Rabbi Milder of Congregation Beth Emek in Pleasanton is one of my favorite rabbis to quote. Here’s what he emailed to his congregation about the “scheduling” of our next holiday, Simchat Torah.
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Sukkot, the festival that everyone loves because it has such weird stuff in it (the lulav, the etrog, and the Sukkah itself) began Friday night, September 25. But Simchat Torah is just one week away, and it is time for me to answer that perennial question: Did we get the date wrong?
No, we did not. Simchat Torah is next Friday night, October 2, with services at 7:30 pm complete with a rousing Simchat Torah band and dancing with the Torah scrolls, or, as I like to call it, Dancing with the (Jewish) Stars.
Here is the source of the confusion: popular Jewish calendars, like the free calendars that are generously donated by Sinai Memorial Chapel, provide the dates for Jewish holidays according to the Conservative/Orthodox diaspora calendar. Most Reform congregations, however, follow the Israeli calendar. Every synagogue in Israel, regardless of movement, will celebrate Simchat Torah next Friday night.
In ancient times, Rosh Hodesh, the beginning of a new month, would be declared in Jerusalem, based on testimony that the new moon had been seen. That declaration would then be passed along to other Jewish communities, either by fire signals, or, later, by messengers.
People living outside the land of Israel would not receive that message for some time. As a consequence, in order to be certain that they were observing Jewish holy days on the proper day, and not knowing whether the previous month had been 29 or 30 days long, diaspora Jewish communities would add an extra day to the festivals.
Sh’mini Atzeret, the “Eighth Day of Gathering,” which falls the day after Sukkot, was then extended by an extra day. The “Eighth Day” was celebrated in the diaspora on the eighth and the ninth day.
Simchat Torah is observed on Sh’mini Atzeret. In Israel, that means on the eighth day, counting the start of Sukkot (tonight) as day one. More traditional diaspora congregations observe Simchat Torah on the second day of Sh’mini Atzeret, perhaps to give each observance its own recognition.
Capisce?
It really is a choice: to line up with Israel, or with the diaspora. Given that there is no calendrical or astronomical question anymore about when the new moon appears (and, in truth, there hasn’t been since late antiquity), the old diaspora practice doesn’t carry much weight anymore. Alignment with Israel, however, does.
And so, Reform synagogues will kick up their heels next Friday night. And, if you really love Simchat Torah, you can do it a second time the following night at a Conservative or Orthodox congregation of your choosing.
My own thoughts: This is another opportunity to STUDY, GATHER FACTS, THINK THIS THROUGH FOR YOURSELF. What does the ancient calendar mean to you? What would following it do FOR you? Is this an idea to leave behind or to retain? You can do what your group/shul/movement has chosen or you can do something else. You can also, as Rabbi Milder points out, do both.
Let the lesson above be your first step in gathering information. To paraphrase Hillel, now go and learn.