Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu on Christmas Eve and Torah Study

Tonight is Christmas Eve. As Jews, we might think, "Why should we care about their holidays?"

In the past, non-Jews had a different calendar and forced rabbis, including Rabbi Isaac Aboab of Castile, to help prepare their calendars. Russians didn't adopt these changes, marking tonight as December 15 instead of their December 25.

Sephardic Jews say, "He sits alone and is silent because it was taken from him." Ashkenazi sages call this night "Nittel Nacht." Some rabbis in the diaspora used to refrain from Torah study from sunset until midnight. One rebbe spent the night cutting paper for note-taking throughout the year; another studied history instead.

This practice among Ashkenazi rabbis was attributed to the belief that Jesus was born on this night, though the date isn't accurate because their calendar was altered.

Rabbi Moses Sofer suggested the reason was to wake early for Torah study. They thought that while non-Jews were celebrating, Jews would sleep early, rise at midnight, and study.

However, non-Jews often anticipate their holiday by predicting how many will be drunk or involved in accidents, while Jews celebrate Shabbat and festivals with meals and prayers, as we say, "But as for me, my prayer is to You, Hashem, at an acceptable time."

Jews stayed home from study halls to avoid the chaos outside, but this was only in the diaspora. Sephardic Jews, both in Israel and abroad, never adopted this custom. In Israel, many Ashkenazi Jews have since abandoned it.

Certainly, Torah study should not be canceled for this reason. The Greeks wanted to uproot Torah, saying, "to make them forget Your Torah and to turn them away from the statutes of Your will." Hashem performed miracles for us, allowing us to prevail, and thus, we should intensify the study of Torah, observance of mitzvot, and good deeds.