There are a number of Jewish festivals that take place throughout the year, with Simchat Torah known as the most joyous holidays of the event calendar.
The day celebrates the Jewish love for the studying the Torah and is celebrated by believers across the globe.
The holiday, which is also known as rejoicing with the Torah, marks the end of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings and the beginning of the new cycle.
But when is Simchat Torah and why is it celebrated?
Here's everything you need to know.
When is Simchat Torah?
Simchat Torah began on the evening of October 17 and will end in the evening of October 18 this year.
The event takes place annually over a 24-hour period as believers spend the day dancing, singing, and rejoicing the end of another Torah reading.
The Torah is read weekly by Jews, with Simchat Torah concluding the readings.
What is the Torah?
The Torah is a holy Jewish book that details the origins of believers, the tenets of their faith, and the early history of the religion and its prophets.
On Simchat Torah, communities celebrate the gift of the Torah and its role in religious life with joyful acknowledgement and meaningful rituals.
During the celebrations, rabbis remove the Torah scrolls from their ark in a special ceremony and carry them through the congregation.
They then read specific passages to close out the old cycle and welcome the new.
How is Simchat Torah celebrated?
The Jewish event is celebrated by taking all the Torah scrolls out of the ark in synagogue as believers spend the evening dancing, singing, and rejoicing. The scrolls are then carried around the sanctuary in seven circles called hakafot.
After this takes place, the final passages of the book of Devarim, Deuteronomy are read within the synagogue.
Simchat Torah is an especially fun holiday for children, who ride on their parents’ shoulders during dancing and they receive little bags full of Jewish of treats so that they will associate the Torah with sweetness.
After Simchat Torah is celebrated, Jews will go back to reading passages from the Torah weekly for the next year ahead of the 2023 celebration.
Do Jewish people work on Simchat Torah?
Jewish people who observe Simchat Torah do not work or travel on this yom tov, which is a holy day.
Instead, observers spend most of the day in the synagogue for Torah ceremonies and spending time with their families and loved ones.
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