Shavuot, Stick to it!
Shavuot, Stick to it!

No doubt, the most famous line in The Book of Ruth, which is read on the holiday of Shavuot, is spoken by the title character when she refuses to part from her mother in law Naomi. But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your G-d my G-d. (Ruth 1:16)

 

But what intrigues me is the next verse. "When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her." What convinced Naomi, a member of a prominent Jewish family, that her Moabite daughter in law was really sincere in her decision? Was it her heartfelt 'where you go, I'll go/your people are my people' speech, or was that only part of it?

 

Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day G-d gave the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. According to a story in the Midrash, the night before the Torah was given, the Israelites retired early to be well-rested for the momentous day ahead, but they overslept and Moses had to wake them up because God was already waiting on the mountaintop. To rectify ("Le'taken', in Hebrew) this flaw in the national character,

Many Jews stay up all night to learn Torah in what is know as Tikkun Leil Shavuot.

many Jews stay up all night to learn Torah in what is know as Tikkun Leil Shavuot.

 

While staying up all night studying Torah is praiseworthy, many Rabbis and communities have suggested that if staying up all night will adversely affect the study or the sunrise morning prayers which follow it, better to go to sleep and be fresh for prayers the next morning. Many communities offer just a few classes which run into the wee hours of the night, suggesting that you learn a little and then go off to bed and return for prayers at the normal time.

 

When I was a student, I used to also pull occasional 'all-nighters' before a big test. While the prevailing logic for students was that cramming the night before an exam would make a difference, most academics would advise getting a full night's sleep instead.

 

But whether you stay up part of the night, all night, or not at all, what is the real meaning of Shavuot, the holiday marking the giving of the Torah? No doubt that studying Torah on the holiday itself is praiseworthy, but is that all there is to it?

 

Let's go back to Ruth. If we look back one verse, just before Ruth delivered her famous 'where you go, I'll go' speech, we see an interesting action which speaks even louder than Ruth's words.

 

"And they (Ruth and her sister in law Orpah) lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her."

 

While Orpah kissed her mother in law goodbye, Ruth clung to Naomi. The Hebrew phrase used is 'davka ba' (stuck to her). In modern Hebrew, devek  is glue. This may sound rather crude, but Ruth stuck to her mother in law like glue. Imagine the image of Ruth clinging to Naomi. She would not leave her, no matter what.

 

While marking the holiday of Shavuot, the holiday of the giving of the Torah, by immersing ourselves in Torah study is wonderful, the real challenge, in my opinion, comes the next day, the day after Shavuot. Will we return to our 'normal' lives after the holiday after pulling a Torah 'all-nighter' or do we 'stick' to regular Torah study?

 

 

The day after Purim, Rabbi Meir Shalom of Porisov would invite the town’s poor to his home and give them a sum of money and other help. His students asked him: “Didn’t they receive a considerable amount of mishloach manot and matanot la’evyonim (money distributed to the needy on Purim) only yesterday? Why is it so urgent to give them charity now, the day after Purim?”

The tzaddik (righteous man) answered, “On Purim everyone knows it is a great religious obligation to distribute matanot la’evyonim, but they might think such a mitzva (good deed) applies only to Purim, rather than year-round. Therefore, I took it upon myself to remind the community that it is obligatory to give charity the rest of the year too.”

 

Torah learning on Shavuot? Absolutely. But let's be sure to 'stick to it' the rest of the year too.