashem, that's a very high level. But if it'll come to a point when for some reason he will start thinking that maybe there is something else, then this will be a contradiction to his belief before. But if he knows constantly that whatever there is, even if there were a point where it does seem like there is something else, nevertheless, in truth we have to understand that all this is nothing but an expression of Hashem's will, then it is a true understanding and belief and recognition in the true unity of Hashem. As the mashal is given that when a person says Kriat Shema, he covers his eyes. He covers his eyes, and he doesn't see the world around him, so it's very easy to say, השם אלקינו השם אחד, השם is one and there's nothing but Hashem. He closed his eyes, he He doesn't see anything, so there's nothing but Hashem. The moment he opens his eyes, and especially after he finishes davenen, and goes out into the world, then it seems like a contradiction to what he had in mind before, because he sees that there is a world, there are people, there are other things. So how can he still have the feeling that there is nothing but Hashem? When he said Shema, he had that feeling because at that time he had no connection to anything else. But when he comes into the world, and he sees that there is a being, there is a world, then it is hard to have the feeling of השם אחד. If lechatchila, when he understands השם אחד, it's not the pshat only that he thinks that there is nothing but Hashem, but he understands that depth, that even when it seems that there is a world, this world is not a true being, its whole being is only the being of Hashem, then that seeing of the world will not be a contradiction to his belief השם אחד. So how is his understanding in השם אחד tested? Only if when he sees another being, k'vayachol, so to speak, and nevertheless feel that השם אחד. And this is expressed in the לשון אחד rather than יחיד. When you say השם יחיד, it would mean Hashem is single. So your feeling is that there is nothing but Hashem. When you come out into the world and you see there are other things seemingly than Hashem, that contradicts your belief that השם יחיד, and therefore you are not sure which one is true. But if you say השם אחד, which is a word that seemingly gives place for another being, as we said before, that when you say one, it doesn't necessarily mean there is no second. So it's an expression that gives a makom, a place, for another being. And nevertheless, you believe that השם אחד, Hashem is one, meaning He is the true one, that is the true understanding of אחדות השם the way it's supposed to be by a person.

And this fits to what it says in the Semak, brought down in the Beit Yosef Orach Chaim the end of סימן ס״א, and it's also brought down in the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim סימן ס״א סעיף ו׳. And the Alter Rebbe, the Baal HaTanya's Shulchan Aruch brings it in אורח חיים סעיף ו׳ in סימן ס״א. That the word אחד is made up of three letters: אל״ף, חי״ת and דל״ת. And he says that the דל״ת, that is supposed to refer to the ד׳ רוחות העולם, the four corners of the world, the four sides of the world; the חי״ת, which is eight, that is supposed to be a remez, a hint, for the ז׳ רקיעים והארץ, the seven heavens and the earth, makes up eight, which is really מעלה ומטה, up and down. Because the seven heavens are a remez for מעלה, for up, and the ארץ, the earth, is a רמז for down. And the אל״ף, that refers to הקדוש ברוך הוא, to Hashem, which is the אלופו של עולם. He is the אל״ף of the world, which means He is the controller, the boss of the world. He is the אל״ף, He is the one. And when a person says שמע ישראל, he's supposed to have in mind that the חי״ת and the דל״ת, which refers to מעלה ומטה, up and down, the seven heavens and the earth, and refers to the דל״ת, the four sides of the world, all of it is בטל, is under the control of the אל״ף, of the אלופו של עולם. And be'emet, this is also hinted in the Gemara in Berakhot דף י״ג עמוד ב׳, where the Gemara says that רבי ירמיה הוה יתיב קמיה דרבי חייא בר אבא, רבי ירמיה he sat in front of רבי חייא בר אבא, חזיה he saw דהוה מאריך טובא, he was being מאריך, he was saying שמע very long. אמר ליה, so he said to him, כיון דאמליכתיה למעלה ולמטה ולארבע רוחות השמים תו לא צריכת. As soon as you make Him king up and down and to the four sides of the heaven, of the שמים, you don't need anymore. So we see from the Gemara too that the ענין of שמע is to make Hashem the מלך over מעלה ומטה and the ארבע רוחות השמים, the four corners of the universe. So what does this tell us? That the ענין of השם אחד is not just to bring out the point that אין עוד מלבדו, that there is nothing but Hashem, but it is to bring out the point that Hashem controls the world, He is the מלך of the world, which truly means He is the creator of the world, which truly means that the world in itself is not, has no true מציאות. Its whole מציאות is only because Hashem wants it to be. So this is a deeper understanding than just to understand that there is nothing but Hashem. Because if, as we said before, if you only believe that there is nothing but Hashem, so when you come to see that it seems that there is something, then you are not sure that your belief is true. But when you feel that even when you do see a world, you do see the ז׳ רקיעים והארץ, the seven heavens and the earth, and you do see the ד׳ רוחות השמים, the four sides of the שמים or the four sides of the earth as the expression is, and nevertheless you realize that this is all nothing, even if they are a מציאות as it seems, their real מציאות is not what they are, their real מציאות is only because they were created by Hashem, so then you really have the true אחדות השם, the true unity.

And this is expressed in the number three. The number one is, as we said before, yachid. One represents single. When you have a number two, it usually shows that there is something else other than the aleph, other than the first. It seems like a separate being. But the number three is similar to the לשון הלכה כדברי המכריע, that halacha is like the one that's מכריע, that's in between. And as the mefarshim say, when we pasken like the מכריע, that means that you have an argument let's say between two Tannaim or two Amoraim, and then you have a third opinion. So if the third opinion is a complete different opinion, then the halacha is not like the third opinion. But if the third opinion is a מכריע, which means he is a combination of the first and the second, so then the halacha is like the מכריע. And that's what the number three shows us, the fact that we show that there is no contradiction between the one and the two. If you only believe that השם יחיד, so then there's a possibility for a contradiction between the בית to the aleph. Because when you do see something else, which at least seems like something else, it seems like a contradiction to the first. The number three shows us that you realize that there is no contradiction, because really the second is not a separate being than the first, but the whole true being of the second is only an extension so to speak, an expression of the will of the first. And this is why the Gemara mentions the number three concerning the few things that it mentions, and Rabbeinu Nissim Gaon mentions 10 things in the number three, and all in connection to Matan Torah. And one of the things is the month of Sivan, that this is the third month. This is to show that what was the purpose of Matan Torah? Not only to show the world that there is nothing but Hashem, but to show the world that even when they do think that there is something else than Hashem, this is not true because the being that they see, which is except Hashem, is really not except Hashem. It is only an expression of Hashem's will. But the truth is, the world doesn't see it. The world feels that it is a separate being, it's a being for itself. It is the job of the Yidden, from Matan Torah and on, to bring the kedushah, to bring Hashem so to speak into the world, and to reveal this fact that the whole being of the world is only the being of Hashem. When Mashiach will come, this will be revealed, this will be seen, everyone will feel it, everyone will recognize it. As the pasuk says, that when Mashiach will come, ונגלה כבוד השם, the honor and the glory of השם will be revealed, וראו כל בשר יחדו כי פי השם דיבר. That all flesh will see that the mouth of Hashem spoke, that the whole existence of the world is only because Hashem said, and that's why the world was created. בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם, with the 10 statements of השם the world was created. הוא אמר ויהי, He said and that's why the world became. So when Mashiach will come, the world will see it. Because then it says, ומלאה הארץ דעה את השם כמים לים מכסים. Because the world will be full of wisdom of Hashem like the water covers the ים. That means that then we will see this true fact that the true essence of the world is only Hashem. But till Mashiach comes, it is our job to bring it into the world. And when the Yidden will accomplish this throughout the days of galut, that will cause that when Mashiach will come, this will be revealed. And the truth is is at the time of Matan Torah this actually was already revealed in the whole world. Because when Hashem spoke the עשרת הדיברות, it affected the whole world, the whole world felt it. As it says in Shemot Rabbah, in the end of פרשה כ״ט, that when Hashem spoke, ציפור לא צווח, even a bird didn't scream, ושור לא געה, and the ox didn't make his noise etc., אלא העולם שותק, the whole world was quiet. It says in the Gemara Menachot that even the goyim heard it, and they got very scared and they ran to Bilam asking him what's going on, is Hashem maybe bringing another מבול to the world. Because the whole world felt and heard the words of Hashem, which means the whole world felt Hashem, felt the true existence of Hashem. But that was only for the time being. When Matan Torah was over, this was not there anymore. The world now again covers up on the true existence of Hashem. All it did was it gave so to speak the first injection for the ability of the Yidden that from then on they should be able through their avodat Hashem, through their serving Hashem and doing mitzvot etc., to slowly bring the kedushah and Hashem into the world. So it was a first injection to give so to speak by Matan Torah. And then throughout all the generations from Matan Torah till Mashiach will come, this is the avodah of the Yidden to bring out in the world the concept of echad, to show that the world's being is truly Hashem, the whole existence of the world is truly Hashem. And when Mashiach will come, that's the time when we will have accomplished our mission, and the whole world will actually recognize that.

And this explains another interesting thing. The Baal HaTurim on the pasuk in ויחי, קפיטל מ״ט פסוק י׳, on the פסוק יבא שילה, which means Shiloh is Mashiach, that יבא שילה משיח should come, says that the The numerical value of יבוא שילה is the same as Mashiach. Mashiach is three hundred and fifty-eight, and so is יבוא שילה. And another thing: Shiloh itself is the gematria Moshe. Moshe is the gematria three hundred and forty-five, and so is Shiloh. So, it comes out that yavo together with Shiloh, or together with Moshe, is the gematria Mashiach. Now, yavo is thirteen. So really what we're saying here is that thirteen together with Moshe is the gematria Mashiach. Thirteen is the gematria echad. So what we're really saying here is that echad plus Moshe equals Mashiach. What does that mean? Moshe, we know, represents Matan Torah. משה קיבל תורה מסיני. Moshe is the one that received the Torah from Sinai. So Matan Torah is expressed in Moshe. That's why he's called Moshe Rabbeinu. He is the one that taught us the Torah, he brought us the Torah from Har Sinai, from Hashem. What we're saying here is that if you have Moshe, which is Matan Torah, and you add to it the inyan of echad, that equals, that will bring Mashiach. That will make the יבוא שילה, the coming of Mashiach. What does that mean? That through Matan Torah, as we said before, which gave us the boost, gave us the injections, and gave us the ability to do our avodah. So the inyan of Matan Torah, which is Moshe, if you add it up with the avodah of the Yidden throughout the whole time from then till Mashiach, which is the time when we do the avodah of echad, that's when we have to work in showing the world that the ח' and the ד' is batel to the א'. So when we have Matan Torah plus echad, meaning Matan Torah plus our accomplishment of our avodah in the inyan of echad throughout all these years equals, which means will bring, Mashiach. As we said before, that when we do all our Torah and mitzvot, and we bring kedushah into the world to prove that the world מציאות truly is Hashem, this will bring Mashiach, which will be the time when this inyan that the true being of the world is only Hashem will be revealed, as we said before, ונגלה כבוד השם וראו כל בשר יחדו כי פי השם דיבר.