Someone asked Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt'l whether he should remain awake all night on Shavuos. He added that he knows he will learn much more over Shavuos if he gets a regular night's sleep. Reb Shlomo Zalman replied that although he had a valid point, he should nevertheless stay awake all night. Reb Shlomo Zalman explained, "This is a great principle: One must keep the customs accepted by all Yidden and talmidei chachamim, and he should educate his family to respect customs. Lomdim worldwide keep this custom; if you don't, your children and wife will think you are acting incorrectly. Therefore, I advise you to keep the minhag, even if it is hard" (Halichos Shlomo 12, note 13).
These words contain an important lesson, which we must remember for the entire year, and not solely regarding the night of Shavuos. We shouldn't underestimate our potential. Great things can happen to us. Even if we are simple, regular people in many ways, this doesn't mean we can't have moments of greatness. And on the night of Shavuos, when regular people like us stay awake and study Torah, we create great tikunim. Many blessings and salvations, b'ruchniyus and b'gashmiyus, come from this to us and all Yidden. Some people have פסולה ענוה, the wrong type of humility. They think the tikkun that happens on this night is reserved only for great tzaddikim. But we have to recognize our potential.
We continue with the Seder Hayom's lesson: "If he feels exhausted and has to sleep, he can sleep, but not [in a bed], so he won't sleep too long. And then he should quickly awaken and study Torah until daybreak. And then he should praise Hashem in the beis medresh [at Shacharis] for all the kindness Hashem performs for us. He gave us His Torah and chose us from all nations to be His beloved nation. How fortunate is our lot!"
Reb Shalom Ber of Lubavitch zt'l writes that he has a note, handwritten by his grandfather, the Tzemach Tzedek zt'l, with the following notation: "I guarantee that whoever stays awake all Shavuos night and studies Torah will merit the crown of Torah." Rebbe Shalom Ber zt'l added, "The Tzemach Tzedek was a posek and a Rav, so the way he rules in this world is how the beis din rules in heaven. Therefore, one must be awake the entire night and toil in Torah. The main thing is בלילה נעור, (with an emphasis on the word נעור) to be awake [and not when one studies with laziness]."
Every Shavuos morning, after davening Shacharis with the neitz hachamah, Reb Chaim Leib Auerbach zt’l (the father of Reb Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt’l) would go to Reb Moshe Yosef Hoffman zt'l, the Pupa dayan of Yerushalayim, to wish him "a gut Yom Tov." One year, Reb Chaim Leib asked the Pupa dayan, "I see that you are extremely happy today. Why is that?" The dayan replied, "I wasn't planning to tell you, but since you asked, I will tell you. The Chasam Sofer zt'l said that whoever studies the entire night of Shavuos without interruption (without הדעת היסח) will merit giluy Eliyahu, seeing Eliyahu HaNavi. When I was a yeshiva student, I studied in the Ksav Sofer's yeshiva in Pressburg, and on Shavuos, the yeshiva students always strived to study Torah without interruption Shavuos night to merit giluy Eliyahu. I also tried for many years, but I never merited giluy Eliyahu. Last night, I was learning a difficult passage in the Zohar; I couldn't decipher its holy words. Then, an elderly person, whom I'd never seen before, came into the beis medresh. He explained the Zohar to me in a beautiful way. I closed my eyes to figure out whether his explanation answered all my difficulties. When I opened my eyes, the man wasn't there anymore, and it was time to daven Shacharis. Now you understand why I’m so happy this morning."
