After these weeks of introspection, reflection and forgiveness, it’s finally time to set yourself free. We’ve arrived at our final destination, Simchat Torah. It’s a day of joy and celebration that we reached this moment. 

Dance around your living room with something or someone you hold dear. If you happen to have a Torah scroll handy, dance with it. Whatever you cherish, take it on at least seven laps around your coffee table with a smile on your face. You made it here. And while we can’t guarantee what will come next - be here - in this moment of joy. 

Need a little musical inspiration for your Simchat Torah dance party?

Our recommendations:
Dancing in the Street by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Joy to the World by Three Dog Night
Shake It Out by Florence + The Machine
New Soul by Yael Naim
Rain on Me by Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande

“Rejoicing in the Torah” doesn’t require us to find joy in every verse.

    It doesn’t mean that we concur with every choice made by the people in it.

It doesn’t demand that we defend the indefensible or excuse the inexcusable.

    It doesn’t imply that we should be happy about passages that break our hearts.

Rejoicing in the Torah is found in the freedom to study it when, where, and with whom we wish.

    We experience happiness with it when we wrestle with its conflicts and struggle with its challenges.

It becomes a source of gladness when even its most disturbing passages increase our desire to do good.

    “It is a tree of life” when we treat all life with care, a “light to the eyes” when we look where we are going, a “path of peace” when it inspires us to work for a better world.

As we restart the process of reading it, let our renewed study bring newfound hope, meaning, and joy.     
​May this be our blessing and let us say:

    Amen. 

Rabbi David Wirtschafter is the rabbi of Temple Adath Israel in Lexington, KY.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָהשְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
אֲשֵׁר נָתְנֶה לַשֶֹכְוִי בִינָה לְהַבְחִין בֵּין יוֹם
וּבֵין לָיְלָה.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, asher natneh lasechvi vinah
l’havchin bein yom uvein lailah.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing, who has given the mind
the ability to distinguish day from night.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
וֹפּקֵחֶה עִוְרִים.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, pokei-cheh ivrim.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who opens the eyes of the blind.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
מַתִּירֶה עֲסוּרִים.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, matireh asurim.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who frees the captive.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָהשְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
זוֹקֵףֶה כּפוּפִים.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, zokeifeh k’fufim.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who lifts up the fallen.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָהשְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
רוֹקֵעֶה הָאָרֶץ עַל הַמָּיִם.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, rokei-eh haaretz al hamayim.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who stretches the earth over the waters.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
הַמֵּכִינֶה מִצֲדֵי גָבֶר

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, hameichineh mitzadei gaver.

.We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who strengthens our steps.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
מַלְבִּישֶׁה עֲרֻמִּים.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, malbisheh arumim.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who clothes the naked.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶהחֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
הַוֹנּתֵנֶה לַיָּעֵף כֹּחַ.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, hanoteineh laya-eif ko-ach.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who gives strength to the weary.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
הַמַּעֲבִירֶה שֵׁנָה מֵעֵנַי וּתְנוּמָה מֵעַפְעַפָּי.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, hamaavireh sheinah mei-einai
ut’numah mei-afapai.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing, who removes
sleep from the eyes, and slumber from the eyelids.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
שֶׁעָשְֹתֶנִי בְּצֶלֶם אֱ�הִים.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, she-asteni b’tzelem Elohim.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who made me in Your image.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
שֶׁעָשְֹתֶנִי בֶּן/בַּת/בֵּית חוֹרִין.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, she-asteni ben/bat/beit chorin.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who has made me free.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
שֶׁעָשְֹתֶנִי יִשְֹרָאֵל.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, she-asteni Yisrael.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who has made me a Jew.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
אוֹזֵרֶה יִשְֹרָאֵל בִּגְבוּרָה.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, ozeireh Yisrael bigvurah.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who girds Israel with strength.

בְּרוּך ֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִיוּנּ רוּח ַ הָעוֹלָם,
עוֹטֵרֶה יִשְֹרָאֵל בְּתִפְאָרָה.

B’rukheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach
ha’olam, oteireh Yisrael b’tifarah.

We praise You, Holy One of Blessing,
who crowns Israel with splendor.

Why is this morning different from all other mornings?

On most mornings, we do not drink booze at Ner Shalom, but this morning celebratory brunch cocktails are encouraged.

On most Shabbat mornings, we learn the Parashat HaShavua - the Torah portion of the week, but this Shabbat morning we are recalling the whole Torah.

On most mornings, we might eat treyf at home, but this morning, we celebrate with bagels - symbolizing the eternal cycle of Torah reading, and our strong Jewish diaspora.

On most Shabbat mornings, we pray in the sanctuary, but this morning we pray outside under our sukkah.

Simchat Torah - literally the Joy of Torah - reminds us that each morsel of Jewish teaching is worth revisiting and savoring every year, every chance. Some parts of the Torah are more narrative and feel more exciting than others, and some parts contain laws or stories that may be difficult for us to understand now, but all of it has worth and meaning for us at each stage of our lives.

Unlike at other seders, where we drink four glasses of wine, this morning we will drink five glasses of mixed beverages that remind us of each of the Five Books of Moses. The blessing for each of these concoctions is:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, borei shehakol nihyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates by speaking.

We honor the first book of the Torah - Genesis or Bereshit, with a Let There Be Light Sunrise, with or without the Tequlia. Thank you, God, for the creation of the Earth, and for blessing our earliest ancestors.

And G!d says: "And when you have made the repairs, when you have lessened the distance between yourself and others, when you have forgiven yourself, when you have built your fort and welcomed your community into it for a whole week - then you can throw a party. A big one, with singing and dancing. And you can say it's because you finished reading the Torah because that's convenient but also you DID IT. You did so much healing. You did so much work. And there is always more to do, and you know that. But you get this. You get to dance. Because if you can't dance, who's gonna want your revolution?"

And G!d says: 

Dance! 

Dance in ever-winding circles -

Dance with your history-

Dance with your scars-

dance with the smell of lambswool on your shoulders -

Dance with the torah, cradled in your arms -

dance with the clarinet, the drum and flute - 

dance with the rabbi - 

dance with the children running sugar wild--whirl them weightless -

dance with the elders - 

dance with the person setting the food out and the one with the mop - 

dance with the teenagers, slouched against the wall  - 

dance with your enemy - 

dance in the center of the circle - your head flung back - 

dance with the loves that hold you - 

dance with the friends that buoy you - 

dance with the struggle - the fight - the invisible night-wrestler -

dance with your triumph - you made it! you did!

 

From Dane Kuttler's The G!d Wrestlers,   The Social Justice Warrior's Guide to the High Holy Days, Sept. 2015

God of all being, please deliver us.

*

Searcher of our hearts, please sustain us.

*

Mighty Redeemer, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

Prayer for Rain in the Merit of the Matriarchs
By Rabbi Jill Hammer

Sukkot is a time of fullness and generosity, but also a time to pray for the coming season. Shemini Atzeret, the festival when we pray for rain, is an expression of our need for water, which in the Jewish tradition symbolizes life, renewal, and deliverance. The Geshem (Rain) Prayer speaks of five patriarchs. In that spirit, I have included five verses, for Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah, and for Miriam the prophetess, paralleling verses for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Aaron.  This prayer uses water as a metaphor for devotion and faith, asking that God grant us life-sustaining rain. 

Remember the beautiful one: her radiance pure as water!
She welcomed new souls through immersion in water.
In her old age her breasts flowed with milk like water.
Her offspring will increase like grains of sand near seas of water.
For Sarah’s sake, do not withhold water. 

Remember the maiden: rising up to greet her, water!
She let down her pitcher and gave to the thirsty water.
She drew even for camels from the well of water.
Over her tent hovered a divine cloud full of water.
For the sake of Rebekah’s righteousness, grant the gift of water. 

Remember the shepherdess: she brought her sheep to water!
She wrestled God-wrestlings mightier than crashing water.
For her exiled children she weeps tears of water,
and they will return to their land like returning streams of water.
For Rachel’s sake, do not withhold water. 

Remember the hidden one: her veil like a fall of water!
Her womb and her deeds were more abundant than springs of water.
She praised You for Your glory as there flowed from her birth water.
King and priest suckled her as lilies suckle water.
For the sake of Leah’s righteousness, grant the gift of water. 

Remember the sister: she watched at a distance from water!
She spoke softly to newborns and saved them from the river of water.
She took up her timbrel and sang at the parting of water.
For her sake, You granted the people a well of water.
For Miriam’s sake, do not withhold water. 

To learn more about this prayer, visit: https://opensiddur.org/prayers/lunisolar/joyful-days/shemini-atseret/a-geshem-prayer-invoking-the-matriarchs/

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד

She-ma yisrael,

eloheinu, adonai echad

Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One

בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד

Baruch shem kavod malchuto l’olam va-ed

Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever

on hoshana

rabba

we practice recycling-

i am circling 

seven times 

around

the outskirts

of my  junkyard

heart-

i am saving myself

i am saving myself

i am saving myself

i am saving myself

i am saving myself

i am saving myself

i am saving myself

Speaker for justice, please deliver us.

*

God arrayed in beauty, please sustain us.

*

Steadfast and loving One, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

We are ready for another beverage. Again we recite the blessing, reminding ourselves that everything we enjoy was set in motion by the Divine Creation. 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, borei shehakol nihyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates by speaking.

We honor the second book of the Torah - Exodus or Shemot, with a Pharaoh’s Frogs, with or without the alcohol of your choice. Thank you, God, for freeing our people from the slavery of Egypt, for leading them out of the narrow places into the wide expanse.

In tasting bread, we remember the hungry. May there be a day when no human being suffers the pain and desolation of hunger. May the bounty we enjoy help us to bring to fruition the vision of a  besere un a shenere velt, a better and more beautiful world.

Naomi Prawer Kadar,   Shabbes   , (Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, 1995)

-

We rejoice in our heritage that teaches us to love our earth that gives us wheat and to honor the farmers who grow it and the workers who make it into bread.

Ashreinu b'yerushateinu she'morah lanu le'ehuv et ha'adama, matsmikhat dagan,
u'l'khabed et ha'ikar ha'motsi lekhem min ha'aretz v'et hapo'el hao'ofeh khalot.

Mir freyen zich mit undzer yerusheh vos hot undz oysgelernt
az mir zoln lib hobn undzer erd vos git undz veytz,
oon dermant undz opgebn koved di vos akern dos erd oon
kooltivirn dem veytz, oon di arbeter vos bakn undz dos broit

Judith Seid,   We Rejoice in Our Heritage: Home Rituals for Secular Jews

-

B'rukhim hakhayim baolam.
Blessed be the life in the world.
B'rukhim hakhayim baadama.
Blessed be the life in the earth.
B'rukhim hamotsim lekhem minhaorets.
Blessed are those who bring forth bread from the earth.

Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine

Pure and upright One, please deliver us.

*

Helper of the poor, please sustain us.

*

Good and generous, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

We Dance Around The Shul
By Trisha Arlin

Our Torah is old.
The blue velvet cover
And the silver plate that hangs over the velvet
Are both covered in names
Of donors long gone,
And their honored loved ones, gone even longer.
These names mean nothing to us:
We ignore them
On Shabbat
When we dance around the shul.

On Selichot we put aside the old velvet
And dressed our Torah in fresh white covers,  
only a year old,
Donated by a beloved member,
Amina.
She died this year, four days before Rosh HaShanah.
Tonight it’s Simkhat Torah.
So we now take off Amina’s white cover
And put on the old one,
Blue, embroidered with strangers' names. 
Then we will dance around the shul.

We will think of Amina every year at this time 
From now on 
Until none of us are around,
Until there is no one who remembers her, 
Or us.
Then others will carry this scroll with the white cover
Donated by a Jew they never knew,
While they dance around the shul.

We give thanks for the ancient traditions, 
Telling the story even when we can’t, 
Keeping our loved ones’ memories 

And giving us Torah from the beginning, every year.

We come now to our third drink. We are halfway through our Seder, nearly finished with our marathon of High Holy Days, and just beginning our new year. 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, borei shehakol nihyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates by speaking.

We honor the third book of the Torah - Leviticus or Vayikra, with a Bloody Priest, with or without the vodka. Thank You, God, for bringing us close to you through worship and service. And, while we continue to mourn the destruction of the Temple in our Holy City of Jerusalem and all that was destroyed of our people by the conquerings of other Empires, we also thank You for a thriving diaspora that no longer relies on animal sacrifices for their communications with You.

Knower of all thoughts, please deliver us.

*

God of power and spledor, please sustain us.

*

God arrayed in justice, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

Art from Seeker Season: 2020 Guide for the Curious and Courageous by Jessica Tamar Deutsch 

"When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude."   Elie Wiesel

In Judaism, gratitude is an essential part of the act of worship and a part of every aspect of a worshiper’s life. People believe all things come from God and our prayers are filled with the idea of gratitude.
"O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever," and "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart" (Ps. 30:12; Ps. 9:1).
During the Shema, the worshiper states that out of gratitude, "You shall love the Eternal, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deut. 6:5).
One of the crucial blessings in the central thrice-daily prayer, the "Amidah", is called "Modim" - "We give thanks to You."
Along with these prayers, faithful worshipers recite more than one hundred blessings called berachot throughout the day. In Judaism there is also a major emphasis on gratitude for acts of human kindness and goodness.

“Gratitude is the moral memory of mankind. If every grateful action were suddenly eliminated, society would crumble.”  – Georg Simmel

Gratitude and happiness are intertwined and for good reason. It is no coincidence that positive psychology practitioners and happiness experts state that in order to increase your contentment in life you need to boost your level of gratitude.

One of the leading researchers in gratitude is Dr. Robert Emmons. He has brought gratitude into the forefront by demonstrating how simple acts of gratitude can have a gigantic impact on well-being and happiness. Emmons argues that gratitude is more than feeling good.

“It goes beyond the pleasant feeling because it implores people to share their joyful experiences with others. So in this sense gratitude is not about receiving, but it entails a large component of giving as well” (2007).

Emmons and other positive psychology practitioners such as Martin Seligman believe the positive effects of gratitude can’t be overstated.

“Gratitude can make your life happier and more satisfying. When we feel gratitude, we benefit from the pleasant memory of a positive event in our life. Also, when we express our gratitude to others, we strengthen our relationship with them” (Seligman, 2012).

You can never be too grateful. When you take for granted the people and things you have in your life, instead of being grateful for them, you are missing out on an opportunity to live a healthier and happier life.

You are also ignoring the strength of social connection that gratitude creates. Not only will practicing gratitude benefit you psychologically and socially, but physically you will feel better as well.

Like anything else in life the benefits of gratitude can be cultivated through concentrated practice. There are a multitude of exercises at your disposal that will sustain your desire to manifest more gratitude into your life. And therefore, more well-being and contentment.

" Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts. " - Henri Frederic Amiel

Let us all know sing a song of gratitude:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers sit together in perfect harmony.
Hinei ma tov umanayim shevet ahim gam yahad.

We are cresting the arc of our seder, but we’re not done yet. We still have more Torah, more singing, more dancing, more joy before we close out this beautiful morning!

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, borei shehakol nihyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates by speaking.

We honor the fourth book of the Torah - Numbers or Bamidbar, with a Bilaam’s Mule, with or without the vodka. Thank you, God, for keeping account of our people through the wilderness, for setting right our paths when we go astray.

Sovereign Ruler, please deliver us.

*

Compassionate and gracious God, please sustain us.

*

Lifter of the fallen, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

It is traditional to say Yizkor, the memorial prayers, for our ancestors on each of the three Pilgrammage Festivals - Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot-Shemini Atzeret. It may seem odd to insert them in the middle of our seder, when we know there is still more fun to be had. But this is the nature of life. Sometimes loss comes at inopportune times. Sometimes the grief of memory clouds over days that have other, happy meanings as well. Sometimes new joyous occasions happen to fall on yartzeits and rewrite the grief of that day. Life goes in cycles, in spirals. We love and laugh and dance and learn. We suffer loss and grieve and weep and mourn. We are healthy and we are ill. We are injured and we are recovered. We are a community, where at any given time, we are made up of people feeling any and all of these things at once. And so, we pause now our frivolity to remember.

And G!d says: “And if you have lost this year; if you have known grief newly, if you suffer the ache of old mourning come back, and back, and back, then we have made a place for you to mourn. Here, in the middle of the day, inside these walls: a container. We will hold your grief for you, so that you may continue the work. It will be there when you leave, yes, but for now, set your grief in Yizkor, and do not neglect it; but the service moves forward, and so will you.”


 

From Dane Kuttler's The G!d Wrestlers,   The Social Justice Warrior's Guide to the High Holy Days, Sept. 2015

God, full of mercy, Who dwells above, give rest on the wings of the Divine Presence , amongst the holy, pure and glorious who shine like the sky, to the souls of our loved ones, for whom prayer was offered in the memory of their souls. Therefore, the Merciful One will protect their souls forever, and will merge their souls with eternal life. The Everlasting is their heritage, and they shall rest peacefully at their lying place, and let us say: Amen.  

Helper of the weak, please deliver us.

*

Redeemer and deliverer, please sustain us.

*

Eternal Rock, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

We come to our final drink of the morning (though you should probably all drink plenty of water after this). We’ve been on a journey through the whole of our Torah, our people’s sacred mythos. We’ve danced with the Holy Scroll, and recounted our year’s worth of stories. What new insights might we gain as we read through these stories again this year? 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ‑יָ אֱ‑לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהַכֹּל נִהְיָה בִּדְבָרוֹ

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, borei shehakol nihyeh bidvaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai Our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates by speaking.

We honor the fifth and final book of the Torah - Deuteronomy or Devarim, with a Land of Milk and Honey, with or without the Irish Cream. Thank you, God, for leading us to the Promised Land, for opening up to us the opportunities for a life of sweetness and nourishment.

Holy and awe-inspiring God, please deliver us.

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Mighty and pure forever, please sustain us.

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Keeper of the covenant, answer us on the day that we call upon You!

Torah Blessings

Blessing Before an Aliyah

Transliteration:
Barchu et Adonai ha-m'vorach!
[Congregation]Ba-ruch Adonai ha-m'vorach l'olam va-ed!
Baruch Adonai ha-m'vorach l'olam va-ed!
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu melech ha-olam asher bachar banu mi-kol ha-amim v'natan lanu et torato
Baruch ata Adonai, noteyn ha-torah.

Translation:
Blessed are You - the Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has chosen us from all peoples and has given us His Torah. Blessed are You - the Lord, Giver of the Torah.

Blessing After an Aliyah

Transliteration:
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheynu melech ha-olam. asher natan lanu torat emet, v'cha-yey olam nata b'tocheynu, baruch atah Adonai noteyn ha-torah.

Translation:
Blessed are You - the Lord our God, King of the universe, who has given us the Torah of truth, and has planted everlasting life in our midst. Blessed are You - the Lord, Giver of the Torah