The BIG Story

tic You
Know...

• Some congregations place a
lit candle inside the ark during
the hakefot, a tradition based
on the Proverbs 6:23 verse,
"For a mitzvah is a candle, and
Torah is light."
• When dancing, the Torah is
always held in the right hand
(even if you're left-handed).
• No doubt you know it's cus-
tomary to bring a flag for Sim-
chat Torah celebrations, but do
you know why? The flag is said
to reflect the idea of an army
marching with its banner — in
this case the Jews and the
Torah.
• To be certain that everyone has
a chance to read from the Torah,
the scrolls may be taken to vari-
ous rooms throughout the syna-
gogue building. Usually, this is
not done — though if concurrent
readings were not held on Sim-
chat Torah, services literally might
go on all night (and in some
cases the next day ...)
• Some congregations have the
tradition of raising the Torah
scroll in a unique way on Sim-
chat Torah, so as to differenti-
ate it from other days when the
Torah is read. Rather than just
lifting the scroll, called hagba-
ha, someone will use his left
hand to lift the right pole on
which the parchment is rolled,
and his right hand to lift the left
pole, then raise the Torah cross-
handed, and straighten his
hands, with the words of the
Torah facing the congregation.

the ark. During davening, each one
is removed from the ark, then held
by a lucky (and _hopefully strong)*
congregant who dances with the
sefer Torah around the synagogue
or temple. It's traditional to dance

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1999

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seven times (called hakefot) about
the sanctuary, with every completed
round followed by a lot of singing,
dancing and merriment.
Fourth, Simchat Torah is a time
when everyone, regardless of age,
can receive an aliya to the Torah.
Fifth, in Israel Shemini Atzeret and
Simchat Torah coincide. Outside of
Israel, where we add an extra day
to Sukkot, Simchat Torah is a day
unto itself.
Sixth, Simchat Torah is the only
yom tov (holiday) when Jews are
permitted to dance around the syna-
gogue.
And finally, here's something that
makes this an especially sweet holi-
day: At the very last aliya, all chil-
dren in many congregations are
invited to the bima. There stands a
canopy of tallitot (prayer shawls)
where the children gather, and
often are held on the adults' shoul-
ders. The children say a special
blessing, kol ha-ne'arim (all the
youth), after which congregants toss
handfuls of sweets toward the bima
— and everybody gets some. fl

How We
Celebrate

On Simchat Torah, we read the last
Torah portion, VeZot HaBeracha,
and will begin again the next week
with Parshat Bereshit, the Book of

Genesis.
Rabbis and scholars have offered
numerous insights, and provided vari-
ous interpretations of prayers, histori-
cal events and text that offer deeper
meaning into our celebration of Sim-
chat Torah. Here are a few:
1. When he was 12, Solomon
became king; soon after, God
appeared to him in a dream and
said he would grant Solomon's
greatest wish. The young king
asked for "an understanding heart
with which to judge Your people, to
discern between good and evil."
In return, God said (in I Kings

3:9-23): "Because you requested
this and you did not request long
life for yourself and you did not
request the lives of your enemies,
but instead requested discernment
to understand judgment; behold, I
have fulfilled your words; behold, I
have given you a wise and discern-
ing heart so that there has never
been your equal before you, nor
will your equal arise after you. And
I have even given you what you did
not request, even wealth and even
glory, so that no man will be your
equal among kings all your days."
After awakening the next day,
Solomon prepared a feast for his
subjects and expressed his thanks to
God. The Midrash comments on
this, saying, "From here we derive
that we should make a banquet
upon completion of the Torah."
2. Observing Simchat Torah is the
true message behind the Shema.
We best understand the concept "to
love God with all your heart" on
Rosh HaShana; "to love God with
all your soul" on Yom Kippur; and
"to love God with all your might"
on Sukkot/Simchat Torah, when we
leave the comfort of our homes and
instead find happiness in the plain
sukka.

3. As we complete our
reading of the Torah, so we
celebrate all the lessons we
have learned therein during
the past year. This knowledge
is indeed reason for happi-
ness.
4. With Simchat Torah,
Jews again feel the closeness
to God lost because of our'
sins in the previous year. We
prayed and repented on Rosh
HaShana and Yom Kippur,
and now it is time to cele-
brate our renewed relation-
ship with God.
5. While tradition teaches
that it is the Jewish people who
"give completion to the Torah,"
on this holiday we rejoice sim-
ply for the Torah itself — not
because of what we may
bring to it. The Talmud tells this story:
As Moses went to receive the Torah
from God, the angels began to
protest. Why, they wanted to know,
should humans receive such a gift?
Moses retorted, "The Torah teaches
'You shall have no other gods.' Do
you [angels] live among idolaters
[that you should need to learn not to
worship false gods]? Do you angels
need a Sabbath as a day of rest? Is
there jealousy and hatred among you
that you need to be' commanded not
to commit murder? Are you suscepti-
ble to the human stirrings of passion
that necessitate the prohibition of
adultery?"
The Torah was God's gift to
human beings and no one else,
and as such we should celebrate its
very existence.
6. Observing Simchat Torah is
like renewing our vow to God. On
Mount Sinai the whole of the Jewish
people accepted the Torah. As we
prepare to read the Torah anew,
we are saying again to God that
we will obey and we will learn.
(Some rabbis even say that Simchat
Torah is like "renewing" wedding
vows between the Jewish people
and the Torah.) ri