Simchat Torah

Simchat TorahThe holiday at the end of Sukkot during which Jews dance with the Torah late into the night. The yearly reading cycle of the Torah is completed and a new cycle is begun. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah mark the end of the holiday season. In some congregations, the Torah scroll is unrolled in its entirety, and selected verses are read or sections noted. is a time for rejoicing. However you interpret our sacred text, celebrating the Torah’s centrality to the evolving civilization of the Jewish people is important.

Latest Rituals

Sanctity in Time

“Evening and morning, ritual and rite, / making order out of chaos”

Sanctity in Time

My Body is a Torah Scroll

“Have I authored the stories of my Life?”

earth, feminism, gender, torah

My Body is a Torah Scroll

Until

“Bejeweled crown removed / yet never cast aside.”

torah, torah service

Until

In One Breath

Now that there is to be rejoicing / Torah speaks to that

hebrew alphabet, torah

In One Breath

Intention Upon Restarting the Annual Cycle of Torah Readings

“old new words colliding”

torah, torah service

Intention Upon Restarting the Annual Cycle of Torah Readings

Poem for Torah on Simchat Torah

In Each Word a Generation

A meditation for those who do not read Hebrew but wish to learn Torah

In Each Word a Generation

Kohelet’s Lament

“Torah’s ink has seeped through my fingers”

Kohelet’s Lament

When the Holidays Have Ended: A Blessing for the Return to Every Day Life

What is there to praise?

blessing circle, joy

The Torah Dance for the Outsiders: A Simchat Torah Prayer

We are part of a hidden community

circling, hakafot, welcoming