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Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah

Some communities celebrate Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on two separate days; in other communities they are combined. Either way, this grand finale to the fall holiday season comes with a wide array of themes and practices. It culminates with a raucous celebration of Jewish learning and Jewish community, as we dance with the Torah scrollsand read both the end and the beginning of the Torah on the very same day.

Photo by Jordan Cassway

Feminine Stanzas for the Prayer for Rain

Based on a translation of traditional stanzas by David de Sola Pool [more]

Found In: Shemini Atzeret

Tags: tefillat hageshem

We Parade Around The Shul: A Prayer for Simkhat Torah

Celebrating the Torah while keeping our loved ones memories as blessings [more]

Found In: Month of Elul, Simchat Torah

Tags: torah

Kesher V'Gesher, A Prayer for Rosh HaShanah

A poem expressing the intensity of our journey through the Jewish calendar, from Tisha b'Av through Simchat Torah [more]

Found In: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah, Tisha b'Av & Minor Fast Days

Tags: teshuvah

Candle-Lighting Blessings

A variety of candle-lighting blessings, traditional and modern, for holidays [more]

Found In: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah, Passover, Shavuot

Tags: candle lighting

Geshem: Verses for Our Mothers

On Shemini Atzeret, Jews offer a special prayer for rain (it is the beginning of the rainy season in Israel). The traditional version of this prayer refers obliquely to each of the forefathers and their relationship to water; this version highlights the foremothers. [more]

Found In: Shemini Atzeret

Tags: tefillat hageshem

New Rituals for Simchat Torah

New ideas for celebrating Simchat Torah [more]

Found In: Simchat Torah

Tags: hakafot, Rabbi Jill Hammer

Women's Tefillah and Torah Reading for Simchat Torah

An innovative way to call up women to the Torah for a women's Torah reading, highlighting the foremothers [more]

Found In: Simchat Torah