“I will wake up at midnight to give thanks to You ….” (Tehilim, 119:62) It is written in the holy Zohar (Vayikra, 23b), “whoever studies Torah at midnight, then the Torah makes his sin known to him, but not in the way of din [severe judgment. It is rather as a mother who makes it known to her son with soft words, and he does not forget it, and returns in teshuva {repentance}].” “Midnight” means when the evil inclination still has power over man, and he gets up to serve God. Even though his inclination to evil struggles to subdue him, he overcomes it and trusts in God. In this way, “the Torah makes his sin known, but not in the way of severe judgment.”
חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה אָקוּם לְהוֹדוֹת לָךְ. אִיתָא בַּזוה"ק (ויקרא כ"ג:) מִי שֶׁעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה בַּחֲצוֹת לַיְלָה אָז אוֹרַיְיתָא מוֹדַעַת לֵיהּ חֶטְאוֹ וְלֹא בְּאוֹרַח דִּינָא. חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה הַיְינוּ בְּעוֹד הַיֵּצֶר גָּבַר עַל הָאָדָם וְיָקוּם לַעֲבוֹד אֶת ה', אַף כִּי חֶשְׁקַת הַיֵּצֶר גָּבְרָה עָלָיו יִתְגַּבֵּר נֶגְדּוֹ וְיִבְטַח בַּה', אָז אוֹרַיְיתָא מוֹדַעַת לֵיהּ חֶטְאוֹ וְלֹא בְּאוֹרַח דִּינָא.
“I will wake up at midnight to give thanks to You ….” (Tehilim, 119:62)
It is written in the holy Zohar (Vayikra, 23b), “whoever studies Torah at midnight, then the Torah makes his sin known to him, but not in the way of din [severe judgment. It is rather as a mother who makes it known to her son with soft words, and he does not forget it, and returns in teshuva {repentance}].” “Midnight” means when the evil inclination still has power over man, and he gets up to serve God. Even though his inclination to evil struggles to subdue him, he overcomes it and trusts in God. In this way, “the Torah makes his sin known, but not in the way of severe judgment.”