Leil Shavuot in Jerusalem is a magical experience, an evening when young and old eagerly imbibe the mayyim hayyim of Torah. Everyone is in pursuit of wonder. Shavuot is the holiday for falling in love with Torah all over again.
For the last seven years, TAL TORAH has held a Tikkun Leil Shavuot for women and girls of all ages. Our goal is to provide intellectually challenging and spiritually satisfying shiurim for participants, ranging in age from 10 to 85, combined with good food and strong coffee in a welcoming “living room” environment.
The Tikkun begins at 11 P.M. with a special early class for about 30 teenage girls. Last year, this class, taught by one of our young teachers, focused on what it means to bring the best of oneself before Hashem, as did our ancestors when they brought the Bikkurim to the Bet Hamikdash. Several of the teens were so inspired that they returned on their own initiative in the fall to study with this teacher.
After the teen session, we offer three classes starting at midnight and continuing until 3 or 4 in the morning which are filled with lively, intergenerational discussions among the more than 60 women and girls who join us each Tikkun Leil Shavuot.
Each year, a new theme weaves the three classes together, although participants do not need to attend all three. In past years, we explored different aspects of Megillat Ruth with a focus on the redemptive quality that women bring to their lives, their friendships, and their communities. Other years we have learned about Shavuot itself, the nation of Israel as an Am Segula (a treasured people), and the Shivat Haminim (the seven species). This year we will explore aspects of King David’s leadership: as a king, a psalmist, and a prayer leader. Why isn’t he included in the Amida? How do I become my prayers?
There is a planned progression to our classes during the evening. First we present an intellectually oriented text-centered class. It is followed by a more experiential exploration of the theme, using drama or movement. The last class is more playful and “poetic” given the hour of the morning and includes lots of singing. We always set aside quiet spaces for women who wish to study alone or in hevruta, and we prepare source sheets and questions for them to follow as they like. Often we have a few eight to ten year-old younger sisters attending who fall asleep at various points during the evening in the comfy couches and chairs spread throughout our learning center. Typically, the teens are the first to leave us, slipping out to rendezvous with friends and to start walking to the Kotel around 3 A.M.
However, one year, not even the teens left early! Jerusalem was our theme of study that Shavuot. The first class examined the significance of Jerusalem in the Talmud and rabbinic sources throughout the ages; the second class focused on the beautiful midrashim and songs of Jerusalem. A master teacher offered Breema movement exercises between classes to keep everyone awake and energized. Then came the third class, led by an amazing 82-year-old seventhgeneration Sabra who told stories about Shavuot and Jerusalem “that she heard from her mother and grandmother, who heard them from their mothers and grandmothers.” She captivated us with these tales, both historical and poetic, that spanned more than 200 years. Mothers and daughters, women and girls of all ages, sat spellbound into the early morning hours as she wove her stories, recalling the personalities and voices of the women who told them to her.
In the early years, before we had a space of our own, we held the classes at different women’s homes in the neighborhood, and the participants would walk together to the next learning session in the beautiful Jerusalem night air. We would continue our Tikkun Leil Shavuot with morning davening on the veranda of a private home near the Tayelet, overlooking the Old City. The davening would begin at 5 A.M. and include the reading of Megillat Ruth. Imagine more than a hundred women and girls sitting together in the hush of a Jerusalem night, overlooking the Kotel and waiting for first light.
Now, we find that many women need to return to their homes in the early morning hours. So, in recent years, instead of Shaharit, our practice has been to hold a Minha service complete with the reading of Megillat Ruth. Women pour into this service at 4 P.M., eager for the quiet atmosphere where they can daven and hear every word of the Megilla. Our reading of Ruth is done as a narrative. A mother reads the part of Naomi, a daughter is Ruth, a young Russian immigrant reads Boaz, a native Israeli is the narrator, a grandmother takes the parts of the community and the young lad. It is an extraordinarily beautiful reading and has become a tradition in the neighborhood and a wonderful culmination to the Torah-infused atmosphere of Shavuot in Jerusalem.
At the heart of Shavuot is the encounter with the Word. Each year anew, we ready ourselves to take up our obligations as servants of God, carriers of memory, bearers of a noble vision. As an Am Segula, we celebrate and learn together, thankful for the treasure of Torah.