Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Tell Me More About This! בּוֹאוּ נְדַבֵּר עַל זֶה
The Torah teaches that Shavuot is the holiday of the beginning of the harvest (Shemot 23:16 and Vayikra 23:1). The Talmud teaches that Shavuot was the day that God gave us the Torah on הַר סִינַי (Har Sinai, Mount Sinai) (Pesahim 68b).
It is common for communities to learn Torah on Shavuot, especially staying up the whole first night to do so. This is called תִּקּוּן לֵיל שָׁבֻעוֹת (tikkun leyl Shavuot). Some communities recite and learn a very specific set of passages from different parts of the Torah, and others have Torah learning of all types.
On Shavuot morning, we relive Benei Yisrael’s experience at Har Sinai by reading about מַתַּן תּוֹרָה (matan Torah, the giving of the Torah) in Parashat Yitro. This is a way for us to receive the Torah for ourselves again, each year.
How to get ready for this awesome experience?
ג' עִנְיָנִים הֵם עִקָּרֵי הַהֲכָנָה לְקַבָּלַת הַתּוֹרָה... הָא' הוּא הִתְגַּבְּרוּת וְהִתְעַצְּמוּת בְּעֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה... וְתִרְאֶה כִּי לֹא תֻּשַּׂג הַהַשָּׂגָה אֶלָּא בְּהִתְעַצְּמוּת גָּדוֹל.
There are three main ways to prepare for receiving the Torah… The first is trying really hard to learn Torah... because you won’t really understand it without a lot of effort.
- The Or Ha-Hayyim seems to be saying that the first thing to do to prepare for receiving the Torah is to… learn Torah! What is that supposed to mean? Why is learning Torah a good way to prepare yourself to receive it?
- How could staying up to learn Torah all night before reading about receiving it in the morning be a way of putting the Or Ha-Hayyim’s idea into practice?
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