Rabbi Melanie Aron

Simchat Torah has been one of my favorite holidays. Singing, dancing and flags; what could be better? At my former congregation it was an intergenerational experience. We called up the elders (70+) for a special aliyah as we considered Moses at 120, his eyes undimmed, his strength not abated. Those under 13 came up for their once-in-a-year opportunity for an aliyah. We blessed them with Jacob’s words to his grandsons: “the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm — bless these kids. In them may my name be recalled, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they be teeming multitudes upon the earth.” (Genesis 48:16)

I wonder though if we will ever celebrate Simchat Torah with the unmixed joy we are commanded for Sukkot, to be ach samech, only joyous. For me this year, with the holiday falling on the same day of the week as it did in 2023, the shadow of Simchat Torah 5784 is strong.

As Jewish holidays go, Simchat Torah is relatively young, developing only over time. While Shemini Atzeret, the eighth day afterparty as it were, is mentioned in the Torah, none of the aspects of the current holiday, neither the ending and restarting of the Torah reading nor the dancing we associate with the holiday today, are found even in the Talmud. It was over the centuries that the Babylonian custom of reading the entire Torah in a year became dominant instead of the practice in the land of Israel of taking three years to complete the reading.

The name of the holiday, Simchat Torah, only appears in the 11th century in the Machzor Vitry, and only the Tur, a 14th-century legal compendium, adds to finishing Deuteronomy the practice of starting to read Genesis right away. It’s this beginning the Torah over right away that is most meaningful to me.

As we conclude the fall holiday cycle, this reading from the opening words of Genesis makes Simchat Torah feel like the first day of school, with fresh notebooks, blank pages yet to be filled, like the launching day of a new project, full of hope and positive expectations. Psychologists tell us that we gain momentum from the beginning of a new year, a new month, or even a new week. So here too, we get another fresh start on all of our good intentions for the new year.

The first letter the Torah instructs us to look forward. Bereshit, begins with a “bet,” which is closed on three sides and open only forward (granted in the Hebrew direction). Over the High Holidays we prayed that God might restore our days kekedem, as of old. But the Hebrew root of kedem is also related to the word kadimah, that is moving forward. In Jewish tradition the new is informed and enriched by the past as Rashi teaches: “If you really hear the old, you will hear something new.”

This year on Simchat Torah, we can’t help but think of the past but let us also find strength to move toward the future. As we return to the Torah again in this new year, let it be with new selves, recognizing new circumstances and finding insights we have not seen before.

Ordained at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion in 1981, Rabbi Melanie Aron served for 40 years as a congregational rabbi. Rabbi Aron currently serves on the board of the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis and is co-chair of the Jewish Earth Alliance, which focuses on federal legislation and agencies.