Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 5783: Seventh Heaven!

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October 18, 2022

11 min read

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Sukkot (Leviticus 22:26-23:44 )

GOOD MORNING! This upcoming Saturday night, October 15th, is the seventh and last day of the holiday of Sukkot. This last day of Sukkot is known as Hoshanah Rabbah, a name that means “the great salvation.” On this night many Jews stay up late – or even the entire night – studying Torah.

Hoshanah Rabbah was viewed by the sages as the culmination of the High Holy Days and, in some ways, akin to Yom Kippur. It is the solemn day on which the entire Jewish community is judged by God as to whether we are worthy of the seasonal rains. As those in southwestern Florida are painfully aware, not all rains are a blessing.

The number seven is very prominent in this holiday – the four species are made up of seven individual pieces: one etrog or citron, one lulav or date palm, three hadassim or myrtle branches, and two aravot or willow branches. It is also a seven-day holiday and on the seventh day there is a selection of seven hoshanot prayers that are recited in morning service in a series of seven hakkafot, or processions, around the sanctuary. In the times of the Holy Temple, 70 oxen were sacrificed over the holiday as a merit for the 70 nations of the world.

(In Judaism the number seven represents a connection to the physical world. This is self-evident in that there are seven days in a week, seven musical notes, seven distinct colors in a rainbow that are visible to the human eye, seven holes in the human skull, seven continents – the list goes on. Of course, this led to human interpretations as well – the seven seas, seven wonders of the ancient world, etc. Because Sukkot is a holiday so intimately connected to the physical world – we are enjoined to live outside in temporary huts, it is a harvest holiday, and we pray for rain to sustain the world – this holiday is naturally connected to the number seven.)

At the conclusion of the seven processions, a special ritual is conducted in which five branches of the willow (aravot, also referred to as hoshanot) are struck upon the ground. This is a very deep and mystical ritual, and one that we hope might influence God’s decision to send the seasonal rains.

On the evening following Hoshanah Rabbah, the festival of Shemini Atzeret (the “Eighth Day of Assembly”) begins. While for many Jews Hoshanah Rabbah is the last day one takes the lulav and etrog and dwells in the sukkah, traditional Jews outside of the land of Israel continue to eat their meals in the sukkah through Shemini Atzeret. Outside of Israel we celebrate two days of Yom Tov (holiday), so Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing in Torah”) are each celebrated on separate days.

Since only one day of Yom Tov is observed in Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated concurrently on the same day.

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah is actually a separate festival that happens to be adjacent to Sukkot, a fact which is lost on many – including myself at one point. Many decades ago, I took a walk on the golf course near my home. Midway through my walk I was called over by one of the elderly groundskeepers who hopped off his riding mower to come talk to me.

I was pretty sure he was going to scold me for walking on the golf course (pedestrians on the paved pathways of the course were not welcome), but as it turned out he was just a little bored and wanted to chat. Seeing that I was an Orthodox Jew, he mentioned to me that he had worked in a synagogue for thirty-five years. At this point I was beginning to get a little bored myself, but what he said next intrigued me:

“I bet that I know more of the Jewish holidays than you do!” I smiled smugly as I thought to myself, “What a fool. There is NO WAY he could possibly know more Jewish holidays than me.”

Seeing my self-assured smile, he challenged me: “Go ahead – name the holidays you know.”

Barely able to keep my eyes from rolling (I was seventeen after all) I began, “Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot...” “Go on” he said to me. I continued, “Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur...” He urged me further, “Keep going.” I then went on to mention the rabbinic holidays of Chanukah and Purim. “Still missing one!” I looked at him blankly, “Tu b’Shvat?”

“No!” he said triumphantly. “YOU FORGOT SIMCHAT TORAH!” I looked at him in complete shock – he was absolutely right! Simchat Torah is not part of the Sukkot holiday, a fact that had completely slipped my mind.

I learned two very valuable lessons that day: 1) Never be overconfident in what you think you know, and even more importantly 2) Never underestimate what someone else can teach you – even if your teacher appears to you in the disheveled and grass-stained clothes of a groundskeeper.

Simchat Torah is a day when we celebrate our relationship with the Torah. All are invited to participate and encouraged to be called up to the Torah – even young children! The evening and again the next morning are filled with dancing and songs rejoicing in the Torah and thanking God for the Torah and the privilege of being Jewish. If you only take your kids to synagogue twice a year – one of those times should be Simchat Torah!

Attendees to the celebration in the synagogue literally dance circles around the synagogue – this is known as hakkafot. Everyone has an opportunity to dance with the Torah and there is much joy and merriment; many synagogues break out the booze during the festivities. Which reminds me of the following story:

In a certain small shtetl in Poland, Simchat Torah was celebrated in a legendary manner that included liberal amounts of drinks. One year the rabbi’s wife finally had enough; she prohibited the rabbi from imbibing on the holiday and she made sure that all of the rabbi’s adherents were aware of her disallowance.

What were the rabbi’s followers to do? They earnestly wanted their rabbi to inspire them with some meaningful message on Simchat Torah and a little “schnapps” (Yiddish for booze) always seemed to help him open up and deliver an inspiring sermon. But the rabbi’s wife was watching them with eagle-eyed alertness.

Zalmy, the rabbi’s shamash (sexton) had an idea; he went outside and poured 6 oz. of very strong schnapps into 8 oz. of milk. He went back in to the synagogue and handed the rabbi what appeared to be a large glass of milk. The rabbi’s wife nodded approvingly.

The rabbi drank it down and his eyes opened very widely. He called over his shamash and asked him to lean down so that he could tell him something. The shamash bent over, eagerly awaiting to hear the rabbi’s pearls of wisdom. The rabbi whispered earnestly in his ear:

“Zalmy, whatever you do, don’t sell that cow!”

All kidding aside, Simchat Torah is an extremely important holiday; it is the day when we celebrate the Torah and our connection to it.

On Simchat Torah every synagogue in the world completes the yearly cycle of the weekly Torah reading and promptly begins the next cycle. We read the last Torah portion in Deuteronomy, V’Zot HaBracha, and then begin immediately with Bereishit, starting the book of Genesis. Thus, Simchat Torah is a celebration of both completing the Torah and starting it again.

One may wonder, why did our sages see fit to designate a separate day for Simchat Torah? Would not Shavuot, the day we received the Torah, be a more appropriate time for this celebration?

The Talmud instructs a father that as soon as his child is able to speak, he should teach him, “The Torah that Moses commanded us is a heritage to the Congregation of Jacob.” Why is this the verse selected when there are earlier verses in the Torah that convey a similar message (e.g. “This is the Torah that Moses placed before Children of Israel”)?

To address these two questions, I will (very) briefly explain the difference between Shavuot and Simchat Torah. Shavuot is the day when we became betrothed to the Almighty, as it were, and we received the Ten Commandments as a sign of that commitment. This is why the sin of the Golden Calf was so bitterly painful; we had strayed and betrayed our “marital” commitment to the Almighty. This is also why Moses shattered the original tablets when he discovered our infidelity.

As previously mentioned, on Simchat Torah we read the final portion in the Torah known as V’Zot HaBracha. It begins with the blessings that Moses gives to the Jewish people and each tribe right before he dies. Then Moses ascends Mt. Nebo where the Almighty shows him all of the land that the Jewish people are about to inherit. He dies, is buried in the valley in an unknown spot, and the Jewish people mourn for 30 days. The Torah then concludes with the words, “Never again has there arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Almighty had known face to face."

As long as Moses was alive we had a living connection to the Almighty; someone who could speak directly to Him. If there was ever a question of law, Moses simply asked God for clarification. Once Moses died there was no longer a direct link to the Almighty and we, the Jewish people, became the final arbiters of the Torah and what it requires of us.

In other words, on Simchat Torah we celebrate the betrothal of the Torah to the Jewish people (as opposed to Shavuot, when we were betrothed to the Almighty). This is why many of the customs of the holiday are referred to using the word chatan – groom (such as Chatan Torah and Chatan Bereishit). It really is a marriage celebration!

According to our sages, this is hinted to in the verse; “The Torah that Moses commanded us is a heritage to the Congregation of Jacob.” The Hebrew word for heritage is morasha; the sages teach us that word can be read as m’orasa – which means betrothed. After the death of Moses, the Jewish people – as the final arbiters – have an eternal bond of betrothal to the Torah. This truly is something special to celebrate!

Finally, a reminder, Yizkor, the memorial service for parents and relatives – and Jews who have been killed because they were Jewish or in defending the Jewish people and Israel – is said on Monday morning, October 17th. A 24-hour memorial candle (or yahrzeit candle) should be lit on Sunday evening before sundown. If you are unable to attend synagogue and would like someone to recite the Yizkor service for you, please go to getkaddish.com/Yizkor.

Torah Portion of the Week

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

On Monday morning we read Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17, which includes the topics of: tithing crops, remission of loans during the Shemitah year, to be warm-hearted and open handed to the destitute, Jewish bondsman, Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, and going to Jerusalem for the Shelosh Regalim (the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot) with offering to celebrate the festivals.

Tuesday, October 18th is Simchat Torah. We read V’Zot HaBracha to complete the Book of Deuteronomy and thus the whole Torah. This Torah portion begins with the blessing of Moses, right before he dies, for the Jewish people and each tribe. Moses ascends Mt. Nebo and, as mentioned above, he dies and is buried in the valley in an unknown spot. The Jewish people mourn for 30 days. The Torah concludes with the words, “Never again has there arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Almighty had known face to face […]” and then we start again the yearly cycle of reading the Torah with the reading of Bereishit, Genesis!

Candle Lighting Times

Well done is better than well said.
— Benjamin Franklin

Dedicated with Deep Appreciation to

Oscar Feldenkreis

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