Simchat Torah

 

Sukkot is designated in our prayers as "The Season of our Rejoicing, Zman Simchateinu." This description is based on an explicit Biblical commandment to rejoice during the festival of Sukkot. Shemini Atzeret, which is simultaneously an independent holiday as well as the eighth day of Sukkot, is likewise included under the general directive to rejoice.

 

The rejoicing of Simchat Torah-when we complete the annual cycle of reading the Five Books of Moses, and we celebrate the occasion by dancing ecstatically with the Torah-is not mentioned in the Torah. It is not even a rabbinically ordained holiday as is the holiday of Chanukah. It is rooted in Jewish custom. Yet, the joy and exhilaration that is expressed universally on Simchat Torah seems to far outpace the joy of all other Biblical Holidays including Sukkot.

 

This begs an obvious question. Why has the joy of Simchat Torah, which is only rooted in custom, assumed a more prominent role in Jewish life than the other Biblically ordained Holidays? The question is even more pronounced with regard to Sukkot, which is the only Holiday that is characterized as "The Season of our rejoicing."

 

One answer lies in the role of Jewish customs in general. While a Biblical commandment obviously takes precedence over a custom-as worthy and positive the custom may be-the joy that accompanies the observance of a valid custom surpasses that of the performance of even a Biblical commandment.

 

To understand why there is so much joy connected with a Jewish custom, a simple analogy has been offered: A parent is certainly pleased when his or her child follows an explicit request. The parent, however, will be thrilled when the child anticipates his or her desire and fulfills it even before he/she verbalizes it. When we anticipate someone else's desires and execute them joyfully it is a sign that we have a unique and loving relationship with that person. 

 

Thus, on Simchat Torah, we didn't wait for G‑d to command us to celebrate His torah and our love for it, we initiated that celebration on our own. Establishing such a Holiday without G‑d commanding us to do so, elicits an extraordinary measure of Divine pleasure, as it were. For it indicates that G‑d is close to us and is not just an Authority figure.

 

Once G‑d expresses His "pleasure" in response to our joy, we, in turn, intuitively sense G‑d's "unbounded joy," and we reciprocate by adding even more joy to our celebration. And when G‑d sees how we sensed and responded to His joy, that generates an even greater Divine reaction of joy. And the cycle continues ad infinitum.

 

This explains why we express our joy in Simchat Torah by dancing in circles, referred to as Hakafot. Just as a circuit around the Bimah has no end, so too the joy that we generated has no end, for each measure of joy that we exhibit elicits a greater level of Divine joy, which, in turn, elicits more joy from us.

 

There is a Biblical and Talmudic reference to a dance in the future Messianic Age. This dance is said to be in a circle. The circle symbolizes the infinite joy that we will experience in the Messianic Era. We can all savor a taste of that joy when we participate in the Simchat Torah dancing.

 

A Most Joyous Simchat Torah to all - Chag Sameach!