Rejoicing on Simchat Torah 5786
BY RABBI HESHIE AND REBBETZIN ROOKIE BILLET
The Torah in Devarim 16:13–15 commands us multiple times to rejoice on Sukkot. The text speaks of rejoicing for seven days, which does not include Shemini Atzeret. The rabbis in Sukkot 47b–48a state that Shemini Atzeret is indeed a holiday “by itself” with its own mitzvah to rejoice.
The tragedy that befell the Jewish people on Shemini Atzeret 5784 highlights the challenge of rejoicing on this day in the same manner we rejoice on other festivals. It was almost prophetic of the Torah and Gemara to distinguish Shemini Atzeret as standing alone.
Several aspects of the commandment to rejoice on the holiday are worthy of note. In his Laws of Resting on Yom Tov 6:17–18, Maimonides firmly states that joy means sharing what you have with others, especially the lonely and tragically stricken among the Jewish people. Failure to do so negates the true joy of Yom Tov, transforming what we think is joy into mere “joy of our bellies.”
The State of Israel, its citizens, and Jews worldwide have made herculean efforts to reach out, adopt, support, and make the ultimate sacrifice to help our brothers and sisters in the Gaza Envelope. As Shemini Atzeret 5786 approaches and the celebration of Simchat Torah is upon us, we must redouble our efforts of love to bring the inclusive joy of the holidays to our stricken brethren.
Other elements are subsumed within the framework of simcha. One idea that has always resonated with us is that the Hebrew letters spelling simcha are the same as the Hebrew term sheh’machah, meaning “he who erased.” What does this imply? The idea is that when one is self-conscious about rejoicing, when one worries about how he or she will appear while dancing with abandon before the Torah, that cannot be true simcha. When we can “erase” our egos and not worry about appearances – just rejoice as King David did when he danced with abandon alongside the common people while bringing the holy Ark to Jerusalem – that is the genuine happiness the Torah asks of us.
Tehillim 100, mizmor le’todah, invites the reader to “Serve Hashem with happiness, come before Him with jubilation.” This implies that gladness isn’t limited to holidays; rather, a Jew should cultivate elation and bliss in everyday life, bringing feelings of gilah, rinah, ditzah, and chedvah to one’s avodat Hashem as a constant theme running through life.
This brings us to the question: Can we celebrate this year with a lev shalem, a whole heart, on Simchat Torah, knowing what our nation as a whole and so many individual families experienced on Simchat Torah 5784? Perhaps one answer is that we must! This is the story of the Jew throughout the ages. Chanukah candles were lit in concentration camps; weddings were celebrated while family members of the bride and groom were held captive in Hamas tunnels; Pesach Sedarim were clandestinely held in labor camps without a morsel of matzah or the text of the Haggadah. Jews have lived with contradictions in every epoch. Yizkor, the prayer of remembrance for the deceased, is recited on Simchat Torah, though only moments before, we are charged to dance with jubilation to celebrate completing the reading of the Torah and restarting the cycle.
In a certain sense, this demand to rejoice even as we remember atrocities is akin to the question posed this past Tisha B’Av: How can we say that Jerusalem is a city that is mournful, ruined, scorned, and desolate when we live in a city so beautiful, so full of light and people of all stripes, teeming with children and baby carriages, parks and new construction? But remember we must, even as we celebrate the beauty and life surrounding us in this great capital of the State of Israel. Indeed, happiness on Simchat Torah and other holy days is a dialectic characterized by legitimate contradictions and the pursuit of balance. The Jew lives with contradictions and somehow reconciles them.
In sum, the joy of this holiday reminds us that inclusiveness is a tremendous Jewish value. It requires us to negate our egos and simply surrender to the national feelings of elation that are an essential part of Jewish holidays. It calls to mind the contradictions of Jewish life and history – that we celebrate our holidays despite exile, incarceration, and being besieged by relentless enemies. Simcha is a theme of Jewish life and avodat Hashem, this year and every year, even as we remember with longing and full hearts those who are no longer with us to celebrate. May their sacrifices and memories inspire us, and may we have the zechut of true healing and of welcoming home all our missing loved ones.
Rabbi Heshie and Rebbetzin Rookie Billet recently made Aliyah after long and distinguished careers in Jewish community work in the United States. Rabbi Billet is Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Woodmere and a member of the US President’s Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad. Rookie Billet recently retired after a long career as a Jewish educator, principal, shul Rebbetzin, and yoetzet halachah, and hopes to contribute to life in Israel.