Shabbat Shalom ~ Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah 2026

Simchat Torah is weird.

By weird, I mean that it features lots of exceptional things that don’t occur on any other occasion in our year: reading Torah at night; multiplying aliyot so all adults can have one; calling children to the torah for an aliyah; a festive, even boozy atmosphere in the synagogue; dancing with abandon; giving special honor to prominent community members; and more. We do this all not because it was commanded in the Torah, or ordained by the rabbis of the Talmud. Simchat Torah grew organically as an expression of love, joy and happiness in the accomplishment of reading the entire scroll in public over the course of a year and with excitement to begin all over again.

Indeed, our persistent study of Torah explains a lot of what kept the Jewish people one entity despite centuries of dispersion and disenfranchisement, giving us dignity when others denied it, connecting us across time and space, and ensuring there was always cause for celebration.

So I hope you’ll join us in celebrating this weird holiday.

On Saturday, October 3, join us for a joyful celebration of community and Torah from 7-8:30pm. At 7pm we will take out five Sifrei Torah for adults, elementary school students, and teens to march them around and “simcha dance” with them. Younger children are also more than welcome to march with stuffed Torahs and special flags. This is always a highlight celebration towards the end of the holiday season. Snack foods and libations (potent and not) will be available as well.

Then, come back the next morning on Sunday, October 4th, for Simchat Torah services as we honor past president Seth Schafler as this year’s Hattan Torah, followed by a special Kiddush luncheon celebrating his many years of service to our community.

We are delighted to honor Religious School Committee members, Rebecca Baron, Rebecca Asarnow, and Jillian Levy with the special honor of Kallot Bereshit, a special Aliyah celebrating all they have done over the past two years to help our Religious School thrive and strengthen our community. Every Jewish adult there will be welcome to be called to the Torah for an aliyah.

We hope that all Religious School and ECC students and their parents will join us in the sanctuary at 10:00 AM for singing, marching, and the hakafot. This is a wonderful opportunity for our children to experience the joy and excitement of Simchat Torah alongside the adults in our community. The children will then attend age-appropriate programs for the rest of the morning.

It promises to be a great conclusion to the holiday season here at WJC, and it won’t be the same without you! Hope to see you there.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Cantor Goldberg