The Lost Weekend?

For most Americans the weekend may have seem like a setup for the federal holiday of Columbus Day, but to the Jewish community, it was more than that. This past Friday evening was not a typical beginning of Sabbath. It was the ending of the Succot holiday and for the Reform community it was the combination of the Shemini Atzerets and Simchat Torah holidays on that one day that began at sundown and continued until Saturday evening. Like the Reform community, the more observant Jewish community observed the Shemini Atzerets holiday on Friday evening, but the holiday of Simchat Torah was not begun until Saturday night. The differences in the ways the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox communities observe these holidays can be startling. Most Reform Shemini Atzerets/Simchat Torah services are very quick and maintain a goodly degree of decorum. By contrast the Conservative and Orthodox services tend to be much longer and, especially with regards to Simchat Torah, tend to become more raucous and rowdy as the gift of the Torah is commemorated with lots of singing and dancing. The children really enjoy this holiday. They parade around the sanctuary with toy Torahs and flags denoting their love of learning. For adults there are opportunities for liquid libation to make the celebrations even more meaningful and, sometimes, hangovers plentiful. The truth of the matter is that in hindsight I celebrated the gift of the Torah a bit more than I should have, but what good is staying sober when a federal holiday looms so close behind? The interesting thing is that after a wild night of carrying the Torah scrolls around the sanctuary amid singing and dancing, it all started anew on the morning. It was like something out of the old Ray Milland film, only instead of the delirium tremens and pink elephants, there were lots of Torah scrolls. Thank goodness for Columbus Day on Monday.

The Joy of Torah

Would that I could take pictures of the joint Simchat Torah services held last night at Gates of Prayer Synagogue, the Reform house of worship where Orthodox Congregation Beth Israel meets. Just ponder the diversity of Jewish worship at Gates of Prayer. It was there that Rabbi Uri Topolosky welcomed Conservative Congregation Shir and rabbinical student Andy Shugerman to Beth Israel's meeting room and erstwhile sanctuary. Earlier, on Sunday, Shugerman welcomed Beth Israel to enjoy a Hoshanna Rabba sing-along featuring the dynamic voices of Pey Dalid. Pey Dalid and Ofer Kurtsburg, Beth Israel's own chazzan, sang along with Topolosky and his administrator, Rabbi David Posternock. Both Topolosky and Posternock provided additional guitar accompaniment to that of Pey Dalid, which also has a percussionist in the group of four. Because it was Yom Tov, no guitars were used at last night's Simchat Torah service. It really didn't matter, though. Everyone bellowed out their joy in enthusiastic fashion throughout the night, eventually dancing in the street with six sefer Torah scrolls, five from Beth Israel and one from Shir Chadash. It was the second year in a row that women were able to joyously dance with the scrolls, something that had never happened in 103 years of Beth Israel's existence until Rav Uri came to New Orleans last year. This new tradition was presaged by a fun game of Jewish Trivia moderated by Rabbis Topolosky and Shugerman. The singing and dancing was energetic and very physical. Pey Dalid even performed their own version of Jewish "gospel." It was inspiring to say the least. Because of the holiday, I couldn't take any pictures. Can I at least get an amen and a hallelujah?