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Simchat Torah Simchat Torah This article was written by Eric Bonnell for Religious Living on the Web. Shammai said: Make your Torah study permanent; say little and do much; and receive all [people] in a friendly fashion. – Pirkei Avot (1:12) Simchat Torah, the time of renewing our commitment to the study of Torah, is a time of great joy. We as Jews and keepers of the Torah have completed another year and another cycle of Torah. We have begun to atone for our sins on Yom Kippur and have entered a time of individual and communal introspection. That time now ending, we celebrate a new start – another year of life through Torah. We read the last verses of Torah, immediately followed by the first verses of Torah, to proclaim that although we have finished the cycle, we commit to yet another cycle of Torah. We strive to continue to try to understand the teachings of Torah and to explore further the meaning of Torah in our lives. Our lives change from year to year, sometimes drastically, sometimes subtly. Regardless, there are still ways to apply Torah to our personal lives each day. This is the challenge of the Jew; the reward is beyond measure. It is by what we do in life that we should remembered and not by words. It is by how we treat other individuals or communities that we should be judged by others. We celebrate the chance to bring the words of Torah to life through life. Throughout the year, we can sanctify our study of Torah with the following blessing: Baruch atah Adonai eloheynu melech ha-olam a-sher kid-shanu b’mitz-votav vitzi-vanu la-asok b-divray torah Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the Universe, who sanctifies us with Your Mitzvot and commands us to engage in the study of Torah. According to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts by Philip Birnbaum (HPC, New York 1993), Simchat Torah came into being around the ninth century Babylonia, where the one-year-cycle for reading the Five Books of Moses became part of our tradition. In the sixteenth century, it became customary to parade Torah scrolls, now giving everyone a chance to march with the scroll in his/her arms. So, come and join in on the celebration! On Erev Simchat Torah there will be a grand service with flags to wave, songs to sing and music by which to dance. The Torah scroll is unrolled and surrounds the congregation – you can feel the presence of the Eternal and the love God has for each of us. Traditionally, the celebration lasts all night and day. It is up to us to keep the celebration alive all year through our covenant with God and our relationships to other people through Torah.
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