Simchat Torah: How to Stay Close to God Throughout the Year

Podcast image of Yael Eckstein praying at the Western Wall

As the High Holy Days end, Jews around the world spend one last day in an intense celebration with God before resuming their normal routines. Simchat Torah, which means “Rejoicing in the Torah,” is unlike any other observance that takes place in synagogue. As host Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, describes in today’s podcast, the entire congregation—from the youngest children to the oldest adults—takes out the Torah scroll and joins in a never-ending circle of dancing and singing. The celebration marks the completion of reading through the Torah, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, before the reading cycle begins again. But the lesson of Simchat Torah, says Yael, lasts throughout the year. Simchat Torah is a reminder that the way to stay close to God and transform inspiration into action throughout the year is through God’s Word. Learn more about this amazing celebration in today’s powerful podcast.

Episode Notes:

Jews around the world are just completing an intense time of worship and focus on their relationship with God, a time known as the High Holy Days. Beginning with Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), through the Ten Days of Repentance, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and the seven-day celebration of Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles), this holy season has come to an end. It’s time to return to daily life.

But before the Jewish people return to their regular routines, God beckons His children to spend one more day with Him in worship and praise. This day, known as Simchat Torah, “Rejoicing in the Torah,” is all about celebrating God’s Word and remembering the importance of taking God’s Word with us into the new year.

It is a raucous celebration, one that Yael describes as “holy unhinged.” The entire congregation participates as they take out the Torah scrolls from the Ark at the center of the synagogue and begin dancing and singing in a never-ending circle of praise and worship to God.

But what are they celebrating?

“On this day we finish our annual reading of the Torah — from the opening chapters of Genesis to the closing sentence of Deuteronomy — which we call the Parshah. We celebrate to show our joy at having completed the Torah another time and the joy we receive from studying God’s Word,” Yael explains.

And this is something that we all can do, Yael says, Christians and Jews alike. “God Himself tells us how important it is to be in His Word continuously, and honestly, how simple it is. The Bible is always within our reach. God’s Word is continuously near to us. And we can find the joy in His Word every day as we take His Word with us in our heart.”