Resting at the Mountain

One of the primary traditions associated with Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating theJews receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, is staying up all night learning Torah. This custom is not a direct commandment in the Torah, but a number of sources reveal this has been a long-standing tradition among many Jewish communities. One of the core justifications for this practice can be found in the Midrash, a collection of commentaries on Biblical passages in the form of legends and proverbs. Essentially, this interweaving of commentary and Biblical passages describes a scenario in which the Jewish people overslept on the morning they would be receiving the Torah. As a result, the practice developed to stay up all night learning Torah to ensure we do not repeat the mistakes of our ancestors as described in the Midrash.

This text may also serve as a jumping-off point for a discussion so many of us, particularly young adults, need to have. That conversation is about burnout.