DUALITIES OF JUDAISM
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah in a Nutshell: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Rabbi Sacks Legacy — SHEMINI ATZERET is a strange day in the Jewish calendar. It is described as the eighth day, and thus part of Succot, but it is also designated by a name of its own, Atzeret. Is it, or is it not, a separate festival in its own right? It seems to be both. How are we to understand this?
The Mystical Ritual of Hoshana Rabbah: Summoning God: Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber, TheTorah.com, Sept. 23, 2023 — The final day of Sukkot, known as Hoshana Rabbah, has one of the strangest and most remarkable prayer services.
LISTEN: Podcast: Elliott Abrams on Whether American Jewry Can Restore Its Sense of Peoplehood: Mosaic Magazine, Oct. 11, 2024 — That the Jews have survived is one of the great mysteries of history, and for some theologians, Jewish survival is even an indication of God’s providence. The stronger the force against the Jews, the more miraculous their resilience and endurance.
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How Israeli Jews Face the Simhat Torah Holiday, Forever Marred by Oct. 7 Massacre: Matti Wagner, Times of Israel, Oct. 23, 2024
Finding joy in Simchat Torah Amid Israel’s Struggles Post-October 7 – Opinion: Doron Kornbluth, Jerusalem Post, Oct. 22, 2024
In the Beginning There Is the Question: Prof. James A. Diamond, The Torah.com, Oct. 21, 2016Top of Form
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How Did Simchat Torah Get So Popular?: Shlomo M. Brody, Tablet, Oct. 15, 2014
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For Further Reference:
How Can We Be Happy on This Simchat Torah?: Rabbi Norman Lamm, Shemini Atzeret In the Wake of the Yom Kippur War, YU Edu, Oct. 18, 1973 — Earlier this week, a number of people called me to express their very deeply held feelings
Simchas Torah One Year Later: A Day of Death, an Opportunity for Rebirth: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, Oct. 21, 2024 — Simchas Torah, October 7, will forever be etched in our hearts and minds as the day of the greatest massacre of our people since the Holocaust.
It Was October 7, But It Will Always Be Shmini Atzeret: Robert Lichtman, Times of Israel, Sept. 20, 2024 — This is what we will do as communities, federations, congregations, Hillels, JCCs, day schools, and clusters of close-knit friends.
Simchat Torah 2024: We Will Dance Once More: Yaakov Hagoel, Algemeiner, Oct. 22, 2024 — A full year has passed since Simchat Torah on October 7, 2023. A full year has passed since the attempted genocide of our people.
The Mystery* of Simhat Torah 1663, at the First Synagogue in England in 350 Years: Philologos, Mosaic Magazine, Sept. 20, 2018 — One of the most famous foundational stories in the narrative of Anglo-Jewry,” it was called by Tablet several years ago.