This coming Simchat Torah marks the first one-year anniversary (on the Hebrew calendar) of the worst bloody massacre of Jews since the dark days of the Holocaust.
It is so difficult to fathom that we are approaching a full year since that October 7th Simchat Torah – a day of infamy, unimaginable tragedy, sadness, and hopelessness for Israel and for our global Jewish community.
On Simchat Torah 2024, I was with family in New York. Upon hearing the trickling of news filteringing into the shul, I vividly recall over-hearing several congregants asking the Rabbi whether we should dance with the Torah as we would normally do on Simchat Torah. He turned to them with with tears welling up in his eyes and said ” yes, we must… maybe a bit toned-down dancing, but we must”. He then turned to the entire congregation and said, “we cannot and must not let them win.”
Those powerful words – “we cannot and must not let them win” – remains embedded in my heart to this very day.
Not knowing the full extent of what was unfolding in Israel on that Simchat Torah day left us in a state of paralysis and shock. It numbed our senses as if we were in suspended animation. A strange and eerie feeling indeed.
Each one of us took turns dancing with the Torah because it was Simchat Torah; but our thoughts, minds and hearts were 5,500 miles away from Acheinu in Israel.
It was obviously a Simchat Torah like no other.
By the time it was time to recite mincha, that afternoon, news began to filter in; and, by that evening, immediately after the Chag, we all began to hear the horrific details of what had occurred at that time and still unfolding in Israel.
The dramatic and profound words of the Rabbi that day in Shul, continue to ring in my ears. In fact, when I am called on countless occasions to either remove the Torah from the aron, carry it or lift it, I feel a deep sense of pride and closeness to HaShem. Yet, I am always mindful of the way we felt on that Simchat Torah 2023, October 7th.
For centuries and generations, we have carried the Torah scrolls metaphorically and physically with honor, respect and reverence. Yet we still feel a sense of uncertainty and insecurity regarding our destiny.
I think about the wars Israel fought with Torah scrolls in hand, the unlimited brachot we recite when called to the Torah; the manner in which we dance and respect the sanctity of the Torah and the countless number of generations who never had the opportunity to hold or read from the Torah – whether they were confined to concentration camps, hiding in the black forests of Europe during the Shoa or escaping the pogroms in Europe.
In addition to the physicality of the Torah, we are truly blessed with its contents and our ability and privilege to read from it with ease and beauty. It represents who we are as a nation and as a people …..created B’zelem Elokim – in the image of HaShem and as an Am Kadosh – a holy nation.
On this coming Simchat Torah, we will once again dance with our Torahs. But, as we well know, the singing and dancing will never ever be the same as prior to October 7th 2023. It will be tinged with a bit of sad reflection and daunting memory.
We have lost way too many lives, we have sacrificed way too much, and we have paid a very heavy and difficily price defending and protecting eretz yisrael, medinat yisrael and am yisrael.
The profound lessons of October 7th – Simchat Torah 2023 were overwhelming. But, the one lesson that remains in my heart and soul forever is that we must never ever give up hope. We must continue to have bitachon and emunah in HaShem that we will continue to grow and become victorious over our enemies.
We must continue to dance….. even as we cry.
With warm wishes for a Chag Sameach and Moadim L’simcha
B’sorot Tovot
