Note:While she is on maternity leave for the next few months, Rabbi Renée Bauer will be
taking a break from writing her usual essays. The D’var Torah below
was written by Debbie Amster, formerly Director of Accreditation for Hillel: The
Foundation for Campus Jewish Life, in 2006. Ms. Amster discusses the significance of
Simchat Torah, which was observed a few weeks ago, and why such a broad range of the
Jewish community is drawn into the celebration of this joyous holiday.

Joy in the Torah

Simchat Torah is celebrated by traditional Jews in the Diaspora as the ninth day of the
festival of Sukkot – “the season of our rejoicing.” In Israel and among liberal Jews
Simchat Torah is celebrated together with Shemini Atzeret on the eighth day of Sukkot.
The holiday was created during the Middle Ages and in conjunction with the advent of
an annual Torah reading cycle as opposed to the triennial cycle, which was the prior
tradition. It marks the completion of the annual cycle of Torah readings with the story of
Moses’ death and the beginning of the new cycle with Bereshit-Genesis and the creation
of the world.

Simchat Torah is resplendent with symbolism that connotes cycle and circle. The
cycle of Torah reading moves from death to life, reminding us that the study of Torah
never ends. While we read the same parsha each year, it is not the parsha that changes —
it is we who change — our reality, our perspective and hence our understanding. As we
approach winter and the contemplation of ending and death, we are reminded of life to
follow with promises of spring in our Shemini Atzeret prayers for rain.

Additionally, we are linked to one another by the seven hakkafot, the joyful circuits
around the room holding the Torahs, a band of dancing celebrants in tow, encircling the
community. Simchat Torah is a communal festival that takes place in the synagogue – no
partying alone. Children are very much a part of the festivities – dor l’dor – generation to
generation in action.

During the evening service, following the hakkafot, the Torah is read. This is the only
time during the year that the Torah is read at night. The next morning we begin again
with the hakkafot and then the Torah reading. It is customary for each member of the
congregation who is eligible for an aliyah to receive one. There is a special aliyah for the
children where together they stand under a tallit and receive their aliyah.

On campus, Simchat Torah brings students out of the woodwork, ever-ready for a
good party. What is the attraction? Is revelry the only reason? Unlike Shavuot, the
holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah, which is associated with all-night Torah
study, study is not generally a part of Simchat Torah celebrations. To the contrary, on
Simchat Torah most of our time is spent with a closed Torah covered with a mantel.
Perhaps one of the lessons of this day is that it’s accessible: one needn’t be a great
Torah scholar. In dancing, the playing field gets leveled. In an effort to provide so many
aliyot it is generally a group experience and lack of knowledge or comfort with the
blessings before and after the Torah reading is not as obvious. In traditional synagogues
on Simchat Torah the boundaries are more relaxed and women sometimes have the
opportunity to have their own dance celebration with a Torah. In others, the mechitzah
(the traditional physical barrier between men and women) comes down. Children get to
participate in more prominent ways than at other times. Simchat Torah is a unique
opportunity to include as many people as possible in an experiential way. It’s about
feeling, not about thinking. The joy is infectious. This is a holiday where the
“insider/outsider” tensions are less apparent, where the emotional connection to the
Torah is the overriding theme. On the most basic of levels we can all show love and
reverence for our tradition.

What is the object of our rejoicing? The cycle of life. The continuity
of Talmud-Torah, The celebration of community, appreciating the fact that
we are one people. Or all of the above, embodied in the values and
teachings of the Torah.