We mentioned above that there is a minhag to stay up learning on Shavuos night. The Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 494) writes:וכבר נהגו רוב הלומדים - “This has already been accepted as the custom amongst most people who learn.” From the Magen Avraham it seems, that although there is no obligation to do so, it is a well-accepted custom.
However, the halachah is (Yoreh De’ah 214): “Any good custom that one has kept, even if he has just done it once, one needs hatorah if he wants to stop.” If so, once one stays up even once on Shavuos night, it is like he has made a neder [vow] to do so. If so, if one sees his friend falling asleep in the beis hamedrash on Shavuos night, the one falling asleep is violating a neder, and there should be an obligation for his friend to wake him up?
Should Someone Sleeping Be Woken Up for a Mitzvah?
From the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 63:5) it’s clear, that if one is sleeping and the deadline for reading shema is about to arrive, his friend should wake him up and make sure that he reads at least the first pasuk. Once he has done that, he can fall back asleep, and his friend no longer needs to wake him up. We see that one is supposed to wake up his friend to ensure he doesn’t miss out on a mitzvah.
This is also clear from Yoreh De’ah (372:1). The Rema rules, that if a kohen is sleeping and someone dies in the same tent, the kohen should be woken up. Again, we see that one is supposed to wake up his friend to save him from transgressing.
The Shu”t Keren Dovid (Orach Chaim 18) also writes, that if one sees his friend sleeping at a time when he should be doing a mitzvah, he should be woken up, even for a mitzvah derabonon.
The Ben Ish Chai (Parshas Ha’azinu, ois 8) also writes, that if one sees someone sleeping outside the succah, there is a chiyuv to wake him up and tell him to go to the succah.
The Maharil Diskin (Parshas Emor) takes this even further and writes: Even if one went to sleep on erev Succos before the time of the mitzvah, when Succos arrives he should be woken up and told to go to the succah.
However, R’ Shlomah Zalman (Halichos Shlomah pg. 166) argues, that if one is sleeping outside the succah, there is no need to wake him up, as when one is sleeping he is exempt from mitzvos. One who is sleeping is comparable to a shoteh [fool], and a shoteh is exempt from mitzvos. The case of the Shulchan Aruch by krias shema, is talking about someone who is dozing off, but is not completely asleep, if, however, one is properly sleeping, there is no obligation to wake him up.
According to R’ Shlomah Zalman it is obvious that if one falls asleep on Shavuos night there is no obligation to wake him up, according to the other poskim, however, who maintain that one should be woken up if he will miss out on a mitzvah, what is on Shavuos night?
The Madanay Asher writes: Presumably when one accepted upon himself the minhag of staying up on Shavuos night, he had in the back of his mind that if he is unable to do so, he will sleep. Therefore, by sleeping on Shavuos night he is not violating his neder, therefore, there is no reason to wake him up. Moreover, it could be that one is in the beis hamedrash dozing off, he isn’t violating his neder, as at least he is in the beis hamedrash trying to learn. Practically, the matter needs more looking into.
R’ Gamliel Rabinowitz (in his sefer with he’oras on Madanay Asher) quotes the Arizal (Sha’ar HaKavonos 89a) who says that one should stay up all night on Shavuos and one shouldn’t sleep for even a second. According to the Arizal, if one falls asleep for even one second, he has lost out, and there would no longer be any point in waking up such a person.
