SHEMINI ATZERET AND SIMḤAT TORAH IN A NUTSHELL

Sukkot has become known as the universal festival because the cumulative number of sacrifices brought on the seven days of Sukkot was seventy young bulls, and these could be said to represent the seventy nations of the world. Moreover, there are additional themes found in Sukkot that are universal and connected to all of humanity. These include the fragility of human life and our need for God’s protection, the importance of water in our lives, and our general connection to nature. See the chapter on Sukkot, beginning on page 27, for more on this.

God’s intimate relationship with the Jewish people (as embodied in the festival of Shemini Atzeret) does not mean He does not have intimate relationships with other nations. This is not the only interpretation of the term “chosen people” (which can just as easily be interpreted as a calling to a national mission). Judaism’s approach to the particular relationship between God and the Jewish people is a model for all other national relationships with God (in a universal context).

It could be argued that as Simḥat Torah is not a biblical festival (such as Sukkot) and is not a rabbinically instituted festival commemorating a historical event (such as Ḥanukka or Purim), it therefore has less significance and meaning. However, it developed over time as an expression of the people’s love of Torah and of the mitzva of learning Torah, and this gives the festival deep significance and importance.

DEEP DIVING INTO THE TEFILLA OF THE DAY

Completing a unit of study gives us a sense of accomplishment and encourages us to continue on to future achievements. Celebrating this completion expresses the value we find in what we have learned and the hope that we will return to it again in the future.

It is important to avoid “resting on our laurels” and taking a break from the important acts of study and spiritual growth. So we begin the new cycle immediately, continuing our journey of intellectual and spiritual development. This is also an important statement that we do not believe we have learned everything there is to learn, and instead we are eager to revisit the Torah with a new perspective in the hope of finding new insights.

After the destruction of the Temple and the exile and dispersion from the land of Israel, Judaism, which was previously a centralised Temple-focused system of worship, had to make a paradigm shift in order to survive and thrive in exile. Learning Torah itself, which could be taken with us wherever we found ourselves, and which united the dispersed and fractured Jewish people, became critical to Jewish survival and for the survival of Judaism. For this reason, Simḥat Torah, as a celebration of the Torah and the mitzva of learning Torah, became hugely important to the Jewish people.

IT ONCE HAPPENED…

For these two hasidic masters, the chance to serve God in any possible way was their first priority. In this case, they could serve God by refraining from learning Torah and praying, because the halakha forbids this in the presence of a toilet. They were happy that by abstaining from doing these mitzvot they were, in fact, following the halakha and therefore serving God.

Life rarely goes exactly according to plan. Throughout our lives there will be disappointments big and small, and things we cannot control. What we can control is how we react to these setbacks. The two rabbis reframed their experience in a radical way, and then found the opportunity for joy and service of God within the limitations of their situation. This is a powerful lesson for us, showing us that happiness and joy are intrinsic (dependent only on ourselves and our mindset) and not just based on external factors.

Despite their extreme restrictions, the brothers found a way to connect to the Torah from deep love, and this gave them joy. Similarly, when the Jewish people were exiled from their land, our rabbis were forced to pivot and refocus Judaism. One of the ways they did this was to allocate an annual celebration of Torah study – Simḥat Torah. The Rabbis refused to despair when all seemed lost, but rather they refocused and reframed Jewish life, finding a new way, much like the Rabbis in our story. Sometimes we also find ourselves in times of restrictions and limitations, and when this happens, we too must find new and meaningful ways to connect to the mitzvot.

ḤIDON ON THE ḤAG (A QUICK QUIZ)

1. Twenty-second of Tishrei.

2.  “Assembly of the Eighth Day.”

3. Both. Both opinions are found in the Talmud.

4. No.

5. Seven.

6. The kohanim.

7. All the children of the community (and one adult, as an honour).

8. Three: one to complete the book of Devarim, one to start the book of Bereshit, and one to read the maftir.

9. Ḥatan Torah and Ḥatan Bereshit.

10. There is none! But because the day is one of fun and celebration, we make it as appealing to children as possible. Many communities therefore give out sweets to the children.