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For the first time in a long time, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay up tonight. I got a small cut in my nose the other day that got infected. It made it difficult to sleep the past few nights, so I’m completely exhausted. I also have to work today, so I won’t be able to take a nap this afternoon. I really don’t know if I’m going to be able to stay up all night tonight.
Not being able to do it just feels wrong. Maybe I’ll try, although I’ll probably just fall asleep on the bench in the shul.
its better to be well rested during the aseres hadibros and daven like a mensch i always say stay up till like 2:30 3 o clock and go to sleep for a couple of hours and get up in timefor a regular shacharis minyan gut yom tov
better to sleep and get up for neitz or regular minyan and learn during the day. There’s no chiyuv to stay up, it’s a minhag
SaysMe, are you having cheesecake? it’s only a minhag, not a chiyuv
Rav Shlomo Zalman said that the Minhag is worth hurting your learning if you can do it.
Everybody has to know themselves and the way their body works. SM indicated correctly that learning all night is a minhag, not a chiyuv. I’m suree noone argues that point. The OP indicated he had an infection and hadn’t slept for some nights and would be unable to learn all night. rt brought up a red herring and Sam2 didn’t speak to the OP’s concern.
Sam2 RSZ siad the minhag is worth hurting your learning… not hurting your health.
I tried it for about 2 years but gave it up. Why? Because trying to daven in the morning was all but impossible. Shavuos, like any other day of the year, we’re supposed to daven with proper concentration and kavano. Now I actually have a medical condition that flares up and becomes totally debilitating if I don’t go to bed by a certain time each night. So I will certainly do some learning after the Seuda this evening. But after an hour or so, I’m going to get to bed.
My son also told me that his Yeshiva Rebbe led a discussion as to staying up all night, and pointed out that the minhag is a bare 400 years old. It is absolutely not Halacha, and the Rebbe said much of what I stated about the need to be able to daven properly. So, you’re not doing anything wrong by not staying up. You are likely doing yourself, as well as Hashem, a big favor.
PBT, Sorry but the minhag to stay up all night on Shavuos goes back to the Zohar. Much more thatn 400 years ago.
BTW, as an aside, by definition it’s impossible to Hashem a favor.
I actually have a medical condition that flares up and becomes totally debilitating if I don’t go to bed by a certain time each night.
So do I, so I plan around it, by sleeping many hours, on Erev Pesach afternoon, 1st afternoon of Pesach, and Erev Shovu’os afternoon, and beChasdei haShem I was Zoche to be up Shovu’os nite at my Shul, and cover good learning.
In addition to napping, I used 3% wine the 1st nite of Shovu’os for Kiddush instead of more regular wine. Believe it or not, my medical condition does not allow me to drink grape juice, but does let me drink wine.
I also consumed a light meal with cheese cake and held off consuming meat until lunch time.
Wishing everyone “Isru Chag Sameach”.
DaMoshe, how did it go, and how are you feeling?
Sam2: Rav Shlomo Zalman said that the Minhag is worth hurting your learning if you can do it.
It seems that R’ Elyashiv disagrees. It’s recorded in his biography that he slept Shavuos night, because he made a cheshbon that he would learn 15 minutes more!
147:Wishing everyone “Isru Chag Sameach”.
Thanks, the same to you.
the gerrer rebbe shlita asks
find me an answer pleeeeease
Because Shovu’os nite is a 1 time deal, so is durable.
Pesach being 2 nites running, just becomes impossible, so no-one even attempts to stay up. It is more prevalent for people to stay up Pesach nite in Israel where it is only 1 nite >>> 1 time deal.
4 glasses of wine also don’t help the situation, for staying up.
As I get older, I find that it is increasingly difficult to stay up all night after a near full day of work.
As a result, I’ve adopted the practice of sleeping about a half an hour or so after the seudah on Shavuous night (waking up at about 11:00 or 11:30) and then staying up learning the rest of the night.
Yes, I understand that this is not the proper way to observe the minhag, but I find myself the victim of advancing age. Yes, some of you will admonish me that there are people older than I who can do it and that, therefore, I must not be trying hard enough. If that’s what you want to believe, I can’t stop you.
In this event, I would think that performing the minhag improperly (as I do) is better than not doing it at all. If you disagree, then so be it. I’m not going to stop learning through most the night just because some feel that if I can’t stay up the entire night then I’m better off not doing it at all.
The Wolf
wolf-ouch, that lil critic came back :(. I think thats a great idea, and i’m glad you found a simple solution that works to let you learn so much!
Damoshe-b”H, good to hear
147
why dont you stay up both nights shavuos, because it is difficult, so also on pesach at least stay up two nights.
if the problem is the wine, why have wine that makes you sleepy. have low alcohol dry wine.
wolfish musings
who says sleeping first is not properly observing the minhag, the reason for the minhag is to be awake early in the morning, not to be awake the whole night.
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