After a month of devoted prayer, adventurous hikes and meals the likes of which are fit for kings, Jews across Israel are preparing to commence celebrations Sunday evening as the festival of Simchat Torah—a component of Shemini Atzeret marking the conclusion of the annual reading of the Torah.
Millions of Jews will remove the Torah scrolls from the ark in the synagogues as they sing and dance both in their places of worship and on the streets to symbolize the eternal bond between the Jewish people and the Torah.
Simchat Torah celebrations, 2015
(צילום: רותם אליזרע)
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Simchat Torah celebrations underway last year at te scene of a terror attack in Jerusalem (Photo: Shaul Golan)
(צילום: שאול גולן)
At the height of the celebrations, the reading of the Torah will already begin afresh with the book of ‘Breishit’ (Genesis). During the festivities, hundreds of synagogues around the world will participate in the ‘Hakafot’—the traditional circular dancing with the scrolls.
The weather is expected to remain pleasant, with temperatures allowing for the traditional outdoor dancing. With the passing of Simchat Torah also comes the beginning of the spring season and millions of Jews around the world will begin reciting the prayer for rain inserting into their daily prayers praise for God, “who returns the wind and makes the rain fall.”