Simchat Torah Edition GOOD MORNING! This upcoming Thursday night, October 5th, begins the seventh and last day of the holiday of Sukkot. This last day of Sukkot is known as Hoshanah Rabbah, a name that means “the great salvation.” On this night many Jews stay up late – or even the entire night – studying Torah. Hoshanah Rabbah was viewed by the sages as the culmination of the High Holy Days and, in some ways, akin to Yom Kippur. It is the solemn day on which the entire Jewish community is judged by God as to whether we are worthy of the seasonal rains. As those in Florida are painfully aware, not all rains are a blessing. The number seven is very prominent in this holiday – the four species are made up of seven individual pieces: one etrog or citron, one lulav or date palm, three hadassim or myrtle branches, and two aravot or willow branches. It is also a seven-day holiday and on the seventh day there is a selection of seven hoshanot prayers that are recited in morning service in a series of seven hakkafot, or processions, around the sanctuary. In the times of the Holy Temple, 70 oxen were sacrificed over the holiday as a merit for the 70 nations of the world. (In Judaism the number seven represents a connection to the physical world. This is self-evident in that there are seven days in a week, seven musical notes, seven distinct colors in a rainbow that are visible to the human eye, seven holes in the human skull, seven continents – the list goes on. Of course, this led to human interpretations as well – the seven seas, seven wonders of the ancient world, etc. Because Sukkot is a holiday so intimately connected to the physical world – we are enjoined to live outside in temporary huts, it is a harvest holiday, and we pray for rain to sustain the world – this holiday is naturally connected to the number seven.) At the conclusion of the seven processions, a special ritual is conducted in which five branches of the willow (aravot, also referred to as hoshanot) are struck upon the ground. This is a very deep and mystical ritual, and one that we hope might influence God’s decision to send the seasonal rains. On Friday evening, following Hoshanah Rabbah, the festival of Shemini Atzeret (the “Eighth Day of Assembly”) begins. While for many Jews Hoshanah Rabbah is the last day one takes the lulav and etrog and dwells in the sukkah, traditional Jews outside of the land of Israel continue to eat their meals in the sukkah through Shemini Atzeret. Outside of Israel we celebrate two days of Yom Tov (holiday), so Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing in Torah”) are each celebrated on separate days. Since only one day of Yom Tov is observed in Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are celebrated concurrently on the same day. This year, outside of Israel they are celebrated on Shabbat and Sunday. Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah is actually a separate festival that happens to be adjacent to Sukkot, a fact which is lost on many – including myself at one point. Many decades ago, I took a walk on the golf course near my home. Midway through my walk I was called over by one of the elderly groundskeepers who hopped off his riding mower to come talk to me. I was pretty sure he was going to scold me for walking on the golf course (pedestrians on the paved pathways of the course were not welcome), but as it turned out he was just a little bored and wanted to chat. Seeing that I was an Orthodox Jew, he mentioned to me that he had worked in a synagogue for thirty-five years. At this point I was beginning to get a little bored myself, but what he said next intrigued me: “I bet that I know more of the Jewish holidays than you do!” I smiled smugly as I thought to myself, “What a fool. There is NO WAY he could possibly know more Jewish holidays than me.” Seeing my self-assured smile, he challenged me: “Go ahead – name the holidays you know.” Barely able to keep my eyes from rolling (I was seventeen after all) I began, “Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot...” “Go on” he said to me. I continued, “Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur...” He urged me further, “Keep going.” I then went on to mention the rabbinic holidays of Chanukah and Purim. “Still missing one!” I looked at him blankly, “Tu b’Shvat?” “No!” he said triumphantly. “YOU FORGOT SIMCHAT TORAH!” I looked at him in complete shock – he was absolutely right! Simchat Torah is not part of the Sukkot holiday, a fact that had completely slipped my mind. I learned two very valuable lessons that day: 1) Never be overconfident in what you think you know, and even more importantly 2) Never underestimate what someone else can teach you – even if your teacher appears to you in the disheveled and grass-stained clothes of a groundskeeper. Simchat Torah is a day when we celebrate our relationship with the Torah. All are invited to participate and encouraged to be called up to the Torah – even young children! The evening and again the next morning are filled with dancing and songs rejoicing in the Torah and thanking God for the Torah and the privilege of being Jewish. If you only take your kids to synagogue twice a year – one of those times should be Simchat Torah! Attendees to the celebration in the synagogue literally dance circles around the synagogue – this is known as hakkafot. Everyone has an opportunity to dance with the Torah and there is much joy and merriment; many synagogues break out the booze during the festivities. Which reminds me of the following story: In a certain small shtetl in Poland, Simchat Torah was celebrated in a legendary manner that included liberal amounts of drinks. One year the rabbi’s wife finally had enough; she prohibited the rabbi from imbibing on the holiday and she made sure that all of the rabbi’s adherents were aware of her disallowance. What were the rabbi’s followers to do? They earnestly wanted their rabbi to inspire them with some meaningful message on Simchat Torah and a little “schnapps” (Yiddish for booze) always seemed to help him open up and deliver an inspiring sermon. But the rabbi’s wife was watching them with eagle-eyed alertness. Zalmy, the rabbi’s shamash (sexton) had an idea; he went outside and poured 6 oz. of very strong schnapps into 8 oz. of milk. He went back in to the synagogue and handed the rabbi what appeared to be a large glass of milk. The rabbi’s wife nodded approvingly. | 
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