ENGLISH CORNER, CON LINDA JIMÉNEZ – This week is Simchat Torah, and to celebrate I’m going to read you two stories.
But first, a little about the holiday. Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” This holiday, which takes place right after Sukkot, marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Each week in synagogue we publicly read a few chapters from the Torah, starting with Genesis Ch. 1 and ending with Deuteronomy 34. On Simchat Torah, we read the last Torah portion, and then the first chapter of Genesis, reminding us of the cyclical nature of the relationship between the Jewish people and the reading of the Torah.
As part of the celebration, the Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried or danced around the synagogue seven times. This is accompanied by singing, dancing, and flag‑waving, all of which symbolize the collective joy of Torah study and a commitment to lifelong Jewish learning. Hakafot is the name for the traditional joyous dancing with the Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah.
The two stories I’m going to read for you were both taken from the website chabad.org.
“This Is My Torah Scroll” is biographical and was written by Ruth Benjamin and “Hakafot under Fire” was first published by the Kehot Publication Society, the publishing arm of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. We hope you enjoy them.
