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Tag Archive for: שִׂמחַת תוֹרָה

Simchat Torah – שִׂמחַת תוֹרָה (Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12, Genesis 1:1–2:3)

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This Week’s Torah Portion: Simchat Torah – שִׂמחַת תוֹרָה (Deuteronomy 33:1–34:12, Genesis 1:1–2:3)

The question arises – why did our tradition find it appropriate to establish four holidays in a span of three weeks?!

After all, with all the joy in it, it turns out – how to say – that after the holiday season we are all quite exhausted, not to mention totally exhausted with a slight tinge of nervous breakdown…

This question, the question of the density of the four holidays of the month of Tishrei, has been occupying me for several weeks. I don’t have a comprehensive answer yet. I do know that the favorite month of all the Rabbis in the world is Cheshvan, the next Hebrew month, which is the only holiday of the year with no holiday whatsoever!

Parsha Simchat Torah – שִׂמחַת תוֹרָה Summary:

On Simchat Torah, the day on which we literally celebrate the Torah, we read the very end of Deuteronomy and the very beginning of Genesis. In the final verses of Torah, we read Moses’ blessing of the Israelites, offered before the prophet dies. Moses then ascends Mount Nebo, from which he sees the Promised Land and takes his final breath. God buries Moses and we are told there will never be another prophet like him. From this passage, we immediately begin our new cycle of Torah reading with the story of creation from the beginning of Genesis. And we create a new year of studying Torah. While each year we return to the same verses, it is we who are different. With each passing year, we grow and change, celebrate and mourn. And it is as if we are reading these sacred words for the very first time.