38 | SEPTEMBER 23 • 2021 

SIMCHAT TORAH WAS BORN 
WHEN JEWS HAD LOST 
EVERYTHING ELSE, 
BUT THEY NEVER LOST 
THEIR CAPACITY TO REJOICE.

Jewish people preserved the 
Torah, the Torah preserved the 
Jewish people.
It was, as we say in our 
prayers, “our life and the length 
of our days.
” It was the legacy 
of their past and the promise 
of their future. It was their 
marriage contract with God, 
the record of the covenant 
that bound them unbreakably 
together. They had lost their 
world, but they still had God’s 
word, and it was enough. More 
than enough.

CONSUMED WITH JOY
On Simchat Torah, without 
being commanded by any verse 
in the Torah or any decree of 
the rabbis, Jews throughout the 
world sang and danced and 
recited poems in honor of the 
Torah, exactly as if they were 
dancing in the courtyard of 
the Temple at the Simchat Beit 
HaSho’evah (a Chol HaMoed 
Sukkot celebration of water), 
or as if they were King David 
bringing the Ark to Jerusalem.
They were determined to 
show God, and the world, that 
they could still be ach same’ach, 
as the Torah said about 
Sukkot: wholly, totally, given 
over to joy. It would be hard 
to find a parallel in the entire 
history of the human spirit of 
a people capable of such joy at 
a time when they were being 
massacred in the name of the 
God of love and compassion. 
A people that can walk 
through the valley of the 

shadow of death and still 
rejoice is a people that cannot 
be defeated by any force or fear.
Rambam writes (Laws of 
Shofar 8:15) that to experience 
joy in the fulfillment of a 
mitzvah out of the love of 
God is to touch the spiritual 
heights. Whoever stands on 
their dignity and regards such 
things as beneath them is, he 
says, a sinner and a fool — 
and whoever abandons their 
dignity for the sake of joy is 
thereby elevated “because there 
is no greatness or honor higher 
than celebrating before God.
”
Simchat Torah was born 
when Jews had lost everything 
else, but they never lost their 
capacity to rejoice. Nechemiah 
was right when he said to 
the people weeping as they 
listened to the Torah, realizing 
how far they had drifted 
from it: “Do not grieve, for 
the joy of the Lord is your 
strength” (Nechemiah 8:10). A 
people whose capacity for joy 
cannot be destroyed is, itself, 
indestructible.
Reflect: How will you 
continue to find joy this 
Simchat Torah when the 
usual celebrations will likely 
be curtailed due to the 
pandemic? 

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan 
Sacks served as the chief rabbi of 
the United Hebrew Congregations 
of the Commonwealth, 1991-2013. 
His teachings have been made 
available to all. This essay was first 
published in October 2018.

SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH

continued from page 37

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248.709.9648

Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too & Changing 
Hands handle your Estate Sale needs. Your items can 
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We offer hands free-hassle free estate sales.

Call Leslie Weisberg today for a free consultation

changinghandsestates.com

3325 ORCHARD LAKE RD, KEEGO HARBOR, MI

248.481.8884

www.leshoppetoo.com

UPSCALE CONSIGNMENT & AUCTION HOUSE

ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE, 
FINE-ART, HOME DECOR & LIGHTING

Support Local 
Businesses

HOURS

TUES–SAT Noon–5pm | MON closed
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FREE
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WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID-19
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Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too 
& Changing Hands handle your Estate Sale needs.

PHOTO CREDIT: JAMIE BUSH + CO. AND LAURA HULL

WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID-19
GUIDELINES & RESTRICTIONS

248.709.9648

Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too & Changing 
Hands handle your Estate Sale needs. Your items can 
be valued and consigned or auctioned at our store. 
We offer hands free-hassle free estate sales.

Call Leslie Weisberg today for a free consultation

changinghandsestates.com

3325 ORCHARD LAKE RD, KEEGO HARBOR, MI

248.481.8884

www.leshoppetoo.com

UPSCALE CONSIGNMENT & AUCTION HOUSE

ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE, 
FINE-ART, HOME DECOR & LIGHTING

Support Local 
Businesses

HOURS

TUES–SAT Noon–5pm | MON closed

SUN & evenings by appointment only

FREE
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art appraisals 
Wednesday’s 12-4
with Terri

DFAA:

248.672.3207
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free consultation: 248.709.9648
changinghandsestates.com

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