|
|
Oct. 13, 2006
The joy of the Torah
Festival culminates in seven dancing circles.
DVORA WAYSMAN
Turn the Torah again and again, for everything is in it. Reflect
on it and grow with it, for nothing is better than it." (Pirkei
Avot 5:22)
Sukkot, a seven-day holiday, was always followed by an eighth day,
called Shemini Atzeret (Solemn Assembly). Initially, it was
just a closing day on which we prayed for rain. Then the Babylonian
rabbis added a Torah reading cycle to the agricultural one –
54 parashot (portions), beginning with Creation and finishing
the year with the death of Moses. This holiday became Simchat Torah,
the Joy of the Torah.
All the scrolls are removed from the ark and there is a joyful procession
with them around the synagogue. Where I live, in Jerusalem's Beit
Hakerem neighborhood, at a certain time all the local synagogues
meet in a square called Kikar Denya and the dancing continues with
passers-by (even secular ones) invited to join the merriment.
The circling of the synagogue with the sifrei Torah is called hakafot,
and it is necessary to make seven such circles. There is no record
of Simchat Torah before the 11th century CE, and the origin seems
to have been in Western Europe. It is a mystical imitation of a
wedding, symbolizing the marriage of Israel to the Law. It even
has a Bridegroom of the Law (Chatan Torah) and a Bridegroom
of the First Portion (Chatan Bereishit). They hold the sacred
scrolls in their arms until they are summoned to read their portions.
The processions with the scrolls resembles the wedding custom of
walking seven times around the bridal couple to form a closed circle
(possibly to prevent the assault of evil spirits).
A special feature of the service is calling all children under 13
years to the reading of the Law. The final verses are read while
the children stand under a large prayer shawl (tallit) spread
above them like a canopy. The children are blessed with the words
Jacob used to bless Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:16): "The
angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless these children."
The prayer for rain in Israel is an important part of the Simchat
Torah liturgy.
Tishrei, the seventh month, is linked to the start of Israel's winter
rains, and crops will fail without it. We plead for rain in the
merit of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Aaron and the 12 tribes:
"For a blessing and not a curse; for life and not for death;
for plenty and not for famine."
The Mishnah tells us that "the world is judged through water."
Jews believe in one G-d who controls all the forces of nature, the
fate of all crops and the destiny of all nations. With tefillat
geshem, we pray for good winter rains to ensure fertility in
Israel's agricultural lands.
Dvora Waysman is an Australian-born journalist living
in Jerusalem. She is the author of nine books, including Woman
of Jerusalem, Esther and The Pomegranate Pendant.
^TOP
|
|
