Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah (Rejoicing with the Torah), also know as Shimini Atzret (The Eight Day)
“On Simchat Torah, the Torah wants to dance, but lacking the physical
limbs with which to do so, it employs the body of the Jew. On this day,
the Jew becomes the dancing feet of the Torah.”
- The Lubavitcher Rebbe
When I was a
Christian going to a very conservative Bible College
15So David and all the house of
16And as the ark of the L-RD came into the city of David,
Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and
dancing before the L-RD; and she despised him in her heart.
20Then David returned to bless
his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and
said, How glorious was the king of 21And David said unto Michal, It was before the L-RD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over
The Ark of the
Covenant contained a summary of the Torah, the Tablets containing the Ten
Commandments. The Ark upon which the
Divine Presence of ADONAI would rest, between the Keruvim (Cherubim) of the lid
of the Ark and thus represented the Throne of ADONAI, which in turn represents
the reign of the Kingly Priest Yeshua Ha Moshiach, the Living Manifestation of
the Written Torah.
Allow me to quote
from a friend:
“Pay
attention to the public reading of the Scriptures (1 Timothy 4:13 ).
A fitting close to the fall Holy Days is the joyful celebration called Simchat Torah (the Joy of the Law). Although it is not part of the Leviticus 23 list of feasts, Simchat Torah was designated as a time to celebrate the completion of the annual cycle of Scripture readings chanted each week in our synagogues. While some believers may find it curious to rejoice in the Law, our people have always found joy in knowing that we have been entrusted with the words of HaShem (God; literally, "the Name"). In fact, the word Torah is properly translated as "teaching" or "instruction" (from the Hebrew root horah), which tells us the precise purpose of the Scroll.
When properly understood, the Torah should be viewed not as some negative legal system, but as God's instructions for living a life blessed by him. For this reason, the Lord commanded Moshe (Moses), at the end of his ministry, to teach a portion of the Torah toIsrael
From the above passage, we are also reminded that public reading of Scripture was a part of worship in the Messianic synagogues of the first century. Timothy, a young congregational leader, is exhorted to give attention to the public reading of the Scriptures.
The Word of God must always be before us if we are to know God's will and how to accomplish it. Certainly, we can rejoice that we have the instruction of God in his Word!” – Voice of the LORD devotional
A fitting close to the fall Holy Days is the joyful celebration called Simchat Torah (the Joy of the Law). Although it is not part of the Leviticus 23 list of feasts, Simchat Torah was designated as a time to celebrate the completion of the annual cycle of Scripture readings chanted each week in our synagogues. While some believers may find it curious to rejoice in the Law, our people have always found joy in knowing that we have been entrusted with the words of HaShem (God; literally, "the Name"). In fact, the word Torah is properly translated as "teaching" or "instruction" (from the Hebrew root horah), which tells us the precise purpose of the Scroll.
When properly understood, the Torah should be viewed not as some negative legal system, but as God's instructions for living a life blessed by him. For this reason, the Lord commanded Moshe (Moses), at the end of his ministry, to teach a portion of the Torah to
From the above passage, we are also reminded that public reading of Scripture was a part of worship in the Messianic synagogues of the first century. Timothy, a young congregational leader, is exhorted to give attention to the public reading of the Scriptures.
The Word of God must always be before us if we are to know God's will and how to accomplish it. Certainly, we can rejoice that we have the instruction of God in his Word!” – Voice of the LORD devotional
So let us loose
ourselves in the Joy of the Torah (Simchat Torah)!
By the way, in
Hebrew the word, Simcha, which means Joy can also spell two other very
important Hebrew words that are inseparable to this day of Simchat Torah.
Switch the letters of Simcha in Hebrew around and you get, Chamesh, meaning,
Five, meaning the Five Books of Moshe (Moese), The Torah! Rearrange the words
again and you get Moshiach, Messiah! So in other words you can’t have Joy
without Torah, and without the Torah you can’t have the Messiah!
Let us loose
ourselves in the Joy of the Torah (Simchat Torah) which is the culmination of
the Fall Festivals of Rosh Ha Shannah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Let’s allow
ourselves look like a fool in the eyes of the world just as David Ha Melek (The
King). Let nothing stand in our way in celebration of the Torah.
A New Year has
come, Atonement has been made and sealed, ADONAI and Messiah have met with us
this week to celebrate. Now, let us
rejoice and dance before Him!
