French flag for Simchat Torah from the collection of Yeshiva University Museum, New York City.
Simchat Torah (in Hebrew, שמחת תורה) is a holiday which marks a new cycle of annual Torah reading in the synagogues. The name means rejoicing or joy in/with the Torah. The celebration usually includes dancing and singing around the Torah, as the book is carried around the congregation, as well as prayers and a reading from the last section of the Torah, immediately followed by the first section.
In Israel, the holiday coincides with Shemini Atzereth; in the Diaspora it is not so because of the second day of Yom Tov.
External links
- URJ's page on Simchat Torah
- The Four Faces of Simhat Torah by Rabbi Professor David Golinkin on the Judaism section of About.com
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