Tikkun Leil Shavuot

One of the most unique Jewish experiences I ever had was on a cool May evening when I was living in Jerusalem. After welcoming in the festival of Shavuot with the traditional short service and a dairy yontif (holiday) meal, my friends and I headed out to learn Torah.

We started at the Pardes Yeshiva at 10 pm and learned from great scholars including Dr. Aviva Zornberg (who will be a guest speaker at Temple Emunah on Tuesday, May 8—see page 4 for details).

But when our learning sessions wrapped up around 1 am, we did not call it a night. Instead, we walked downtown to the Conservative Center for more learning until 4 am. Then we headed into the streets; due to the hour and the festival, they were devoid of vehicles, but more and more people began to stream onto them.

It was like a wadi in the desert when the rain starts—at first, a little trickle, then the drops run together into small rivu-lets, which merge into a stream which becomes a torrent of rushing water. A wadi can be dangerous, but the flow of Jews rushing to the Old City was a stream of living waters. More and more people came together until we all reached the Kotel for an amazing sunrise Shaḥarit service. We davened outdoors at the sun rose in front of us and read the Ten Commandments—it felt as if we were re-enacting Sinai.

This custom is called the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot (the completion of the evening of Shavuot). It is a relatively recent phenomenon in Judaism, initiated by the 16th-century Kabbalists to add meaning and substance to Shavuot.

Why did it come about?

For many reasons. First, each of the three pilgrimage festivals included both Temple practices and customs that con-tinued after the destruction of the Holy Temple. While Sukkot and Pesaḥ included rituals that did not require the Temple or Jerusalem (dwelling in a Sukkah, shaking the lulav and etrog, participating in a Seder, eating matzah and not ḥametz), Shavuot did not.

According to tradition, Shavuot recalls Sinai and thus, the Torah reading is the Ten Commandments. But the Torah reading and even blintzes were not enough!

Along came the Kabbalists to the rescue. They saw Shavuot as a wedding between God and the Jewish people—and you can imagine the excitement the night before the simḥah—so what better to do than stay up all night in anticipation. And if you are going to re-enact the receiving of the Torah, you should study Torah to prepare.

The author of the popular Friday night song/prayer: Lekha Dodi, Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz (16th century, Tzfat, Israel) wrote the following in a letter:

The pious one (Rabbi Yosef Caro) and I agreed to make a mighty effort on Shavuot night to keep sleep from our eyes, and not to stop learning for even one second. Thank God we were successful. Indeed, when you hear what transpired, it will enliven your souls.

For the night of Shavuot, this is the order of study I prepared. [Verses from Scripture…]

All this we chanted aloud in a spirit of great fear and awe, with melody and trepidation.

But what will be told next won’t be believed.

After all the verses, we recited aloud all the mishnayot of Zeraim (the first of the Six Orders) and then we started again, learning it in the way of true learning, and we completed two tractates.

At that moment, the Creator graced us and we heard a great voice coming from Rabbi Caro. Many of the words were unintelligible, the syllables chopped short. The people nearby heard but could not understand. The voice was very pleasing but at the same time was growing continually stronger and we fell on our faces from the great awe; no one dared to lift his eyes and face to see.

The voice spoke: “Listen my beloved, those who most glorify the Creator, my loved ones, peace to you. Happy are you and happy those that bore you. Happy are you in this world and happy you will be in the World to Come, because you took it upon yourselves to crown Me on this night. It has been many years since my crown has fallen, and there has been no one to comfort Me. I had been cast to the dust embracing the filth, but now you have restored the crown.”

Alkabetz and Caro are creating a ritual that has become de rigeur over the last few centuries. Although first mentioned in the Zohar, a 13th-century mystical text, it does not seem to have been observed until 200 years later. What is clear is that it has taken off.

Today, there are different forms of the Tikkun Leyl Shavuot: from Ultra-Orthodox to secular Israeli, from versions that study traditional Jewish texts to much more innovative styles

While many of us have been to more modern or American re-enactments like those on Patriots’ Day, most Jews, sad-ly, have never been to a Tikkun Leyl Shavuot.

So guess what?

If ever there was a year to try it, or try some of it, this is it!

Shavuot begins this year on the Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend so we have two days to recover! Rabbi Eisenman, Rabbi Fel, and I are excited to welcome you this year. Several temple members will be leading sessions as well. There are many highlights including learning with all three rabbis, our own award-winning actor Jerry Kissel teaching “Page to Stage: The Torah and Shakespeare,” eating, cooking, and many creative and new options. This year we are adding a Teen/Young Adult Track! So if you know a teen or young adult who is home from school, etc., please invite them to join us!

This year features a Mexican theme in addition to the traditional Jewish dairy fare: dinner, cheesecake, make-your-own sundaes, and more!

And there is nothing like heading out at 4:30 am in the dark behind the shul to see the first rays of light dawn and the sun rising, as we daven and read the Ten Commandments. Our own Emunah hill will be transformed into a mini-Sinai.

So give yourself a treat and try something new! Join us for all or some of the evening. Details, registration information and volunteer options are on page 3.
See you at Sinai,

Rabbi David Lerner