How Do We Celebrate Simchat Torah Appropriately in 5785?
This is a difficult challenge.
One on hand, we are commanded by the Torah to be joyous on Sukkot (Leviticus 23:40; Deuteronomy 16:14-15). Based on these verses, Cha”zal, our sages of blessed memory, taught us that it is a positive commandment to be joyous on holidays. An idea echoed in Jewish legal codes through the centuries.
Indeed, the very name “Simchat Torah” emphasizes that it is a holiday of song and dance, a celebration of the great joy we experience in the completion and renewal of the Torah reading cycle.
On the other hand, on Simchat Torah 5784, (October 7th, 2023), we experienced one of the greatest tragedies the history of the State of Israel and of the Jewish people since the Shoah. The number of soldiers and civilians killed continues to rise, there are still 101 hostages still held captive in Gaza, over sixty thousand Israelis remain displaced from their homes in the northern part of Israel and the war continues in both the South and the North.
Simchat Torah this year demands a balancing of, and an embrace of, all these emotions simultaneously. Let us join together as we sob and celebrate beginning with services on Thursday morning at 9:30AM which include both Yizkor and reflections on the uniqueness of this moment, continuing with Hakafot for Simchat Torah on Thursday evening at 6:00PM and Friday morning beginning at 9:30AM.
Moadim L’Simcha –
Rabbi David M. Eligberg
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