Simchas Torah
Simchas Torah is a day that celebrates ends and beginnings.
As soon as we finish one cycle of the Torah we begin a new cycle.
Beginnings and Endings are an important theme in Judaism.
The week begins afresh and culminates on Shabbat.
The same can be said of the Sabbatical cycles.
The beauty of Judaism is that it creates structure to our lives which otherwise could descend into a seamless flow of days. Structure imbues meaning and depth.
Some people have a hard time starting things, projects, work and so on.
Others have difficulty finishing things.
But if we don’t start something we will get nowhere and if we don’t finish we will not have achieved!
On Simchat Torah how many of us can truly say we completed the cycle of the Torah.
The truth is that none of us can as the spiritual wisdom of the Torah is of infinite depth and therefore in essence unfinishable. But the structure of start and end is extremely important as it reinvigorates us to reconnect to the Torahs wisdom.
Torah could be compared to an onion except with infinite layers.
Torah to the Jew is more than just wisdom. “It is our very lives and the length of our days”- Shacharit blessing before Shemah.
On Simchat Torah more than any other festival we express our love of the Torah to the greatest extent possible.
We acknowledge that it is through this great Godly gift that we have survived through millenia.
I look forward to dancing and singing together with the community once again as we reach that end and start over all again!
Shabbat Shalom & Chag Sameach
When Samuel Pepys attended a Simchat Torah service on Wednesday, 14 October 1663 at Bevis Marks shul, he was astounded by the noise, laughter and what was, for him, unseemly behaviour. This is a classic example of the difference between the “in group” and the “out group”. Pepys had little understanding of the importance of Torah to Jews and the unquenchable joy in praising G-d for this gift, and with it our huge responsibility to further the presence of Hashem in the world.