TIKKUN LEIL SHAVUOT
There are many kinds of Jews in the world: there are Diaspora Jews and Israeli Jews; Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Orthodox and secular Jews. Jews who believe in God and Jews who do not. There are Jews from the East and Jews from the West; there are Jews who pray alone, who pray in a minyan and those who do not pray at all. There are Jews from Jewish families and Jews from non-Jewish families. There are generous Jews and selfish Jews; Jews who eat deli and Jews who eat Chinese. With so many different kinds of Jews, what is it that keeps us together? What is it that makes us all Jews?
The answer is Torah. The Torah belongs to all of us. As Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin writes, Torah “is our history and our destiny. It is our source of values, wisdom, and purpose, our common vocabulary, our narrative, our memory. Across the centuries it is the Torah that has bound us together. It is what Jewish life is based on. The Torah is the soul of the Jewish people. As long as we are Jews, the Torah is ours and we each have a share in it.”
Even after thousands of years the Torah continues to be the foundation of Judaism. Through the symbol of Sinai, God and the Jewish people are joined. Through stories and lessons, laws and songs, the Torah reminds us of who we are. It is no wonder then that there is a holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah. That holiday is called Shavuot.
Shavuot has both an historical and an agricultural explanation. Agriculturally, Shavuot marks the end of the spring harvest in the land of Israel. Grateful for their good fortune, the people of Israel would come to Jerusalem with much fanfare and celebration, bringing their harvest offerings to the Temple. The holiday is directly linked to our other spring holiday, Passover. The Torah tells us that we must count the days between Passover and Shavuot. The word “shavuot” actually means “weeks,” and refers to the seven weeks plus one day—adding up to 50 days—-that we count between these two holidays (called Counting the Omer). During this time the Israelites went from being slaves in Egypt to being a free people who accept the Torah at Mount Sinai
Shavuot is unlike other Jewish holidays in that it has no prescribed mitzvot (Torah commandments). Rather, it is characterized by many minhagim (customs). Traditionally the Book of Ruth is read in the synagogue on Shavuot, as are the Ten Commandments. It is also traditional to eat dairy food such as cheesecake and blintzes with cheese and other fillings. No one really knows why we eat dairy foods on Shavuot; one explanation is that, just as milk is life-giving after the birth of a baby, so the Torah is life-giving after the birth of a nation. Another explanation is that King Solomon (in the Song of Songs 4:11) portrayed the Torah as being like “honey and milk are under your tongue.” It is also traditional to decorate the synagogue with greenery, plants, flowers, and leafy branches in honor of Shavuot. In many synagogues Shavuot is the time when young Jews renew their commitment to God and the Jewish people in a Confirmation ceremony.
In the medieval period, mystics celebrated the holiday with a ritual called tikkun leil Shavuot. They would study the mysteries of Torah all night to prepare for the opening of the heavens at midnight. They believed that just then they could hear the echo of Revelation, still audible in the universe to those who knew how to listen—just like the echo of the big bang.
Many congregations today observe tikkun leil Shavuot with study. And so our Temple Bat Yam is going to mark the holiday in this special way. On the evening of June 7 at 7.30 PM we will gather together, not for a service, but for study. And of course, to eat delicious cheesecake and cheese blintzes. I promise we will not go all night (as is the tradition) or even until midnight! Between eating and informal study in the social hall, we will be done by around 9.00. But we will have joined with Jews all over the world as we celebrate the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It should be a fun and interesting evening. I hope you will all join us.
