[Avodah] Learning on Shavuos - Two Scenarios

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 09:14:37AM -0400, Yitzchok Levine wrote:
: Scenario 1  - The Common Practice Today
: One waits to Tzeis to daven Maariv (or perhaps 10 minutes or more 
: before so that Kiddush is made at home after Tzeis), goes home to eat 
: and then returns to shul at midnight. One stays up all night and 
: davens Vo'Sikin around 4:45 AM, returns home, goes to sleep, and gets 
: up in the early afternoon for a Seuda (Let's say the Seudah begins at 
: 12:30 PM).

The common practice today comes from Tiqun Leil Chatzos once being
an actual tiqun (as it still is among many Chassidim and Sepharadim),
like Tiqun Chatzos. A particular ritual to be done at a particular time.

The generalization into "learn whatever you want" is a Litvisher thing.
Judging from how the AhS speaks of TLS as being a minhag chassidus
(lower case ches), the dating of Litvaks learning Shavuos night can't
be much before the turn of the 20th cent.

: Scenario 2 -  One davens Maariv early (or even at or before Tzeis) 
: and goes to sleep after the evening meal. One then gets up at about 
: 4:30 and davens Vo'Sikin, returns home around 7, makes Kiddush and 
: then learns until the Seudah at 12:30.

: My experience with Scenario 1 is that most people are too tired to 
: really concentrate on learning from midnight until davening...

Again, this is a Litvisher approach -- how much learning can one
accomplish? If the whole point is experiential, there is value to
having the once a year all night marathon. Even if less is learned,
it makes more of an emotional roshem (qiyum shebaleiv). The person is
more likely to be left after Shavuos with a greater feeling of qabbalas
haTorah and rededication.

Besides, a qitniyos avoider shouldn't start start 2nd-guessing minhagim.
If you want to argue that it's not actually your minhag, that I could
"hear", but that's a different argument than the one you're making.


That said, until my sons had that preteen and teen need to "make it the
'whole' night" and also needed a chavrusah, I followed scenario 2.
Because falling asleep in front of a gemara at 2am is neither good
learning nor good experientially.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 49th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        7 weeks in/toward the omer.
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