Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah is a celebration symbolizing the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a part of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei that is in mid-September to early October as per the Gregorian calendar. Simchat Torah means "rejoicing with the torah". The holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, falls on the Hebrew calendar dates of 22-23 Tishrei-Shemini Atzeret on the former date, Simchat Torah on the latter. Keeping this in view this year in 2012, Simchat Torah will fall on October 9. Simchat Torah Celebration The celebration of Simchat Torah takes place in the synagogue during evening and morning. In many Conservative groups, this is the only time of year on which the Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark and read at night. In the morning, the last parashah of Deuteronomy and the first parashah of Genesis are been read in the synagogue. When the ark is opened, all the worshippers leave their seats to dance and sing with all the Torah scrolls in a joyous celebration that lasts for several hours. The morning service is also uniquely characterized by the calling up of each male member especially in orthodox congregations of the congregation for an aliyah, whereas for children there is a special aliyah.In the 20th century, Simchat Torah became a symbol of Jewish identity especially for the Jews of the Soviet Union. http://www.365celebration.com/simchat-torah