Facebook

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is very happy day and there is a lot of wild dancing around the bimah and song in the synagogue as the Torah is paraded around the shul.

Services begin in the evening at the start of the holiday. The Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and given to members of the congregation to hold. They then march around the synagogue and everyone kisses the torah scrolls as they pass. Once the Torah holders return to the ark everyone forms a circle around them and dances with them. This ceremony is known as hafekot, and there are seven of them, when one hafekot finishes the scrolls are handed to other members of the congregation and it all starts again. In some synagogues it is a custom for children to hand out sweets to everyone.