Let's Dance

The story is told of a diligent student who approached his rabbi and proudly informs him that he has completed a yearlong study of the entire Torah. "I don't doubt that you have studied the Torah," says the rabbi, "but I am more interested in knowing what your Torah study has taught you."

We now stand at the finish-line and climax of the Jewish month called Tishrei, the power-packed month saturated with holidays and festivals. And this Friday evening will be the ‘finale’ when we celebrate the holiday of “Simchat Torah” - the festival of song, dance, joy and spirit. On this day we complete an entire cycle of Torah reading and begin a new cycle with renewed energy.

But what is all the excitement about and why all the dancing? Aside from being just another Jewish excuse to party, what does it all mean?

Throughout the High Holidays we focused upon rising above and transcending our physical and corporal existence. On Rosh Hashana we submissively accepted G‑d’s sovereignty and on Yom Kippur we fasted and abstained from even the slightest form of physical indulgence. All in all, we spent our High Holidays in synagogue continuously climbing a spiritual ladder of prayer and supplication.

Now, as we get ready to ‘land’, as we prepare to begin the annual cycle of life anew, we try to digest, incorporate, and integrate this energy and potency of the High Holidays within our mundane and day-to-day existence.

But how? How can we fully digest this blaze of High Holiday inspiration?

This is what the Simchat Torah dance is all about. We are so filled with emotion and spirit that we simply cannot adequately express our sensation in words, or thoughts. Our normal state of being can simply not contain or digest the holiness and energy of this month. In fact, nothing we can do or say will fully integrate and imbue the month of Tishrei within our psyche. So we dance!  We exude vitality and energy.

Let us hope and pray that through our singing and dancing this Simchat Torah we truly integrate the holiness of the High Holidays within every fiber of our being. In this way we will, no doubt, be blessed with a meaningful and joyous new year.

Let’s Dance - Shabbat Shalom & Chag Sameach,

 

Rabbi Raleigh Resnick