Simchat Torah and Israel
Yesterday was Simchat Torah, and we are commanded as Jews to "rejoice in the festival." Usually this holiday is filled with children and singing and dancing with the Torah, so it is easy to feel joyful. But can we feel joy this year?
750 Israelis dead and 2000 Israelis injured and the death toll is climbing.
Young and old, Israelis killed while shopping, walking, attending music festivals, or even sitting at home. The terrorists came into Israeli neighborhoods, broke down doors, dragged Israeli citizens out of their homes and took them captive. Just imagine invaders entering homes on Shaker Boulevard or Duffield Road and killing residents. Or dragging them off to be captives.
It is estimated that 14 different Israeli communities had the Hamas flag flying over them in the last 24 hours. The words to describe this holiday have been Shock, Disbelief, Fear, Pain, Anger. Where does joy fit in?
What should we do today? Should we hide our Torah Scrolls? Shall we hide the symbol of the continuity of Jewish life, the Torah, lock it in the Ark and throw away the keys? No. We will not give the enemy that much power. They do not have the power to stop us from observing our faith. And we do not want to give them that power.
Yesterday morning, on Simchat Torah, we acted as Jews. We carried the Torah around the Sanctuary seven times, because our community lives. We sang and celebrated because our community lives. We have the State of Israel because our community lives. And one of the reasons we have a Jewish State is so that we can worship in our own way. Was it different? Of course it was. We marched around not out of exuberance and joy as we usually do, but out of pride and support and solidarity. And because we live on as a people. One way to support the Jewish State is to live this holiday as Jews. As one Israeli said, "You should celebrate Simchat Torah the way we wish we could."
Elie Wiesel was born on Simchat Torah. In the concentration camp, he observed Jews wanting to observe the holiday but they had no Torah. So, in their barracks, each adult picked up a child and danced with the child around the room as though he/she were a Torah Scroll. Even under those conditions, Jews found a way to act as Jews, with dignity and with honor. We should do no less.
Simchat Torah represents renewal after tragedy. We finish the Five Books of Moses, and then begin the Torah all over again. We read about death, the death of Moses, we take a breath, and then read about the creation of the world and new life, a new beginning. Judaism doesn't engage in endings without beginnings. Things may appear hopeless, but then appear hopeful again. Death is real, but a chance for a new beginning is also real. The Jewish ability to "rejoice" as we begin again becomes the means through which tragedy can be endured.
Shortly after the end of World War II, there was a "Simchat Torah Ball", a dance and entertainment festival, for Holocaust survivors from the Displaced Persons Camp. The dance was held in the German Theater Cafe in Munich. In Germany! Close to the beer hall where Hitler began his first Nazi rally. Yiddish artists and musicians created an evening for survivors from the DP Camps to mingle. On what day? On Simchat Torah. Because after every ending there can be a beginning.
Certainly some truly disturbing and threatening days await us in the coming weeks. But we retain the power to find ways to support and honor those who have been martyred, those who have been physically and psychologically harmed, and those who need to find a way of renewal in their lives today and in the days to come.
We stand with them. We stand as Jews.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Joshua Skoff