Why Can't I Sleep!? Shavuot

B"H

In the yr. 2,448 (we are now in 5768), on the 5th day of the Hebrew
month of 'Sivan', the Jewish People were understandably excited and
anxious: Tomorrow would be the Giving of the Torah! Never before, and
never again, would G-d Reveal Himself to an entire People, giving them
the most precious gift imaginable: His very Own Book-The Torah. Only
49 days earlier had the Jewish People left Egypt, the lowest of all
dumps.
Now we stood poised at Mount Sinai, ready to accept G-d's Essence
transmitted to us in readable form. SO what did the Jewish People do
in order to prepare for this momentous occasion: they slept! The
'Midrash' relates, that not only did they sleep, they slept in! G-d
Himself had to Wake them up! And this is why we Jews today have the
custom of staying up the entire night of the holiday of 'Shavuot,'
learning Torah, in order to rectify this mistake of the Jewish People.
Excuse me!?!

This night, before the Giving of the Torah, how could our ancestors
have slept?? We know how they awaited this day with such anticipation?
Chassidic Teachings explain, that their sleep wasn't without reason,
but had a deep spiritual significance. When a person goes to sleep,
the soul ascends upward to a higher spiritual level, sometimes
accessing profound teachings of the Torah. The Jews felt that, after
doing all in their power to prepare themselves well for this momentous
event, the only thing left to do to prepare was to allow their souls
the night before to ascend heavenward.
Sounds good right?
But G-d Wasn't Pleased. Why Not?
To understand their mistake, we have to understand Why G-d Gave us His
Torah with all its commandments to begin with. The whole purpose was
in order to make the Physical- Spiritual. To Combine and Unite the 2.
When one takes parchment from animal hide, inscribes words of Torah on
it, and hangs it on the doorpost, its been transformed and G-d's Will
has been Realized! The mitzvah of Mezuzah has been accomplished, and
one more small corner of our PHYSICAL world has been Refined and
Elevated, making more of a Dwelling Place here for G-d in His world.
The physical was just made holy, G-dly.

So the Jewish People had very good intentions. During sleep, our souls
enjoy great spirituality. But the point isn't to depart from the
physical, but rather to Transform it. In life, we must realize that to
reach a higher level, we mustn't remove ourselves from the physical
world, but rather engage it and uplift it. (1 difference between
Eastern Religions and Judaism)
Instead of meditating and reaching the highest spiritual levels, run
outside in the heat and help another! Visit an elderly couple, give
charity, put on Tefillin. Plant and sow G-d's Garden with a mitzvah,
and this is the greatest level one can ever dream of reaching.
This Shavuot, we stay up all night to remember this mission we have,
to make what seems to Hide G-d, reveal Him.

Happy Shavuot!
Chag Sameach!

-Daniel
Crown Heights, NY