Now to the control room for a debriefing. That's when you get called up to the Torah and we read from its final verses. Then, for instructions on your upcoming mission, we begin reading the Torah again from "In the beginning"—to remind you that whatever you see out there, all of it extends from a single oneness called G‑d.
Hakafot
The Five Books of Moses are divided into 53 portions, called parshas. Each week, we read one parsha, completing the entire scroll every year. The cycle begins on the last Shabbat of the month of Tishrei and ends on Simchat Torah.
Go find another people that dance with a book...To celebrate, on the night of Simchat Torah, we take out all the Torah scrolls from their ark, parade with them around the reading table seven times—and dance and sing with them. The next morning, we call everyone for a turn at as we conclude the Torah reading. Then we sing and dance with the Torah again.
Go find another people that dances with a book. But for Jewish people, Torah is not just a book to study, it is life. For over 3300 years, we have held tight to it, despite all odds, and it has kept us in existence. On Simchat Torah, they say, the Torah itself wants to rejoice—and we provide the legs.
Click here for more about Simchat Torah.
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