suzubeane
10-13-2006, 05:37 AM
Last Christmastime, many people expressed a desire to know when the more significant Jewish Holidays were (since many non-Jews in the U.S. know mostly about the one fairly minor one that occurs nearest Christmas.) So here is another PSA for friends of Jews …
And for anyone who has noticed the frequency of these PSAs lately, I'm hoping it's become more clear why using the term "The Holidays" to describe the period between Thanksgiving and New Years might be less intuitive to a Jew! This should be the last one for a while - Simchat Torah marks the end of what is considered the High Holiday Season.
Simchat Torah begins at the end of Sukkot (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25760). Combined with the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, it lasts two days everywhere except Israel. This year, it begins either the evening of Wednesday 10/03/2007, or Thursday 10/04/2007 depending on how one counts the days of Sukkot.
Excerpted from Judaism 101 (http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday6.htm)
"Shemini Atzeret literally means "the assembly of the eighth (day)." Rabbinic literature explains the holiday this way: our Creator is like a host, who invites us as visitors for a limited time, but when the time comes for us to leave, He has enjoyed himself so much that He asks us to stay another day. Another related explanation: Sukkot is a holiday intended for all of mankind, but when Sukkot is over, the Creator invites the Jewish people to stay for an extra day, for a more intimate celebration.
"Simchat Torah means "Rejoicing in the Torah." This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Each week in synagogue we publically read a few chapters from the Torah, starting with Genesis Ch. 1 and working our way around to Deuteronomy 34. On Simchat Torah, we read the last Torah portion, then proceed immediately to the first chapter of Genesis, reminding us that the Torah is a circle, and never ends.
"This completion of the readings is a time of great celebration. There are processions around the synagogue carrying Torah scrolls and plenty of high-spirited singing and dancing in the synagogue with the Torahs. Drinking is also common during this time; in fact, a traditional source recommends performing the priestly blessing earlier than usual in the service, to make sure the kohanim are not drunk when the time comes! As many people as possible are given the honor of an aliyah (reciting a blessing over the Torah reading); in fact, even children are called for an aliyah blessing on Simchat Torah. In addition, as many people as possible are given the honor of carrying a Torah scroll in these processions. Children do not carry the scrolls (they are much to heavy!), but often follow the procession around the synagogue, sometimes carrying small toy Torahs (stuffed plush toys or paper scrolls).
What to do: Like Sukkot, Simchat Torah is a significant holiday that some Jews do not mark in any special way. I'm pretty sure that this is because this is a Synagogue-based holiday. Many of our more significant holidays have rituals that are carried out at home. The big ritual for Simchat Torah takes place in a synagogue, so again – unaffiliated Jews might only be vaguely aware that this important day is near.
What to say: "Happy Holiday?" I honestly don't know! I have never had this holiday acknowledged by a non-Jew, so I'm not sure. As has been discussed in these threads before, Jews might say to each other "Hag Sameach" ("Happy Holiday") but it's not something we'd expect a Non-Jewish friend to say.
Suggestions anyone?
BTW, "Simchat" rhymes with "rim SHOT." The "ch" is the same as the "ch" in the beginning of "Chanukah."
If you've ever heard of a happy occasion or Jewish Lifecycle event referred to as a "Simcha" (joyous occasion) this is the same word.
What else: Simchat Torah is a really, really fun holiday with lots of singing and dancing. In our community, people bring those Halloween bags of candy, and toss pieces into the air, letting the kids dive for it. (If you've ever been to a Bar Mitzvah where candy is thrown, it's similar to that.)
When I was a kid, we carried miniature Torahs like this one:
http://www.judaism.com/gif-bk/65613.gif
Now I see a lot of the plush ones that look like this:
http://www.jewishsoftware.com/products/images/productshots/Kids-Torahb.gif
(those seem peculiar to me, but only because I'm used to the mini-ones.)
If you've ever seen a Torah (or a picture of one) and asked yourself "What do they do when they get to the end?" ... this is what we do! We have a big celebration to mark the scrolling back to the beginning and starting all over again.
And for anyone who has noticed the frequency of these PSAs lately, I'm hoping it's become more clear why using the term "The Holidays" to describe the period between Thanksgiving and New Years might be less intuitive to a Jew! This should be the last one for a while - Simchat Torah marks the end of what is considered the High Holiday Season.
Simchat Torah begins at the end of Sukkot (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25760). Combined with the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, it lasts two days everywhere except Israel. This year, it begins either the evening of Wednesday 10/03/2007, or Thursday 10/04/2007 depending on how one counts the days of Sukkot.
Excerpted from Judaism 101 (http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday6.htm)
"Shemini Atzeret literally means "the assembly of the eighth (day)." Rabbinic literature explains the holiday this way: our Creator is like a host, who invites us as visitors for a limited time, but when the time comes for us to leave, He has enjoyed himself so much that He asks us to stay another day. Another related explanation: Sukkot is a holiday intended for all of mankind, but when Sukkot is over, the Creator invites the Jewish people to stay for an extra day, for a more intimate celebration.
"Simchat Torah means "Rejoicing in the Torah." This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. Each week in synagogue we publically read a few chapters from the Torah, starting with Genesis Ch. 1 and working our way around to Deuteronomy 34. On Simchat Torah, we read the last Torah portion, then proceed immediately to the first chapter of Genesis, reminding us that the Torah is a circle, and never ends.
"This completion of the readings is a time of great celebration. There are processions around the synagogue carrying Torah scrolls and plenty of high-spirited singing and dancing in the synagogue with the Torahs. Drinking is also common during this time; in fact, a traditional source recommends performing the priestly blessing earlier than usual in the service, to make sure the kohanim are not drunk when the time comes! As many people as possible are given the honor of an aliyah (reciting a blessing over the Torah reading); in fact, even children are called for an aliyah blessing on Simchat Torah. In addition, as many people as possible are given the honor of carrying a Torah scroll in these processions. Children do not carry the scrolls (they are much to heavy!), but often follow the procession around the synagogue, sometimes carrying small toy Torahs (stuffed plush toys or paper scrolls).
What to do: Like Sukkot, Simchat Torah is a significant holiday that some Jews do not mark in any special way. I'm pretty sure that this is because this is a Synagogue-based holiday. Many of our more significant holidays have rituals that are carried out at home. The big ritual for Simchat Torah takes place in a synagogue, so again – unaffiliated Jews might only be vaguely aware that this important day is near.
What to say: "Happy Holiday?" I honestly don't know! I have never had this holiday acknowledged by a non-Jew, so I'm not sure. As has been discussed in these threads before, Jews might say to each other "Hag Sameach" ("Happy Holiday") but it's not something we'd expect a Non-Jewish friend to say.
Suggestions anyone?
BTW, "Simchat" rhymes with "rim SHOT." The "ch" is the same as the "ch" in the beginning of "Chanukah."
If you've ever heard of a happy occasion or Jewish Lifecycle event referred to as a "Simcha" (joyous occasion) this is the same word.
What else: Simchat Torah is a really, really fun holiday with lots of singing and dancing. In our community, people bring those Halloween bags of candy, and toss pieces into the air, letting the kids dive for it. (If you've ever been to a Bar Mitzvah where candy is thrown, it's similar to that.)
When I was a kid, we carried miniature Torahs like this one:
http://www.judaism.com/gif-bk/65613.gif
Now I see a lot of the plush ones that look like this:
http://www.jewishsoftware.com/products/images/productshots/Kids-Torahb.gif
(those seem peculiar to me, but only because I'm used to the mini-ones.)
If you've ever seen a Torah (or a picture of one) and asked yourself "What do they do when they get to the end?" ... this is what we do! We have a big celebration to mark the scrolling back to the beginning and starting all over again.