Headlines »

March 16, 2024 – 11:20 pm | Comments Off on Purim: A Nation United41 views

The die was cast. King Achashverosh granted Haman a genocidal license against the Jewish nation. Mordechai was one of the first to learn of the plot and he appealed to Queen Esther for help. Esther explained that it was dangerous even for her to enter the king’s chambers unbidden. Mordechai …

Read the full story »
Parsha Insights

Where Biblical law and Torah tale is brought vividly to life

Concepts

The Jewish perspective on topical and controversial subjects

Life Cycle

Probing for meaning in our journey and its milestones.

Yearly Cycle

Discover depth and mystique in the annual Jewish festivals

Rabbi’s Desk

Seeking life’s lessons in news items and current events

Home » Archive by Category

Articles in Simchat Torah

When The Torah Rejoices

October 5, 2023 – 2:28 pm | Comments Off on When The Torah Rejoices470 views
Torah-rejoices

Simchat Torah is usually understood as us rejoicing with the Torah. As we read the last passage of the Torah and immediately turn around to read the first passage, we rejoice over studying the Torah.
However, Simchat Torah has a deeper meaning. It is not only we who rejoice over the …

Simchat Torah: Why We Rejoice

October 7, 2020 – 2:41 pm | Comments Off on Simchat Torah: Why We Rejoice1,249 views
we-rejoice-innerstream.ca

On Simchat Torah, we rejoice and dance endless horas around the bimah. Why do we rejoice and why do we dance the hora in particular?
The obvious answer is that we rejoice because we read the concluding chapter of the Torah on this day. Concluding a book of the Torah is …

Simchat Torah: No Break

October 20, 2019 – 12:31 pm | Comments Off on Simchat Torah: No Break2,140 views
no-break-innerstream.ca

On Simchat Torah we read the last passage of the Torah, but we don’t stop for even a moment when we finish reading the Torah. Instead, we turn around and start over immediately from the first verse. There are many celebrations on Simchat Torah, but they come before we read …

Simchat Torah: Pure Joy

October 2, 2018 – 10:04 pm | Comments Off on Simchat Torah: Pure Joy1,750 views
on-credit-innerstream.,ca

For ten days we prayed, self examined, and repented. This introspection reached its zenith on Yom Kippur, when we set ourselves and our comforts aside and focused solely on G-d. We didn’t eat or drink, we rejected creature comforts, and spent the day wrapped up in supplication.
At this point G-d …

Re’e: The Missing Festival

August 4, 2018 – 11:47 pm | Comments Off on Re’e: The Missing Festival2,227 views
festival-innerstream.ca

The festival of Sukkot falls on the fifteenth of Tishrei, two weeks into the new Jewish year. Accordingly, the Torah tells us, in Exodus 34:22, to celebrate Sukkot at the turn of the year. However, there is a discrepancy. Eleven chapters earlier, Exodus 23:16 told us to celebrate Sukkot at …

Sukkot: The Prevailing Custom

October 23, 2016 – 12:50 am | Comments Off on Sukkot: The Prevailing Custom2,974 views
custom-innerstream.ca

A Custom Product
My earliest memories of the last day of Sukkot is of the market place set up in front of the large Synagogue of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Brooklyn, New York. All night long, the sidewalk at 770 Eastern Parkway was a teeming marketplace of willow sales.
“Five dollars a …

Simchat Torah: Festival Of Transformation

October 12, 2014 – 12:28 pm | Comments Off on Simchat Torah: Festival Of Transformation2,565 views
on foot - innerstream

The Million Dollar Question
Everyone wonders about this. Why do we rejoice with the Torah at the end of the High Holiday season if the Torah was given in the late spring, on Shavuot? Should we not dance and rejoice over the Torah on the day it was given?
The obvious answer …

Simchat Torah: On Foot

October 5, 2012 – 8:55 pm | Comments Off on Simchat Torah: On Foot3,943 views
on foot - innerstream

The Odd Celebration
Simchat Torah is a festive holiday. We carry the Torah scroll around the Bimah (Torah reading table) and dance the night away. The reason for this great joy is the completion of our annual cycle of Torah reading.[1] Every Shabbat we chant a portion from the Torah and …