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Teachings
and Writings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
The
Holiness of Shavouot Night
by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, New York, 1988
On
the night of Shavuot, Jews stay up all night learning the
Torah. One of the reasons we stay up all night is because
on the night prior to the revelation on Mount Sinai all the
Jews went to sleep and had to be awakened by Moshe Rabbeinu.
In remembrance of this event, we remain awake all Shavuot
night. The Alexandrer Rebbe asks a very interesting question.
"How is it possible," he wonders, "that the
Jewish people went to sleep on the night before revelation?
After all, we learn from other sources that for forty nine
days they prepared themselves spiritually in the deepest possible
ways, counting the Omer every night so that they would be
ready to receive the Torah. After working so hard to prepare
themselves, why should they suddenly falter?
"They
slept that night," the Alexandrer Rebbe answered, "because
of their great humility. They had learned humility from Moses
who was the most humble man on Earth. On the night before
the revelation each family member thought to himself, "G-d
will reveal himself to all the Jews but not to me and my family
because we really don't deserve it" All the parents told
their children on the night of Shavuot, "let's not go
tomorrow morning to the revelation we will be the only ones
who will be sent home by Moses, telling us that we are not
ready yet."
The
Alexandrer Rebbe then asks a second question. "Why do
we behave as if their decision to sleep that night requires
correction. After all, we have just said that their decision
to sleep was based on humility, which would seem praiseworthy.
Yet we commemorate their action by staying awake as if we
were connecting an old mistake. Why should we stay awake if
their sleep had such holy meaning?"
The
Alexandrer Rebbe explains that what our forefathers did not
understand is that no one can prepare himself well enough
to actually deserve the Torah. It is solely a gift from heaven.
We stay awake all Shavuot night in order to tell ourselves
and our children, "It's true we have not prepared ourselves
properly and it's true that we don't deserve to receive the
Torah but G-d wants to give me a gift and I'd better be there
on time."
Some
of our sages explain their decision to sleep in a slightly
different way. They say that we can compare our ancestors
to a bride and groom. When do a bride and groom most feel
like calling off a wedding. A few minutes before the wedding
is when a bride and groom suddenly how awesome a marriage
is and become frightened. In the same way our ancestors became
frightened that the Torah would be too much for them. When
we stay up all Shavuot night and learn Torah we give ourselves
the strength to be fearless and to face everything that G-d
puts in front of us. Let this Shavuot mark a new beginning
to give us strength to begin our Yiddishkeit all over again.
Let us not flinch from the responsibilities which this gift
carries with it. Let us remember that the precious gift of
the Torah is given to us not because we deserve it, but because
it is indicative of G-d 's great love for us.
Copyright
© by the Shlomo Carlebach Foundation
Teachings
and Writings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
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