ב"ה
Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah
By the Numbers
Your Questions
Why Circle 7 (or 3) Times on Simchat Torah?
The earliest known source for specifically going around seven times is Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Arizal (1534-1572). But he provides no source.
The earliest known source for specifically going around seven times is Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Arizal (1534-1572). But he provides no source.
A New Beginning
All my life, I was made to feel different, and if I didn’t play by the rules then I wasn’t a “good,” serious Jew. Is that how I want my son and daughter to feel? Do I have what it takes to connect?
All my life, I was made to feel different, and if I didn’t play by the rules then I wasn’t a “good,” serious Jew. Is that how I want my son and daughter to feel? Do I have what it takes to connect?
How Simchat Torah in Tokyo Touched My Faith
The table was crowded with people I wouldn’t expect to see at a Chassidic gathering.
The table was crowded with people I wouldn’t expect to see at a Chassidic gathering.
Parshah
Moses’ Blessing and Jacob’s Blessing
Parshat V’zot HaBerachah has two focuses: the blessing that Moses bestows on Israel before his death and the account of his death.
Parshat V’zot HaBerachah has two focuses: the blessing that Moses bestows on Israel before his death and the account of his death.
Lifestyle
Stuffed Cabbage
Meat and rice, rolled up in cabbage and cooked in a decadent sauce - a Simchat Torah classic. With step-by-step photo instructions.
Meat and rice, rolled up in cabbage and cooked in a decadent sauce - a Simchat Torah classic. With step-by-step photo instructions.
Prayer is called by [thirteen] names: cry, howl, groan, stricture, song, prostration, encounter, judgment, entreaty, standing, appeal and beseeching
— Midrash Rabbah on Deuteronomy 3:23; Sifri ibid.
Print Magazine
There is a great mystery in the drama of Rosh Hashanah:
The mystery of a Creator asking His creations to participate in the rebirth of their own world.
Even of their own selves.
New on Chabad.org