Q&A: Tikkun Leil Shavuot
Tikkun Leil Shavuot
Question
In recent years I’ve had the custom of doing the tikkun on Shavuot night. After being exposed to the Rabbi, I started having second thoughts about it. (The Rabbi said that because on Shavuot the Torah was given, in commemoration of this all Israel adopted the custom of gathering in synagogues all night and neglecting Torah study.)
I have two questions:
A. In the Rabbi’s view, is there any special value to learning on this day more than on other days? It’s hard to stay up all night, and it’s not something I do on other days.
B. Even if one is already staying up, is there specifically value in studying the tikkun? Nobody feels like reading 200 pages of the Zohar and understanding nothing. Is it preferable to study Talmud and at least understand and make progress in the material?
I believe the Rabbi has already touched on this, but I can’t find it right now… Thank you very much
Answer
A. It’s a custom like any other custom. You don’t need to go overboard in order to observe it, but that is the custom people follow.
B. Clearly, there is no value in reciting the tikkun. It is a complete waste of Torah study. Better to sleep.