I have a journal in which each date has a page so that each year you can write a few lines about what you did on that day and then look back at what you did on the same date in past years. On June 3, 2014, I wrote the following: “Tikkun Leil Shavuot was a huge success. Over 25 [people in my living room] and they seemed to have a great time.” And then, of course, I raved about Ruby Robinson’s chocolate cheesecake.

Eight years, dozens of classes and teachers, hundreds of participants, three participating congregations, hours of work from staff, a global pandemic that temporarily moved it online, and countless slices of cheesecake later, I am thrilled that tomorrow tonight I will once again be able to write about the Tikkun Leil Shavuot. It will start again in my living room, but as in past years, we will have multiple wonderful hosts throughout the night.

Some friends and I started eight years ago with the premise that if we were going to stay up all night being students of Torah, we also wanted as many people as possible to feel empowered to be teachers of Torah. So we made the definition of Torah expansive. Each and every person has their own Torah to teach in this world. And the classes over the years have included Kabbalah, The Book of Ruth, and Jewish history, as well as baking, latin dance, and flower arranging.

This year’s teachers and topics again reflect some of the deep wisdom and passion in our community. Whether you have been coming for eight years, or this will be your first year, I strongly encourage you to come learn and laugh with one another. Although we are already expecting a lot of people and certainly anticipate some excellent cheesecake, that is not what will get recorded in my journal this year. If each person is able to learn something new–about themselves, or about someone else, or about Judaism, or about some topic they had never before encountered–it will be recorded as a “huge success.”

Chag Sameach!