On the night of Shavuos, many people have the custom to recite Tikkun Leil Shavuos. Tikkun Leil Shavuos is said to have been officially established by the holy Arizal, Rabbeinu Yitzchok Luria, zt”l. The chag of Shavuos celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people, but, according to the Midrash, Bnei Yisroel overslept on the morning they were due to receive the Torah and had to be woken by a shofar blast from Hashem.
Tikkun means “correction,” and as a correction for having overslept, the Arizal initiated the custom of all-night learning. Rather than sleeping late, we don’t sleep at all. However, this custom appears to go back even earlier. According to one version in the Zohar, talking about the night of Shavuos, the Tanna writes as follows: “We learned that the Torah we must labor in on this night is Torah Shebaal Peh (Oral Law), so that together we are purified from the deep wellspring of the stream. Because of this, the early Chasidim did not sleep that night and toiled in Torah.”
Many of the great Rebbes would spend considerable time reciting the Tikkun Leil Shavuos. The Bobover Rebbe, R’ Shloime Halberstam, zt”l, maintained this minhag his entire life, and all through the night of Shavuos, one could see the Rebbe sitting in his seat in the Beis Medrash, reciting each word with careful devotion. From time to time, the Rebbe would stand up and pace about, holding his Tikkun in his hand, mouthing the words and taking in the sight of hundreds of Chassidim swaying to and fro, saying the Tikkun as well.
One chasid observed that every so often, the Rebbe would walk outside of the Beis Medrash and enter a side room where he remained by himself for a few minutes before returning to his place at the front of the large shul. The chasid watched the Rebbe carefully, wondering why he did this a number of times throughout the night. There was nothing special in that room, nobody that the Rebbe went to speak with, nor were there any seforim that he wished to look at. So why was he continuously going there? He just had to know.
Finally, the chasid gathered up his courage and approached the Rebbe as he was walking out of the Beis Medrash in the early morning hours, and asked him this very question. R’ Shloime looked up from his Tikkun and smiled warmly.
“Baruch Hashem, so many Yidden are staying up to learn and say Tikkun Leil Shavuos. But there are also some elderly Yidden who are having a hard time remaining awake, and they’re only sitting in the Beis Medrash because they are embarrassed that I will see them leaving to go to sleep. Therefore, I walk out of the Beis Medrash every so often and stay out for a bit so these people can leave without me seeing them, and they won’t feel ashamed.”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
