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KabbalaOnline.org Holidays Shavuot Laws & Customs

A Shavuot Meditation

Be very careful to purify one’s thoughts until that time when the Ornaments of the Bride ascend.

From the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov

I have a tradition from my Master [the Baal Shem Tov] that whether Shavuot falls out on the [same] day on which our ancestors received the Torah, in the time when they sanctified the moon according to visual testimony,1 or on the seventh [of the month of Sivan] according to Rabbi Yossi,2 that during the reading of the Ten Commandments, one should concentrate on the Divine Name derived from the verse: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things in Your Torah" (Psalms 119:18) [interspersed with the Name Y-H-V-H]: (Siddur Rav Shabsai)

One must be extremely careful not to speak a single idle word from the recitation of the Tikun of Shavuot night 3 night until after the Kedusha prayer of Musaf.4 For then, all 24 Ornaments of the Bride ascend. (See Rashi on Exodus 31:18) These ornaments correspond to the 24 books of Scripture that comprise the main part of the Shavuot night Tikun, as well as the 24 possible combinations of G·d's holy Name Ado-nai that correspond to the sefira of malchut. By reciting the Tikun of Shavuos night, one clothes the Bride - the Divine Presence - in beautiful garments that make her fit for union with the King.

Thus, one should be very careful to purify their thoughts at least until this time. (Siddur Rav Shabsai)

[From Sefer Baal Shem Tov; translation and commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore; First posted on baalshemtov.com]

Footnotes

The Baal Shem Tov apparently means that when Shavuot falls out on Shabbat, as it did when the Torah was first given, the following mystical intention applies. This isn't ever applicable on our pre-calculated calendar, only when the first of each month was determined (& sanctified) according to the testimony of witnesses to the new moon, in the days when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem.

According to Rabbi Yossi, the Torah was given on the seventh of Sivan, not the sixth. (Shabbat 86b)

The Tikun, or "Rectification," of Shavuot night is a collection of short verses and citations drawn from the Written and Oral Torah. It is the custom of many to recite this on Shavuot night. These are called the "Ornaments of the Bride," referring to the Shechina - the Divine Presence - which ascends to unite with G·d during the Shavuot morning prayers.

A prayer recited during the Reader's Repetition of the Musaf Amidah prayer.

From the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov

Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov [“Master of the Good Name”], 1698–1760. A unique and seminal figure in Jewish history, revealed the chassidic movement, and his own identity as an exceptionally holy person, on his 36th birthday, 18 Elul 1734. He passed away on the festival of Shavuot in 1760. He wrote no books, although many contain his teachings. (Also referred to as “the BeShT,” from an acronym of Baal Shem Tov.)

Rabbi Eliezer Shore, the translator, studied in yeshivot in New York and Israel for many years. He currently lives in Jerusalem, where he is a writer, storyteller, and Torah teacher.

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