HA
DAS
SAH
To Life!
The Greater Detroit
diapter
H 0 L D Y
of Haclassak
presents
._,
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
JEWISH GENETIC DISEASES &
Observe, Celebrate
Closing days of Sukkot end
the High Holidays season.
THE PROMISE OF STEM CELLS
Learn about common genetic disorders affecting
the Jewish population.
Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News
GREGORY A. GRABOWSKI, M.D.
H
CINCINNATI CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL,
oshanah Rabbah and
Shemini Atzeret: The
seventh day of Sukkot is
Hoshanah Rabbah (Oct. 13), both
a festival and a day of judgment.
According to tradition, on Rosh
Hashanah God made his decision
regarding our futures. He sealed it
on Yom Kippur. Yet we have until
Hoshanah Rabbah to mend our ways
before God makes His judgment final.
Synagogue services on Hoshanah
Rabbah include worshippers hold-
ing an etrog and lulav and making
seven circuits around the sanctuary,
during which time special prayers, or
Hashanas, are said.
The last day of the holiday season
is Shemini Atzeret (Oct. 14). Known
as "the festival of conclusion," it is
mentioned in the Tanach, Hebrew
Bible, as "a holy convocation." Shemini
Atzeret has the distinction of being
both part of Sukkot and a separate
holiday. Observant families do not
drive, work or write on Shemini
Atzeret (and follow all other rules
associated with any major Jewish
observance).
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN GENETICS
Learn about the promise of stem cell research
as the hope for future treatment and
potential cures for a myriad of diseases.
DANNY HEUMANN
VICE PRESIDENT, DANIEL HEUMANN
FUND FOR SPINAL CORD RESEARCH
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006
6:45 P.M AT ADAT SHALOM SYNAGOGUE
29901 MIDDLEBELT ROAD
FARMINGTON HILLS, MI
EVENT IS FREE
PLEASE CALL HADASSAH AT
248.683.5030
FOR RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION
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1170290
But there are no real rituals for the
holiday. The one exception comes
during davening, when congrega-
tions recite Hallel and Yizkor, and
say a prayer for rain called Tefillat
Geshein. (This is rainfall season in
Israel, and we wish for farmers all that
they will need.)
Reciting Tefillat Geshem is a prac-
tice that began in talmudic times. A
priest would fill a golden pitcher with
water. When he returned from this
task, a crowd watched as he poured
the water and wine into a container on
the Temple altar.
Simchat Torah: Simchat Torah
(literally, "rejoicing with the Torah")
is observed at the end of Sukkot, on
Sunday, Oct. 15. Here are a few com-
pelling tidbits about the holiday you
may not have known:
• Simchat Torah is completely rab-
binic in origin. It is not even men-
tioned in the Tanach.
• It is the only time during the year
when we read from the Torah at night
(and then again the next morning).
• It's one of the rare times we see
all the congregation's Torah scrolls.
During davening, each scroll is
removed from the ark, then held by
someone (preferably a person with
a few muscles; those scrolls can be
heavy) who dances with the sefer
Torah around the synagogue or
temple. It's traditional to dance seven
times (called hakefot) about the sanc-
tuary, with every completed round fol-
lowed by a lot of singing, dancing and
merriment.
• Simchat Torah is a time -when
everyone, regardless of age, can receive
an aliyah to the Torah.
• 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.