How should we celebrate Simchat Torah this year?

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I recently visited a synagogue in Israel whose community asked me for my thoughts about how we should celebrate Simchat Torah this year. Here is what I said:

Simchat Torah is rabbinic festival that was established during the Middle Ages to celebrate the completion of the annual cycle of Torah reading, and perhaps the most visible of the various Simchat Torah customs is dancing together, and in particular, dancing with Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls).

When it comes to dancing on Simchat Torah, this is generally done inside synagogues. However, especially in Israel, it is commonplace for the Simchat Torah dancing to spill over from the synagogues into the streets, and when this happens, passersby are often encouraged to join in.

Most years when this occurs, such passersby look towards public Simchat Torah dancing with a mix of genuine curiosity and a deep sense of pride. This is because such dancing affirms that we live in a country where it is perfectly normal to dance with Torah scrolls in the street as part of our Simchat Torah celebrations.

But as we all know, there was nothing perfect and nothing normal about last Simchat Torah when Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 men, women and children in the most brutal and gruesome of ways. When they raped women in fields and in their homes – often with their children looking on. And when 251 men, women and children were taken hostage with many subsequently being murdered in cold blood.

And of course, we must not forget that the nightmare of last Simchat Torah is not over. There are still 101 hostages being held by Hamas. There are still soldiers fighting to defend our borders. There are still rocket attacks taking place against Israel. And there are still around 130,000 Israeli citizens who, as a result of the events that occurred on Simchat Torah, are still not living in their own homes.

This then brings us to the question: how should we celebrate Simchat Torah this year?

To answer, I would like to refer to the biblical story which many associate with Simchat Torah – namely, the story of Shlomo HaMelech’s (King Solomon’s) request for wisdom, as recorded in Chapter 3 of Melachim I (Kings I):

‘In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” And Solomon said… Give Your servant therefore a listening heart (lev shome’a) to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil…And the matter pleased God that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing, and you did not ask for long life for yourself, and you did not ask for riches for yourself, and you did not ask for the life of your enemies; but you have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice; behold, I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart (lev chacham v’navon); such that there has been none like you before you, and after you none shall arise like you. And I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honour, such that there has not been any among the kings like you all your days. And if you will walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”  And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. He came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and he offered up burnt-offerings and offered peace-offerings and made a feast for all his servants’ (Melachim I/Kings I 3:5-15).

Having been appointed king of Israel, young Shlomo asks God for a listening heart (lev shome’a) so he is able to make wise judgements and know the difference between good and bad. God fulfils Shlomo’s request, and as an expression of thanksgiving Shlomo brings burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Temple.

But what does it mean to have a listening heart (lev shome’a)?

Here I’d like to refer to the Yalkut Shimoni which explains that a ‘listening heart’ means that: ‘The heart sees. The heart listens. The heart speaks. The heart knows. The heart stands. The heart falls. The heart goes forth. The heart cries out. The heart rejoices. The heart becomes comforted.’

When I first saw this insight I read it again, and again, because I was so moved by its wisdom, its beauty and its elegance. Yes, a heart that listens also sees, it speaks, it knows, it stands, it falls, it goes forth, it cries out, it rejoices, and it can be comforted.

So far we have spoken about Shlomo HaMelech. What is the connection between this passage, his request, and Simchat Torah?

The answer to this question is found in the Beit Yosef commentary of the 16^th century Rabbi Yosef Karo who writes (see Orach Chaim 669): ‘It is customary in Germany (Ashkenaz) that the one who ends and begins [the reading of the Torah] vows to make [charitable] donations and read [the Torah] for all their friends, and they make a feast and festive celebration on the occasion of the completion of the Torah. And it is written in the Haghot Ashiri, quoting the Or Zarua, that “I found that the source of this custom is mentioned in the beginning of Midrash Shir HaShirim/Song of Songs which references Melachim I/Kings I Ch. 3 which states: ‘He came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and he offered up burnt-offerings and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast for all his servants’, to which the Midrash then adds: ‘Said Rabbi Yitzchak: From here we learn that we make a feast on the occasion of the completion of the [reading of the] Torah.’”’

What this teaches us is that the original custom of Simchat Torah celebrations was to arrange a festive meal, in the same spirit as Shlomo HaMelech brought burnt-offerings and peace-offerings having been given a ‘listening heart’ (lev shome’a).

Significantly, Rabbi Moshe Isserles (in his gloss to Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 669) adds further details, stating that: ‘It is customary in these countries to take all of the Torah scrolls out of the Aron (Ark) on Simchat Torah at night and in the morning and to sing songs and praises. Every place should follow its customs. It is also the custom to circle the synagogue’s Bimah with the Torah scrolls just like we circle [the Bimah] with the lulav [on Sukkot]. This is all done out of joy.’

Taken together, the biblical source for celebrating the completion of the Torah on Simchat Torah is Shlomo HaMelech’s celebration having been gifted a lev shome’a (listening heart) by God, with the core Simchat Torah celebration being a festive meal. Additionally, while some communities do take out the Sifrei Torah on Simchat Torah, and while they do sing and dance around them, Rabbi Isserles is clear that this should be done around the Bimah inside the synagogue.

In light of the above, and having listened closely to the pained voices of the hostage families along with the thousands of others whose loved ones were murdered last Simchat Torah, my feeling is that our duty this Simchat Torah is to emphasise the value of having a lev shome’a – a listening heart, and to be cognizant of those whose broken hearts see, know, and continue to cry out. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if someone wishes to dance this Simchat Torah who does not have a lev shome’a to hear the cries of the hostage families and the pain of the families of those whose loved ones were murdered last Simchat Torah, then they do not understand the true purpose of Simchat Torah and what it means to be a Jew.

Perhaps this sounds harsh. However, we are taught in the Talmud (Yevamot 79a) that, ‘There are three distinguishing characteristics of the Jewish People: They are merciful (rachmanim), they are bashful (baishanim), and they perform loving-kindness (gomlei-chasadim)’, and I would argue that someone who overlooks the anguish and pain of a Jewish nation that continues to ache, who ignores the feelings of the hostage families who continue to fear for the lives of their loved ones, and who do not pay sufficient attention to the heartache of the friends and families of the 1,200 men, women and children who were brutally murdered and whose first yarzheit is this Simchat Torah demonstrates a profound lacking of ‘rachmanut’ (mercy) and ‘chessed’ (kindness).

Still, to be clear, I have not said that one should not dance. In fact, I should add how I was profoundly moved when I heard Rabbi Doron Perez describe what he expects his Simchat Torah to be like – dancing with a Torah scroll adorned with the name of his beloved son Daniel hy’d with tears in his eyes. Instead, what I have called for is greater sensitivity and for us to ensure that our heart hears the cries of those in pain.

Given all this, and knowing that there will be some who will feel tremendously pained by seeing people dancing in the streets this Simchat Torah, I believe that communities should avoid public (street) dancing on Simchat Torah and should limit themselves so that dancing stays within the synagogue and around the Bimah.

At the same time, there will be many for whom dancing will be emotionally and spiritually cathartic and who will wish to dance with tears in their eyes. This is a powerful need, and I believe that rabbinic leaders should make this point clear.

And there may be those who wish to celebrate Simchat Torah but don’t want to dance. This response is absolutely legitimate, and if someone wishes to mark Simchat Torah but doesn’t wish to dance, they are encouraged to have a festive meal which, as we saw both in the statements of Rabbi Karo and Rabbi Isserles, goes back to the roots of Simchat Torah.

We continue to pray, with all our heart, for the return of the hostages and for safety and security in our land, and we look hopefully towards a time when God will wipe away the tears from our faces (see Yeshaya/Isaiah 25:8), when we can then come together in joy and celebrate together as one.