As we experience the pulsating joy of Sukkot, we look forward to it culminating in the uber-joyous holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah.
“On Simchat Torah,” goes the chassidic adage, “we rejoice with the Torah, and the Torah rejoices with us; the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we become the Torah's dancing feet.”
So this Simchat Torah be sure to join us at a Chabad House near you. Your dance partner, the Torah, will be waiting for you, along with a congregation full of new and old friends.
And to help you get ready for this most thrilling climax of the High Holiday season, we’ve collected 10 things for you to do now in preparation for the holiday.
With two names (“Shemini Atzeret” is in the Torah, and the term “Simchat Torah” was introduced in the Middle Ages) and a range of emotions (we say Yizkor one day and dance with abandon on the next), this holiday must be unpacked and understood.
In addition to challah (dipped in salt, not honey), your Simchat Torah meals should be festive and delicious. A Simchat Torah classic in many communities is stuffed cabbage (here’s why).
On Simchat Torah we complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah and immediately start it again. This is an ideal time to rededicate ourselves to daily Torah study, completing the entire Torah in a year’s time.
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