One of the popular traditions kept on the holiday of Shavuot is tikkun leil Shavuot, when Jews around the world stay up through the night and engage in Torah study. The source for this tradition is late, and it appears to have begun after a mystical experience shared by Rabbi Joseph Karo and his companions in Salonica, Turkey, where the group was studying Mishna together, and it appeared to them in human form (Shelah, Tractate Shevu’ot). Over the generations many reasons have been offered for tikkun leil Shavuot, including some explanations that date its source prior to the revelation in Rabbi Karo’s study hall.
One of the reasons given for the custom is based on the Zohar that describes how on the night of Shavuot when the Torah was given, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and his friends sat together and decorated the bride – the Torah – preparing it for its wedding day (Zohar, Emor).
An alternative explanation relates tikkun leil Shavuot to a midrash that describes an embarrassing act that occurred to the Israelites on the night before the giving of the Torah. The Midrash attests to the fact that the Israelites slept soundly that night and were not awake when God descended on Mount Sinai. The midrash is based on the verses in Parashat Yitro:
He said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman." So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain (Exodus 19:15-17).
The description as found in these verses is, indeed, embarrassing. God appears in thunder and lightning, yet no one comes to see the show. Moses is called upon to wake the Israelites, asleep in their beds. He reminds them that they were supposed to be awake and excited. They should have been primed for the momentous occasion. But instead, the people of Israel expressed deep indifference and a lack of understanding of the process that they were about to experience. The people did not understand the significance of receiving the Torah, nor the impact that it was to have on them.
It is this failing, in the opinion of the midrash, that we try to repair every year at tikkun leil Shavuot when we sit and engage in Torah study all night long.
Before we address the substantive differences between the two explanations outlined above, let us first relate to the concept of tikkun – repair – generally.
We find a story brought in Midrash Tanhuma where the evil Turnus Rufus engages in a debate with Rabbi Akiva about the question: Whose deeds are more perfect – those of God or those of human beings? Rabbi Akiva offered a surprising response. He argued that the deeds of human beings are better and more perfect, and he offered convincing proofs. Rabbi Akiva drew Turnus Rufus’ attention to sheaves of grain and contrasted them with baked products – bread, cakes and cookies. Then he pointed out the difference between flax and finished clothing. Which were created by God and which by human beings? Which are more useful, more impressive, more up-to-date? Clearly the handiwork of human beings!
Rabbi Akiva’s argument is that God created a deficient world. God deliberately left the ends unfinished and left it to humans to “clean up after Him.” This is how to understand, for example, our obligation to circumcise our sons. We do not question why God could not have had Jewish children born circumcised. This is how to understand, for example, why we give charity to the poor. We do not say that God could have created a world without poverty. It is not heresy to give charity to the poor. We recognize our obligation to correct the distortions and injustices inherent in Creation. Man’s job is to repair (Tanhuma Tazriah; TB Bava Batra 1a).
The concept that Man’s job is to repair is the idea that leads Man to build airplanes once he understands how birds can fly. This is what leads Man to strive to understand the secrets of the universe, leading to new discoveries, shortening distances and making a global world so that at the click of a button Man can converse with a complete stranger on the other end of the planet.
There is, however, a midrash that offers the opposite perspective:
“Consider the work of God,
for who is able to straighten what He has bent?” (Kohelet 7:13)
At the time that God created Man, He led him through all the trees in the Garden of Eden, saying: “See my Creation, how good and perfect it is? All of this I created on your behalf. Take care that you should not ruin it” (Kohelet Rabba, 7:1).
This midrash describes a wondrous and perfect world. The trees are in their proper place, together with water, plants and animals. Nature is harmonious and beautiful. Man's entry into the world disrupts the perfect order of creation. A guest who enters a perfectly made-up house – with a clean sink, empty of dirty dishes, uncluttered countertops, freshly made beds, the table set with a clean white tablecloth and a vase of flowers – must feel clumsy and awkward standing with a suitcase at the entrance. The guest knows that stepping through the doorway will only disrupt the cleanliness of the house. This is the feeling we get learning this midrash. God takes Adam on a tour, and shows him all the “rooms” of the world with each thing in its proper place – clean air, perfect cycles of nature, a food chain that serves all needs and so forth. And what has our contribution been? Car exhaust and industrial pollution.
This sensitivity is what inspires those who aspire to return to nature. Those who prefer to live on farms, to grow their own organic foods, to consume products without added hormones, to avoid driving cars, to refrain from using mobile devices, to breastfeed rather than prepare Similac. These are people who believe that the more humankind contributes to the world, the more we harm it; that every innovation carries with it a price tag.
Nevertheless, even recognizing the negative impact of Man on the world through his innovations and inventions, we still can conclude that Man’s role is one of repair, for he is obligated to repair that which he damaged. The Talmud presents an aggadic passage that at the time of the giving of the Torah, the heavenly angels did not want to allow God to give the Torah to the Jewish people. Human beings are inferior. What connection do they have with the holy Torah? In response, Moses proves from the Torah that it is intended for human beings by examining it laws. The Torah commands to honor parents, not to steal or to commit adultery. These things can be commanded only to people who act based on instinct and are imperfect. The Torah is directed at those who are jealous of others, at those who have difficulty resisting temptation (TB Shabbat 88b).
It turns out that had it not been for the failure of man, there would be no room for repair. Failure is the basis for growth and renewal; it serves as the foundation for repairing the world. Psychologists make money from it. There are even occasions when destruction itself serves as the means of repair. Tearing a garment during mourning ruins the garment, but it serves a useful purpose as an expression of deep sorrow when a close relative dies.
It is possible that the various explanations for the custom of tikkun leil Shavuot depend on the basic concept of human status in the world. On the one hand, there are those who speak of the tikkun as an act of preparing the bride for her wedding, which strengthens and raises up the Torah and enhances its beauty in our eyes. This is based on the assumption that fundamentally, human activities are positive, and the tikkun prepares the Torah for the day of the Giving of the Torah. On the other hand, those who relate to tikkun leil Shavuot as the correction of an ancient sin – sleeping through the significant moment when the Torah was to be given – would argue that a student can only come to school late a single time and that the mistake must not be repeated. It is that same failing that keeps us awake every year, and we must work hard to correct the negative first impression by immersing ourselves in Torah study and showing how meaningful it is for us.
Inherent in the fact that we failed is that we now have the ability to transcend.