CBI Blogs

I know that many people think that the Yom Kippur break fast signifies the completion of the High Holy Day season, but we are still in the midst of it! This past Monday evening, we welcomed Sukkot, the Festival of Booths. Sukkot, known as Z’man Simchateinu, the time of our joy, celebrates the fall harvest. We build temporary structures, just as our ancestors did in their fields during the height of the harvest.

Sukkot may be a time of great joy, but the next and final holiday in the High Holy Day season really celebrates happiness. Simchat Torah begins Monday evening, a holiday that has the word “joy” in its name. We’ll come together as a community to pray the festival service and then dance with our Torahs with multiple rounds of Hakafot, a parade around the room that encircles the congregation.

One of the most interesting facts about Simchat Torah is that the origin of this holiday isn’t actually found IN Torah! The first celebrations of Simchat Torah occurred in the Middle Ages when the yearly Torah reading cycle came to its conclusion. Tied closely with Shemini Atzeret, another holiday celebrated at this time of year, Simchat Torah gave the Jewish community an opportunity to finish the Torah in its entirety, while also bringing joy into the community. If you want to learn more about Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret, click here.

Most notably, Simchat Torah often involves unrolling the Torah completely so that we can both finish it and begin again. We return immediately to the beginning after hearing the end because we are never finished with Torah. It’s why we are still studying, chanting, and learning Torah thousands of years after it was formally written!

We enjoy the ritual of unrolling the Torah around the room at CBI, but it’s important to note that we can only fulfill this practice if enough people attend services. The Torah requires many people to ensure that it is held safely and not torn or dropped during this process. With that being said, please plan to join us on Monday, October 13 at 6:00 to celebrate Simchat Torah! If we have ample people with us, we can surely unroll the Torah around Smith Auditorium!

As we continue to celebrate Sukkot and prepare for Simchat Torah, I’ll take one more opportunity to wish you a Shana Tova, Chag Sameach, Moadim L’simcha, and a healthy year to come!