Rejoicing in the Torah: The Making of Simchat Torah - 10/9/2025

Simchat Torah — “Rejoicing in the Torah” — may feel ancient, but it’s actually a relatively new holiday in Jewish history. It doesn’t appear in the Torah or the Talmud. Instead, it emerged gradually, out of joy, ritual creativity, and the evolving rhythm of Jewish life.

In biblical times, the festival that closed the long harvest season was Shemini Atzeret — literally, “the Eighth Day of Assembly.” It is first mentioned in the book of Leviticus (23:36), where the Israelites are instructed: “On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn gathering for yourselves; it shall be a sacred occasion.” Over the centuries, Jews began marking that day not only as a closing to Sukkot, but as a celebration of the completion of the Torah-reading cycle.

The first written mention of this practice appears in the Machzor Vitry, an early 12th-century French prayer compendium associated with Rashi’s students. It records that on Shemini Atzeret, congregations took out all the Torah scrolls, read the end of Deuteronomy, and immediately began Genesis again.

By the early 14th century, the customs of Simchat Torah had become widespread enough to be codified in Jewish law. The Tur (Orach Chayim 669:1) — part of Arba Turim, written by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher — describes reading V’Zot HaBerachah (the last portion in the Torah) from one scroll, Bereishit (the first portion) from another, and calling this day Simchat Torah because the annual reading was completed. The Tur also preserves the beloved midrashic reason for immediately beginning again, so that the Satan will not say the Jewish people have finished with the Torah. It even mentions local songs, poems, and the custom of removing all the scrolls from the ark in celebration — a vivid picture of joy already familiar to us today.

A few decades later, the name Simchat Torah appears again in the 14th-century Sefer Abudraham (Spain), confirming that the festival was now fully recognized across the Jewish world as a distinct day of rejoicing in Torah.

Our dancing, too, has ancient roots. The joyful hakafot — circling the sanctuary with Torah scrolls — were inspired by the hoshanot processions of Sukkot, when worshippers walk with the lulav and etrog in hand. Over time, the movement of circling and rejoicing expanded from the harvest ritual to include the Torah itself, adding a new layer of celebration to the season’s close.

As we gather again for Simchat Torah, we step into that same rhythm of renewal — linking ourselves to generations who have danced with the scrolls, lifted their voices, and found joy in beginning again. Join us Monday night as we sing and dance with our Torahs, marking this season’s close and the start of another year of learning, reflection, and joy in Torah.

-Rabbi Hannah Wallick