D'Var Torah - Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah
Deuteronomy 14:22–16:17 • Day 1,091
IT IS TIME TO DANCE
TGFIF WEEKLY D’VAR TORAH
Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah •Deuteronomy 14:22–16:17 Day 1,091
IT IS TIME TO DANCE
תּוֹרָה צִוָּה־לָנוּ מֹשֶׁה מוֹרָשָׁה קְהִלַּת יַעֲקֹב
“Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.” Deuteronomy 33:4
OPENING
As we enter Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah, it is Day 1,091 since the atrocities of October 7. It is also the final Shabbat before the third anniversary.
For 1,091 days, we have counted.
We counted because every day mattered.
Every hostage. Every soldier. Every family. Every life.
Today will be the last time this D’var Torah carries the count.
Not because we forget.
Because it is time to live forward.
Last week, sitting beneath the fragile roof of the sukkah, we learned:
TIME IS NO REFUGE.
The sukkah is temporary.
And now it comes down.
What remains?
Torah.
We leave the temporary shelter of Sukkot and turn immediately toward something eternal.
And then Judaism tells us what to do with it:
Dance.
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
COURAGE AT 30,000 FEET
This week, a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv nearly ended in catastrophe. The co-pilot attacked and seriously wounded the captain, and the aircraft began to plummet, losing nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
But by the grace of Hashem, as the plane plunged, the captain managed to open the cockpit door.
Passengers rushed in.
They subdued the attacker.
Reserve pilots took control.
174 lives were saved.
There are moments when we are reminded that even in the darkest seconds, Hashem is with us.
The plane leveled.
The journey continued.
So must ours.
TORAH RECAP
Sukkot ends, but the Jewish calendar does not simply send us home.
On Shemini Atzeret, we remain for one more sacred day.
Then comes Simchat Torah.
We reach the final parasha of the Torah:
וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה - V’zot Haberachah “And This Is The Blessing”
וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרַךְ מֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ
“And this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death.” - Deuteronomy 33:1
Moses blesses the tribes of Israel.
He ascends Mount Nebo.
He sees the Promised Land.
And he dies.
The Torah ends.
But almost immediately, we return to the beginning:
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים
“In the beginning, God created...” - Genesis 1:1
On Simchat Torah, we complete V’Zot HaBerachah and return immediately to the opening of Genesis.
No long pause.
No remaining at the ending.
We begin again.
BRIDGE TO THE TORAH
Last week, Sukkot taught us:
The temporary reveals the permanent. Dvar_Torah Parsha "Sukkot"-Day …
This week we discover what permanent means.
Not a building.
Not a government.
Not even Moses.
Moses dies.
Torah continues.
And so do the Jewish people.
That is why Simchat Torah is not merely about completing a book.
It is about refusing to allow an ending to become the ending.
We mourn.
We remember.
We carry the scars.
But we do not remain at the ending.
TORAH LESSONS FOR TODAY
1. The Temporary Ends, The Eternal Remains.
Last week we asked:
What remains when the sukkah comes down? D’var_Torah Parsha "Sukkot"
This week we answer:
Torah.
Homes were lost.
Cities destroyed.
Kingdoms disappeared.
The Jewish people carried Torah - and Torah carried the Jewish people.
2. An Ending Is Also A Beginning.
We finish Deuteronomy and immediately return to Genesis.
That is more than liturgy.
It is a Jewish philosophy of life.
There are endings we would never choose.
There are wounds we will always carry.
But we are not commanded to remain forever inside the moment of our greatest pain.
We remember the past. We build the future.
3. It Is Time To Dance.
We do not dance because Jewish history has been easy.
We dance because Jewish history did not defeat us.
Jewish joy is not the absence of pain.
It is the refusal to surrender to it.
We hold the Torah.
We embrace it.
And we dance.
WE REMEMBER
As we approach the third anniversary of October 7, we remember those who were murdered and those who fell defending Israel.
We pray for the wounded and for every family carrying loss.
Today, we stop counting the days.
We will never stop remembering them.
May their memories always be a blessing.
STEWARDSHIP INSIGHT
What We Carry Forward.
The Torah is called:
מוֹרָשָׁה – Morashah – An Inheritance
תּוֹרָה צִוָּה־לָנוּ מֹשֶׁה מוֹרָשָׁה קְהִלַּת יַעֲקֹב
“Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.” Deuteronomy 33:4
An inheritance is not merely something we receive.
It is something we are responsible for carrying forward.
That is stewardship.
FINAL TAKEAWAY
On Day 1,091, we stop counting.
Not because we forget.
Because it is time to live forward.
Last week, the sukkah taught us:
TIME IS NO REFUGE.
Now the sukkah comes down.
The Torah remains.
We finish it.
We begin again.
And we dance.
May Hashem protect the people of Israel and guard the courageous men and women of the IDF and the United States Military.
May He bring healing to the wounded, comfort to those who mourn, and protection to our families and communities.
Shabbat Shalom v’Chag Sameach. Am Yisrael Chai. 💙🔯🇮🇱🔯💙
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