On the first anniversary of the most deadly attack on Jews since the Holocaust, rabbis of communities throughout Israel are grappling with how to balance the joy of Simhat Torah with the sadness of commemorating those who were lost.
“Strengthening the nation — not falling into depression and despondency — is so important both for soldiers fighting on the battlefield and for civilians, so we need the joy,” said Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu. “At the same time, in every community, in every synagogue, there is a mourner, a soldier on duty, someone who was injured.”
“It is a narrow bridge,” he said.
Simhat Torah, literally “The Joy of the Torah,” is a day on which Jews express gratitude to God for being chosen to receive their written and oral traditions through dancing, song and celebratory prayer.
And it was on Simhat Torah last year — which fell on October 7 — that thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border from Gaza into Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault. The onslaught sparked the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which has taken hundreds more Israeli lives and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives, according to unverified tallies by the Hamas-run health ministry.
“People want to know what to do about the dancing, they want to know what to do about the drinking and eating, and they want to know how to express their mourning,” said Rabbi David Stav, chairman of the Tzohar rabbinical organization.
“Our position at Tzohar is to strike a middle road: we don’t want to do away with the joy and celebrations, but we also don’t want to ignore the pain,” Stav said.
Stav said that two women who survived the Nova music festival massacre, where hundreds were murdered during the October 7 Hamas atrocities last year, asked to address a congregation in the city of Shoham, where Stav serves as chief rabbi.
“Obviously, these women who participated in the Nova are not religious,” noted Stav, referring to the secular nature of the festival. “But there is a desire to integrate their experiences within the context of the religious celebrations.”
Hamas terrorists, joined by Gazan civilians, brutally murdered 364 participants of the festival, raped an undetermined number and took 40 hostages.
Every rabbi who spoke to The Times of Israel used terms such as “striking a balance,” “dialectic” or “holding space for contradictory emotions.”
“What I think is that we have to be able to hold onto our traditions but not ignore the fact that this is the yahrzeit of 1,200 people,” said Rabbi Ilay Ofran of Kibbutz Yavne, using the Yiddish term for the anniversary of a death.
“I understand the voice that says, ‘We have to continue to celebrate and be joyous,’ as well as the voice that says, ‘How can we continue?’” said Ofran.
One of the traditions of Simhat Torah is to stage seven processions, or hakafot (literally a circling or going around), in which members of a congregation dance and sing as they hold Torah scrolls and rotate around the dais.
One set of seven processions is held in the evening shortly after sundown and another in the morning. The processions are followed by the completion of the annual reading cycle of the Five Books of Moses. In most Orthodox communities, it is the men who sing and dance with the scrolls, with a small minority of egalitarian congregations where women participate as well.
“It’s a very male-dominated holiday. On the women’s side, nothing really happens. There is no dancing, no Torah reading, and women either don’t come or come and are spectators. This year, with so many men in reserve service, who will take the small children on their shoulders and dance with them?” wondered Ofran, who is also on reserve duty for the holiday as the war drags on.
Imbue existing traditions with new meanings
Rabbis who spoke with The Times of Israel said members of their communities wanted to imbue existing traditions with new meanings. A number of communities plan on devoting each of the seven processions to a different subject.
In the city of Shoham, for instance, one community plans to devote the first procession to the continued thriving of the State of Israel, the second to the IDF’s success, the third to remembering those who were killed, the fourth to the release of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, the fifth to the speedy recovery of those who were injured, the sixth to strengthening civilians and the return of evacuees to towns on the northern border with Lebanon and Syria, and the seventh and last procession to redemption and unity of the Jewish people.
During each of the processions, songs will be sung reflecting each of the themes.
Ichud Rabanei Kehilot (IRK), an organization of Orthodox rabbis directed by Eliyahu, suggested starting off each procession with a prayer.
In kabbalistic thought, each of the seven processions corresponds to one of the seven sefirot, or Godly emanations, which represent aspects of divine expression in the world.
The prayers reflect each procession’s kabbalistic meaning but also connect this kabbalistic meaning with current events.
The first procession, for instance, represents the sefira of lovingkindness, symbolizing God’s beneficence. The prayer, therefore, reflects a yearning for lovingkindness in the world as expressed in Jewish unity, mutual support and collective responsibility.
Rabbi Daniel Landes, founder and director of Yashrut, a rabbinic organization, noted that Simhat Torah already has a built-in dialectic tension that combines both joy with mourning.
“We have the dancing with the Torah, but we also have Yizkor,” said Landes, referring to the remembrance prayer recited for the deceased.
Outside Israel, Shmini Atzeret and Simhat Torah are a two-day holiday, with one day tending to be a bit more contemplative and the second day devoted to joy, singing and dancing.
“I never did get over the fact that here the same day has both joy and mourning. That’s why we call it Avodat Hashem [serving God] because it’s work, it’s not simple,” Landes said.
At Kibbutz Yavne, the names of all the approximately 1,200 people killed by Hamas last Simhat Torah will be written down on cards, four of five names on each card, and passed out to congregants to be remembered during the Yizkor prayer.
“I asked that the cards be laminated so we can have the option of using them next year,” said Ofran.
Non-Orthodox communities in Israel
Rabbi Dalia Marx, the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at Hebrew Union College, said that non-Orthodox communities, where men and women dance and sing together, have also introduced new prayers and changes to the ceremonies.
“At Kol Haneshama congregation in Jerusalem, the plan is to have two processions that are celebrated with song and dance,” said Marx. “But for the remaining five hakafot men and women will remain standing and will pass the Torah scrolls from hand to hand and sing quiet songs. The themes will be prayers to save the hostages, to return evacuees to their homes, and hope for peace.
“At Or Hadash, a Reform congregation in Haifa, a special liturgy was composed to be said before the morning prayers. It is called 6:29 [the time when the Simhat Torah massacre began],” Marx added. “In other communities, congregants will carry pictures of hostages or relatives they lost instead of the Torah scrolls. And Rabba Yael Vurgan, who leads the Reform Movement’s congregations in the Sha’ar Hanegev Local Council area, suggested changing the name of the festival, Simhat Torah, to Sichat Torah.”
Sichah means “conversation” or “discussion” in Hebrew. Vorgan’s idea is to transform part of the day into an opportunity to process what happened. Sha’ar Hanegev is in the northwestern Negev and consists of 10 kibbutzim and one moshav, or agricultural collective community, bordering the Gaza Strip.
“I think what all these initiatives are striving to do is best expressed by the verse in the second chapter of Psalms, ‘Be joyous with trembling,’” said Marx. “Doing this calls us to respond in a multi-layered way. How do we do it? It’s something we learn by walking.”
Make it joyous for the children
The prayers on Simhat Torah, combined with the singing and dancing, result in long hours spent in the synagogue. Traditionally, food and drink are introduced in the middle of the festivities and candy bags are passed out to the children as a respite.
Communities that in the past have served alcoholic beverages debated whether or not it is appropriate to do so this year.
Eliyahu said that alcohol is not appropriate for this Simhat Torah.
“Let me tell you, I am just leaving an IDF base where there was a Hallel prayer with musical instruments. Hundreds of soldiers participated. These are guys who have seen a lot of action. Their fellow soldiers were killed or wounded. And still there was joy and singing and an uplifted atmosphere without a drop of alcohol,” he said.
Stav said that he received questions about alcohol use.
“My approach is to ban alcohol altogether and make the meals more modest,” said Stav. “But candy bags should be passed out as usual. Kids are waiting for them and we don’t want to disappoint them.”
Landes said that he received an email from a grandfather who said he would not dance this Simhat Torah.
“‘What will you do if your grandchild asks you to dance?’ I asked him. He had a hard time answering,” he said. “I offer no judgment — but those of us who dance must do so allowing our tears to fall to our feet.”
