‘Simhat Torah’ Category

Simhat Torah

October 9, 2020
By Beth Mordecai
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Torah is the Best Treasure

“Children, we have now Simches torah It's Simches torah all over the world Torah is the best treasure – At least that's what the rabbi says.” This verse, from a song entitled “Simches Toyre”, is a key to understanding just how joyous our final holiday of the season is.It is not simply an expression of our happiness that we get to begin the Torah from the beginning once again. Nor is it the release from a month of holidays, and eating, and praying, and eating that can cause some kind of ‘Jewish fatigue’ even amongst the most dedicated and committed among us. No. Simchat Torah is our opportunity, as a sacred community, to give honor to the core of our identity as a synagogue[...]

Category : home Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Simhat Torah

Simhat Torah

October 5, 2018
By Beth Mordecai
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Torah Portion: Let God’s Light In

This week we celebrated Simchat Torah together.  We enjoyed dancing and celebrating together. Jeremy Strauss finished our reading of the Torah and the book of Deuteronomy. Marc Fertik began reading from the beginning of Genesis.   Our Torah begins with God creating the world.  What existed before God’s creating was an unformed mass, it wasn’t nothingness, it was everything. Everything in this world was mixed together in a chaotic state.  The Hebrew term for this chaos is תהו ובהו or “tohu v’vohu.”    In our lives we too experience this kind of mixed up chaos, our own “tohu v’vohu.” So often when we find ourselves at the beginning of a big project, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. [...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Simhat Torah Torah Teachings

Simhat Torah

September 27, 2018
By Beth Mordecai
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Torah Portion for Sukkot: The End of the book of Exodus

This Shabbat, the Torah portion that is read is from the end of the book of Exodus. We read this portion to correspond with the holiday of Sukkot instead of the next portion chronologically in the Torah, V'Zot Ha'Brachah which is read on Simchat Torah.  I would like to share my thoughts on this final Torah portion.   Deuteronomy 33:4 states:   “תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהילת יעקב” Torah tzivah lanu moshe, morashah kehilat yaakov. The Torah was commanded to us by Moses, it is an inheritance of the community of Jacob. This verse can be separated into two parts. First, we have where the Torah came from.  The Torah was commanded to us by Moses, and ultimately by God.  Second, we have the statement[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Simhat Torah Sukkot Torah Teachings

Simhat Torah

October 1, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 458: Numbers, Holidays, and Crafting a Special Sauce

Dear Hevreh, On Kol Nidre, I challenged our community to build something special that will last. Yet if we are truly going to build something special then throughout this process we must identify the ingredients that will go into our "special sauce." Identifying these ingredients will require opportunities for us to come together on an individual and communal basis to share our Jewish passions with one another, which means that one of the key indicators for knowing that we are on our way to crafting our special sauce is how successful we are at coming together and showing up at schul. Enter Exhibit A...Holiday attendance. I'm not talking about the High Holidays, but rather the joyous holidays of Sukkot, Sh'mini Atzeret, and Simhat[...]

Category : Rabbi's Journal Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah Sukkot Yom Kippur
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Simhat Torah

September 25, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 452: 5 Reasons to Love Torah

Dear Hevreh, 5 Reasons I love Torah....       #1 -- Every time I look at a piece of Torah, I find something new I never found before      #2 -- Just looking at the letters as they drip with tradition and Godliness is a spiritual experience      #3 -- Who knew that dancing with a scroll could be so much fun?      #4 -- It grounds me, and reminds me to serve a higher purpose greater than myself      #5 -- Recognizing that Torah does not only live in a book; it lives in our hearts, as our own Unique Torah   What are some of the reasons YOU love Torah? What are some of the ways that Torah lives in YOUR heart?    Come join us to explore those questions, and to have a fun[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Simhat Torah
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Simhat Torah

September 24, 2013
By bethmordecai
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DAY 451: Hakafot, Yizkor, and Anxiety

Dear Hevreh, As I sit at my desk trying to think about how to describe our upcoming celebrations of the holidays of Sh'mini Atzeret and Simhat Torah, I'm struck by a particular thought. Judaism is a religion that thrives on anxiety. Now bear with me, for a moment -- we just celebrated the High Holidays which is a period of serious reflection as we consider the aspects of our character that we'd like to work on for the following year. Yet Rosh Hashanah is supposed to be a joyous holiday, and Yom Kippur is considered to be a Shabbat Shabbaton, the greatest of all Sabbaths, and no one would mistake Shabbat for a sad occassion. The juxtaposition of the solemnity[...]

Category : Holidays Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Rosh Hashanah Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah Yom Kippur
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Simhat Torah

September 23, 2013
By bethmordecai
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Rabbi’s Tisch: Dancing, Torah, Stories, & Vodka

Thursday Night, 6:30 pm -- 7:30 pm Celebrate the joy of Torah with a rousing night of dancing, storytelling, torah learning, and drinking.

It will be sure to leave you smiling.

Category : Events Holidays Simhat Torah

Simhat Torah


By bethmordecai
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Yizkor & Hakafot

Thursday, September 26, 9:30 am Celebrate the holiday of Sh'mini Atzeret as we pray for rain, remember our loved ones with Yizkor, and dance with the Torah to celebrate Simhat Torah!

Category : Holidays Services Sh'mini Atzeret Simhat Torah

Simhat Torah

September 12, 2013
By bethmordecai
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Emphasizing the First Day; Reimagining the Second Day — A plan for our synagogue observance of the Jewish Holidays (High Holidays 5774)

Rabbi Ari Saks Congregation Beth Mordecai High Holidays Bulletin Article, 5774 Last Friday, for the second day of Rosh Hashanah, we had a special and unique High Holiday experience that was not the normal, traditional service. The order of the service was different, there was no Torah service, and we had opportunities for discussion and some dancing, in addition to some other innovative methods used to enhance our Rosh Hashanah experience. Overall, the feedback has been that it was a fun and meaningful service. Yet the service would never have been possible if it were not for a combination of a unique quirk of the Jewish calendar and the unique customs in which we observe our holidays. The unique quirk of the Jewish calendar is the existence[...]

Category : Bulletin Articles Passover Rabbi Rosh Hashanah Sh'mini Atzeret Shavuot Simhat Torah Sukkot Yom Kippur
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