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The Shavuot Model of Judaism

[additional-authors]
May 21, 2020

You almost want to feel bad for Shavuot. It has none of the ceremony of Passover or the glow of Sukkot. It lacks the urgency of the Yamim Noraim (High Holy Days). It’s less accessible than Hanukkah; it’s one of the few high-key Jewish occasions when drinking is not encouraged. And it’s upstaged by Lag b’Omer, its younger, more extroverted sibling. Shavuot is the middle child of Jewish holidays. It gets no respect.

This, in spite of how important we know Shavuot to be. It is upon accepting the Torah that we became a nation and it is through the same Torah that we endure thousands of years later. We’re told that in Messianic times our redemption from slavery and our wandering through the desert will become historic afterthoughts. But the Torah will remain as central to our lives as the day it was received. The document, like the people and the people, like the document, have proved resilient.

Clearly, there’s plenty to toast. But Shavuot still seems to fall short in the Jewish imagination. It doesn’t register in pop culture. Maybe it needs better children’s stories to enrich its tradition. Even the ritual burden (read: suffering) that accompanies other holidays is missing from Shavuot, which ironically seems only to detract from the experience. It’s too short to be painful, but that means you hardly miss school for it. Its customs aren’t even embarrassing.

Tikkun leil accesses a heightened consciousness — meshivat nefesh, the restoration of the soul.

On the contrary. The most well-known custom, Tikkun leil Shavuot (all-night learning), is undeniably cool. No phones, everyone just vibing, as people stay up all night learning Torah. It’s akin to jazz, and I can see it: loosely organized freestyling, marked by spontaneous creative piques. Maybe the glory of an all-nighter is easier for me to appreciate, being a night owl who writes between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. The Tikkun leil marathon is just another Wednesday for me.

Something magical happens when you’re up past 3 a.m., as the night waxes crisp and placid. A kind of free-associating lucidity sets in, as well as a strangely enhanced focus; it’s a feeling in your mouth and under your fingernails; it’s the second wind and then the third; it’s realizing that you’ll get around to sleeping only when you’re ready. It’s the courage to take risks; to leap. It’s the feeling of intimacy with the subject. It’s the thrill of discovery. Tikkun leil accesses this heightened consciousness — meshivat nefesh, the restoration of the soul. It doesn’t sell well because it’s hard to describe. You sort of have to be there.

From the painting of the doorposts to the organization of most seders, Passover is oriented around family units and the household. Sukkot, in modern times, separates hosts from guests — who has a sukkah and who needs to find one — which can easily become a matter of class distinction. The revelation of Tikkun leil is its democratic aspect: It’s amateur hour, and I mean that in the best way possible. Lay people become lecturers and the range of topics is wider and more eclectic than any other Torah symposium during the year. In my experience, the talks are usually short. This lowers the barrier to participation (and keeps people awake). And whether you like it or not, Harry Potter, “Game of Thrones,” or the Marvel Cinematic Universe inevitably makes a cameo.

The revelation of Tikkun leil is its democratic aspect: It’s amateur hour, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Tikkun leil encapsulates the egalitarian ethos of Shavuot, and, more generally, of Judaism at its best. In biblical times, farmers from all over the kingdom brought their first fruits to Jerusalem on Shavuot — an offering of the people, not the priests. The moment we celebrate is less the recitation of the Ten Commandments than the communal vow to obey and learn them. The people — not Moses — ushered in a contract that binds Jews together for all time. And what better example than the story of Ruth, a penniless convert and immigrant who through humility and filial piety enters the canon?

This is an approach to Torah and moreover a model of Judaism that we should aspire to as the People of The Book. The spirit of Shavuot can bring out the best in the more popular holidays, even if, like jazz, the Pentecost itself seems destined to survive in a state of underappreciation bordering on endangerment — a tradition to be protected and passed on by the passionate few. That’s us, isn’t it? The middle child is the Jewish people of holidays.\ Respect it. OK, I’m going to sleep.


Louis Keene is a writer living in Los Angeles. He’s on Twitter at @thislouis.

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