Friends, we observe and/or celebrate more holidays during the Hebrew month of Tishrei than in any other month on the Hebrew calendar. Beginning with Rosh Hashanah followed a week later with Yom Kippur we continue, just 4 days after Yom Kippur with the longest Hebrew festival starting on the 15th day of Tishrei with the celebration of Sukkot, followed by Shemini Atseret, the "Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly" on the 22nd of Tishrei and ending with Simkhat Torah, the "Rejoicing of the Law" on the 23rd of Tishrei. The festival of Sukkot does not commemorate any specific event but is a reminder, as it says in the Torah, "that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt," (from Leviticus). Sukkot is also an agricultural festival connected with the season of ingathering when, before the winter season, most of the fruits and grains have been harvested and stored safely. Thus Sukkot has historical meaning linking with the 40-year journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land and also serves as a festival of thanksgiving for the bounties of the harvest.
Interestingly, in the Diaspora the first 2 days of Sukkot are celebrated as full holidays while in Israel only the first day of Sukkot is observed as a holiday. The eighth day, Shemini Atseret is also kept as a holiday followed by Simkhat Torah in the Diaspora which amounts to a 9-day festival while in Israel Shemini Atseret and Simkhat Torah are combined into one day thus an 8-day celebration.
Tonight, October 17th, marks the final day of Sukkot, while tomorrow we observe Shemini Atseret and on Sunday, October 19th, we celebrate Simkhat Torah here in America.
The name Shemini Atseret is derived from the verse, "On the eighth (Shemini) day you shall have a solemn assembly (Atseret)" (from Numbers 29:35), and "you shall not work at your occupations." The word "Atseret" is also applied to the final day of Passover and to Shavuot. So while it is a festival in its own right, Shemini Atseret differs from Sukkot in that the 4 species, (the lulav, myrtle and willow twigs, and the etrog), are no longer utilized while the Kiddush on the 8th day is followed by the Shehekhiyanu benediction that we discussed at our last Shabbat service thus giving thanks for a new festival and not celebrating the end of Sukkot.
Shemini Atseret also marks the end of the reading of the Torah with the death of Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy, and the beginning of the Book of Genesis for the new year. For this reason Shemini Atseret is also known as Simkhat Torah. As I mentioned earlier, in Israel Shemini Atseret and Simkhat Torah are combined into one day while in the Diaspora Simkhat Torah is observed on the second day of Shemini Atseret. One of the more significant prayers on Shemini Atseret is the prayer for rain which must be repeated at every Amidah service until the festival of Passover in the spring.
While the festivals of Chanukah and Purim are as festive and joyous as Simkhat Torah the former celebrate the victories over enemies, Simkhat Torah celebrates the completion of the study of Torah and the joy of being able to begin the weekly Torah portions once again. Simkhat Torah is celebrated by dancing with the Torah Scrolls which serves to demonstrate the link between Torah and the Jewish People. Whether in book form or in the scroll the Torah is the absolute central symbol of Judaism containing our traditions, our history, and the laws by which we, as Jews, live.
Dancing with the Torah gives one an opportunity to experience a personal connection with the Torah. Torah is the link between us and our ancestors to cherish, study and dance with. The holiday of Simkhat Torah is not found in the Bible or in the Talmud. It was apparently created while our people were in exile in Babylonia thus giving Jews the opportunity to express their dedication to the Torah even thought they were not in Eretz Yisrael.
Simkhat Torah is the one festival where boys under the age of 13, (and girls, hopefully, in Reform, Reconstructionist, and some Conservative Congregations), are allowed to receive an Aliyah. Most Reform and Reconstructionist Synagogues and Havurot as well as some conservative Synagogues also permit Women to carry Torah on Simkhat Torah. Hopefully, the day will come when all Congregations become totally egalitarian.
All too many times in our history Jews were expelled from lands in which they lived. From ancient Israel to Babylonia, from Spain to Poland and the Netherlands, from Germany, Austria and Poland to America. After the first expulsion we were never a land-based people again until our arrival in America and even that took time. For the most part we had to develop professions and trades that did not depend upon land ownership for agriculture and/or real estate development even here in America. We can all remember neighborhoods in which "Jews were not wanted," areas in which "Jews did not purchase homes," hotels and resorts, clubs, fraternities and sororities closed to Jews. So while we too experienced some of what our ancestors did each time they were expelled from one land to another, the one constant we all shared was our Torah, with its beliefs, traditions, values and laws.
So while we do not yet have our own torah to take from the Ark and dance the seven cycles around our Bimah and Congregation we here tonight can still feel the joy and pride in being Jews and our connection to Torah.
AMEN