Simchat Torah: Dancing with the Book

Simchat Torah: Dancing with the Book

@Tami Lancut Leibovitz

Wherever in the world I teach manners, I return to the same insight: etiquette is not a set of dry rules, it is a language. When we know another person's customs, their holidays and what they hold sacred, we can meet them as equals. Respecting a custom means respecting a person.

That is true in Tokyo and in Paris, and it is just as true closer to home. Many people know Simchat Torah only from the outside: dancing, flags and candy. Behind the noise is a holiday with its own history, meaning and code of conduct. Understanding it helps us move through Jewish culture with confidence and respect, whether we grew up inside it or are visiting as guests.

As someone who works in personal image, I always say: it is never wrong to start again. Not only at New Year, but whenever we realize we can do better. Simchat Torah, "Rejoicing in the Torah," is exactly that holiday. It is the only day in the Jewish calendar when we finish something and begin it again in the same breath: we read the final verse of Deuteronomy, and immediately afterwards, "In the beginning God created."

It has no source in the Bible, no commandment and no traditional dish. Yet it is one of the most joyful and moving days of the Jewish year. At its center stands a book: people dance with it, hold it close and pass it from hand to hand. In the last three years, the holiday has also taken on a heavier meaning in Israel. This article follows how it was born, how it evolved and how it has changed, up to today.

A holiday born of a holiday

The Bible knows only Shemini Atzeret, the "Eighth Day of Assembly": a festival that falls right after the seven days of Sukkot, on the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (Leviticus 23, Numbers 29). It has no sukkah and no four species, and its meaning remained elusive. The ancient sages described it as a moment of intimacy: after a crowded festival, God asks Israel to stay one more day, just the two of them.

The name "Simchat Torah" appears neither in the Bible nor in the Talmud. The Talmud only rules that on the second day of Shemini Atzeret, observed outside the Land of Israel, the congregation reads "Vezot Haberacha," the final portion of the Torah. From that custom, not from any commandment, a whole holiday slowly grew.

By the Middle Ages the day was already known by its new name, and customs of celebration had gathered around it. Without any formal declaration, Jewish communities created a holiday of their own.

One year, one book

The holiday exists only because the entire Torah, the Five Books of Moses, is read aloud in synagogue over a single year. That was not always a given. In the Land of Israel during the Talmudic period, communities completed the reading in roughly three and a half years, while in Babylonia the whole Torah was read in one year.

The Babylonian custom prevailed and was adopted by all communities. Twelfth-century accounts still describe congregations in Egypt holding on to the longer cycle, but it later disappeared almost entirely. With the annual cycle came a fixed moment to celebrate its completion.

The custom of starting Genesis immediately after finishing Deuteronomy was added later. The traditional explanation is simple and beautiful: so that it never looks as though we have finished the Torah and can now set it aside. There is no pause between the end and the beginning.

Seven circuits

The heart of the holiday is the hakafot, the "circuits." All the Torah scrolls are taken out of the Ark and carried around the central reading platform seven times, with singing and dancing. The custom took shape and spread under the influence of the Kabbalists of Safed in the 16th century, and from there it reached almost every Jewish community in the world.

In each circuit the scrolls pass from hand to hand, so that as many people as possible can dance with one. Between circuits the congregation sings traditional hymns, and in many synagogues candy is tossed to the children. In Sephardi and Middle Eastern communities the circuits are often accompanied by traditional liturgical poems and cries of joy; in Hasidic communities the dancing can go on for hours.

Three special honors shape the morning service:

Chatan Torah ("Bridegroom of the Torah") is called up for the final reading, which completes Deuteronomy.

Chatan Bereshit ("Bridegroom of Genesis") is called up immediately afterwards and opens the book again.

Kol Hane'arim ("All the Children"): every child, even the very youngest, is called up together under one outstretched prayer shawl, and receives the blessing "May the angel who redeems."

The word "bridegroom" is no accident. The bond with the Torah is described as a marriage, and the whole holiday often looks like a wedding: a canopy, dancing and the joy of an entire community.

One day or two

In Israel, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah fall on the same day, the 22nd of Tishrei. Outside Israel, where an extra day is added to biblical festivals, the holiday splits in two: Shemini Atzeret on the first day, and Simchat Torah the next, on the 23rd of Tishrei.

That gap gave rise to a distinctly Israeli custom: second hakafot. On the evening after the holiday ends in Israel, while Jews abroad are still celebrating, many Israeli towns dance with the Torah scrolls again, this time in streets and public squares, sometimes with a live band. It is seen as a gesture of solidarity with Jews around the world, and over the years it has become an open civic celebration.

This year (5787), the holiday falls on Saturday, October 3, 2026 in Israel, so the second hakafot take place on Saturday night. In the Diaspora, Simchat Torah begins that same evening and continues through Sunday, October 4.

Joy as a statement

In the 1960s and 1970s, Simchat Torah became a symbol of Jewish awakening in the Soviet Union. It was this holiday, rather than Yom Kippur or Passover, that drew thousands of young Jews into the street outside Moscow's Great Synagogue.

Most of them could not pray and did not know the customs. They came to sing and dance, and in doing so declared openly, in full view of the authorities, that they were Jews. Elie Wiesel described these scenes in his book The Jews of Silence, and they became part of the story of the struggle for their freedom to emigrate.

That moment reveals something deep about the holiday. Simchat Torah requires no knowledge and no learning. Someone who cannot read the book can still dance with it, and sometimes that is the strongest bond of all.

Joy that carries memory

On October 7, 2023, which was Simchat Torah in Israel, Hamas launched its attack on the communities near the Gaza border and on the Nova music festival. Around 1,200 people were murdered and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza. In many synagogues the hakafot stopped midway as the news began to arrive.

Since then, the holiday has also been tied to that disaster in Israeli consciousness. Many Israelis refer to the day simply as "Simchat Torah," and the words now carry a different weight. Communities have wrestled with whether and how to dance: some added a circuit in memory of those murdered or for the hostages, some chose quieter melodies, and many did both on the same evening.

Remarkably, the tradition itself offers a model for this. Over the generations the holiday was celebrated in ghettos, in camps and in times of persecution, and its joy never depended on everything being well. It is a decision to return to the beginning, even when the ending hurts.

Hakafot etiquette

Simchat Torah is a holiday of exuberance, but even exuberance has its etiquette. A few simple guidelines keep the joy shared by everyone:

Respect the scroll. A Torah scroll is carried with both arms, held close to the body, even at the height of the dancing. If you are getting tired, pass it on gently, not in the middle of a turn.

Offer, don't grab. The honor of carrying a scroll moves from hand to hand. It is gracious to approach a guest, an older person or someone standing on the side and offer it to them, rather than waiting for it to reach you.

Room for everyone. An open circle invites people in; a tight, closed circle keeps them out. Leave space for those who want to join or step away.

Children. Candy is tossed gently, never toward faces. Little ones on shoulders, yes, but not inside a crowded circle.

Sensitivity to others. This year especially, the person next to you may find this day painful. Not everyone who is standing still needs to be pulled into the dance.

Guests in an unfamiliar community. Every congregation has its own customs. Watch for a few minutes before joining in, and quietly ask the gabbai, the synagogue's coordinator, if something is unclear.

How to greet

The most common greeting, on the eve of the holiday and on the day itself, is simply "Chag Sameach" ("Happy holiday"). It suits everyone and every setting: in synagogue, in a message to friends or in a card to a colleague. In English, "Happy Simchat Torah" is perfectly fine too.

For a more traditional touch, say "Moadim Lesimcha" ("Festivals for joy"), a greeting especially common in Sephardi and Middle Eastern communities. The customary reply is "Chagim Uzmanim Lesasson" ("Holidays and seasons for gladness"). In Ashkenazi communities you will still hear the Yiddish "Gut Yontif" ("Good holiday").

Some greetings belong to specific moments:

When Deuteronomy is completed, the whole congregation calls out together "Chazak Chazak Venitchazek" ("Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen one another"), as at the end of each of the Five Books.

To someone who has been called up to the Torah, say "Yasher Koach" (roughly "well done") or "Chazak U'varuch."

To the Chatan Torah and Chatan Bereshit, say "Mazal Tov," as you would to a real bridegroom. Many families also mark the honor with a small reception or kiddush.

This year the holiday falls on the Sabbath in Israel, so the greetings can be combined: "Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach." At the second hakafot on Saturday night, "Shavua Tov" ("Have a good week") fits alongside "Chag Sameach."

A word on sensitivity: in a home that is in mourning, or in families for whom this day carries painful memory, "Chag Sameach" is not always the right word. Listen to your hosts' tone and follow their lead. Sometimes a hug, "We're thinking of you," or a quiet holiday wish says more than any formula.

Back to the beginning

At the end of Deuteronomy, Moses dies without entering the land he led his people toward for forty years. It is a sad ending, and yet this is the passage we dance to. Immediately after it comes the creation of the world once more: light, and a new beginning.

Perhaps that is the secret of the holiday: not joy that everything is complete, but joy that we can begin again. Every year it is the same book, and every year we read it as slightly different people, after a year that has left its mark. Simchat Torah invites us to pause for a moment, embrace what has passed, and open the first page once more.

"Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach"

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