Tagged Simchat Torah

If dancing on Simchat Torah makes you feel uneasy, think of it as a test

Rabbi Israel Becker claps to the music as Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild carries Congregation Chofetz Chayim’s newly written Torah scroll on Sept. 14, 2014, at a celebration akin to those held on Simchat Torah. Rogelio Garcia)
September 28, 2018 / Teddy Weinberger

I have long had a problem with the central rite of Simchat Torah: dancing. I have nothing against the kind of dancing that requires learning certain steps — I then enjoy the challenge of mastering the particular dance. The dancing on Simchat Torah, however, requires almost no skill and consists… Read more »

New Year’s holidays connect us with humanity’s universal touchstones
September 7, 2012 / Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, JTA
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

The start of the Jewish New Year, the month of Tishrei, is filled with holy days, among them four foundational celebrations: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah-Shemini Atzeret. They are quite different from one another. Yet we may also think of all four holidays as two pairs… Read more »