What exactly do you fix at Tikun Lil Shavuot? What broke down, and what needs repair?
The Sages tell us that the Israelites were lazy to get to the Torah at Mount Sinai, and wanted to sleep a little longer. In order to correct this flaw – and probably also to instill in us the degree of agility – the Kabbalists instituted a tradition to devote Shavuot night to study, until the reading of the giving of the Torah on the morning of the holiday.
Another interpretation holds that in preparation for giving the Torah, one must prepare well, and in any case, because of the excitement for the desired night, it is difficult to sleep. And what makes more sense than to study and be filled with content and education, in order to reach this spiritual peak wiser and fullest?
But correction is not a matter for one night or one issue.
The story is known about the poor tailor who toiled at his craft late in the evening. And when Rabbi Yisrael Maslent, the founder of the Mussar movement, asked him: Why don't you stop and go to sleep? The tailor replied confidently: As long as the candle is lit, it must be repaired. As long as the candle of the soul is lit in our midst - we must repair!
You can always find something to fix. It is very easy to point out the need for correction of anyone who is not us, but it is much harder to admit the need to correct in us.
This year, perhaps more than ever, we must be precise and correct. Israeli society is torn and conflicted, the friction points are multiplying and intensifying – and the grave fear creeps into the heart, and with it the unrelenting distress, lest the worst is yet to come.
Thoughts arise whether we can heal the ruptures, heal and heal the wounds. This time, more than ever, I feel privileged – and obligated – to hold the enabling meeting, which has developed a long tradition of attention and shared learning: the "Great Correction Together and Together" in Tel Aviv, right next to Kaplan and the Hall of Culture, at the physical heart of the dispute.
There we have been gathering together for 14 years, men and women, religious and secular, in order to find common ground - and we have also learned to discuss and even share mutual respect, listening, recognizing that we all belong to the same people and defend the same country.
After the publication of my book "Women's Prayer" two decades ago, I found myself lecturing in many frameworks. On kibbutzim, in private homes, in synagogues. But always towards Shavuot a distress began creeping in my heart. I had no room. Shavuot corrections were mostly made by men, with the help of the men, and the few women who came listened from the women's section.
I found myself wandering the streets of Jerusalem, searching for synagogues that invited me, as well as other women, to lecture and teach. The experience of Jerusalem has always been different, diverse, enabling. Within a small radius there are several minyanim, and each and every one may find a place after their heart. But this is Jerusalem.
Over time, I learned how appropriate it would be to create a common platform for this in Tel Aviv. But how do you start and how do you start such a venture?
Finally, I found myself facing Gabri Bargil, a "smutnik" who was seemingly far from my world, who was then chairman of Tzavta and who is now chairman of Oranim College, and suggested that we establish a platform for Israeli-Jewish discourse together. Gavri, who was surprised by the appeal, was immediately enthusiastic, and thus the "Great Correction Together and Together" was born.
This year, the amendment is being implemented in cooperation with Project 929, the World Zionist Organization and the Tel Aviv Municipality. The amendment will raise questions that touch all of our lives – as individuals, as a community, as a society and as a people. We will study Kabbalah, discover the Bible as a psychologist, discuss the Declaration of Independence and the way to form an identity, follow the leaders of the Bible in a session dedicated to his Meir, listen to the legend of destruction, and more. With the best lecturers we will argue, agree, share, learn and listen. We're all together.
Dr. Aliza Lavi is the founder of The Great Correction Together and Together. The amendment will take place on Thursday between 22:00-04:00, at the ZOA House, Tel Aviv
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