¶ Don't Overthink Shavuos
If you want to have a great Shavuos , it starts out by not overthinking it . Simchas Yontif is a da'araisah , a biblically ordained commandment as per the Shagas Aryeh , and you follow Shulchan Aruch , which means to make everyone happy . On Yontif , give your wife your credit card and let her buy some shoes and some clothing .
You should listen to your children and not overthink it , and you should also follow Shulchan Aruch that your children want kleios ve'egozim , they want candy and toys . Pez Mike and Ike's , jolly Ranchers , action figures , dolls , k'nex Legos that's what they want . Men , women and children should know don't overthink it . Basavayayan ribs , steak , lamb , veal , chicken .
And if you want to spend $20 on a bottle of wine , get the Cordova , it'll do just fine , or get if you have a bit of affluence or you would like something nice you're a fine schmecher then you should take a $50 Shiloh Cabernet Secret Reserve or a Yatir . It all works great . Don't overthink it . Prepare for Simchas
¶ Preparing for Simchas Yom
Yom . On Erev Yontif , if you want to have a great Shavuos , a man should go to the mikvah , immerse himself , get a haircut , prepare yourself , clean the house , make sure everything is ready to go . Women should make sure that everyone's in a happy and good spirit . Everyone should be clean and ready for the yontif .
It's a regal , it's a time that we would all walk up to the harabayis , but now we don't have it , so instead we walk to shul , and men should go to shul with a simcha .
You should sit down as per the and you should put your hands over your eyes and say with enthusiasm on Friday night or on the night time of Shavuos , and you should have specific intentions before Shema where you say you should say those words with enthusiasm , with concentration . You should internalize the fact that
¶ Learning on Shavuos Night
Torah is life , it's leban . That's how we live , it's what we live for and it's what gives our lives meaning and purpose Torah . Remind yourself that on the night of Shavuos you should give the rabbi a good yontif . You should come home with a big smile and thank everyone for how they prepared for the yontif .
You should enjoy yourself with the yontif suda and you should sing to the Bayre'olam . You should praise Hashem , praise those that prepared the suda of the yontif , engage your children in discussing the holiday of Shavuos and then have a big fat , two scoops of taster's choice inside of your coffee for dessert , so that you can walk to Shul and learn that night .
Learn on the night of Shavuos with authenticity and honesty . Grab a Mishneh Brura and learn about the laws of Yontif . Grab any book from the oral law , any book of Gemara , and engage with the Rizch HaDaOraisah of trying to clarify what God wants from us . I can learn with your friends at two in the morning .
Step outside to have a bowl of cholin at three in the morning . Come back inside and learn Rashi on the Ten Commandments with the most concentration and the most attention to detail that you've ever had . Learn , learn , because that's how you figure out what Hashem wants from you . Dive in in the morning .
Go to the bathroom before you say your Asher Yotza or your Netilas Yodayim . Get
¶ The Second Day's Special Significance
someone to say Ber Chassah Torah for you . Don't say your Elohim Neshama . If you stayed up all night , check with your local Orthodox rabbi all of the laws , but dive in with an Akadomos and pay attention . If you need that , haftorah shluch maybe , do that , but try not to Continue to daven .
Well , walk home , have some cheesecake , a big fat bracha on cheesecake . Enjoy it and recall why we're eating flesheks . Do it with simcha . Make the proper after bracha , because if you had a lot of crust or you had a lot of shahakol of your cheese , make sure you make the right bracha Day .
Two things get even better , no-transcript that he tells us that the second day of Shavuos has a unique characteristic that it's a vadai . It's a for sure enactment by the sages because it's 50 days immediately after Pesach , so technically we know when it is . So why are we keeping a second day ? But it's nothing other than that rabbis and an orally mandated law .
They gave it to us and we want to keep Hashem's laws and we want every sage , whatever they say , is the will of God . We want to follow
¶ Renewing Commitment After Shavuos
it . But you should take it and take the second day to rejoice with your family , to bring happiness , to bring peace , to unplug , to get back to what is real , to get back to what is important .
Shavuos should be a time of cheesecake singing , rejoicing that if not for this day , we would just all be Joe Schmoes , we wouldn't be special , we'd be Joe Lunchbucket . But Shavuos makes us Yoysee , rav , yoysee , rav , yoyseif . It makes us elevated . So take advantage of it with honesty and authenticity and with pleasure .
Let it give you purpose and let it inspire you to go forward after Shavuos into the summertime , renewing your commitment of Nasev'nishma and trying to follow Hashem's rules better and trying to talk to Him , because Hashem listens , and Shavuos should give you that new energy , that newfound energy that we all want in our ruchnias .
And it's all there for the taking , if you prepare properly and go about all the halachos swimmingly when Shavuos comes . So very , very soon .