How should we observe Simhat Torah this coming year?

Responsa in a Moment

Vol. 18, No. 6

August 2024

How should we observe Simhat Torah this coming year?

(Orah Hayyim 669:1 in the Rema)

Question from Dr. Peri Sinclair and others: On Simhat Torah 5784 – October 7, 2023, we experienced one of the greatest disasters in the history of the State of Israel – approximately 1,145 killed, 251 kidnapped, thousands injured – and since then, approximately 400 soldiers and civilians have been killed, there are still 105 hostages in Gaza, and the war continues in the south and north. In light of all this, how should we observe Simhat Torah in the year 5785?

Responsum: Indeed, this is a difficult dilemma. On one hand, we are commanded in the Torah to rejoice on Sukkot (Lev. 23:40; Deut. 16:14-15) and on Shavuot (Deut. 16:11), and the Sages derived from these verses that there is a positive commandment to rejoice on the festivals (Pesahim 109a; Maimonides, Laws of Yom Tov 6:17-18; Maimonides, Sefer Hamitzvot, Positive Commandment 54; Sefer Hahinukh, Mitzvah 488 and in the Chavel edition, Mitzvah 451).

Additionally, “Simhat Torah” as its name implies, is a festival of songs, dances, and supreme joy in order to celebrate the completion of the Torah reading. How can we bridge this gap?

A direction for a solution is found in a famous Baraita that appears in the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 60b (and cf. the parallel in Tosefta Sotah, Chapter 15, ed. Lieberman, pp. 242-244). I quote the Baraita from Bava Batra without all of the Talmudic discussion:

Our Sages taught: When the Second Temple was destroyed, ascetics increased in Israel, to refrain from eating meat and drinking wine.
Rabbi Joshua joined their discussion: “My sons, why don’t you eat meat and drink wine?”
They said to him: “Shall we eat meat from which sacrifices were offered on the altar, and now it has ceased? Shall we drink wine that was poured as a libation on the altar, and now it has ceased?”
He said to them: “If so, we should not eat bread, as the meal offerings have ceased!”
They replied: “It is possible to eat fruits.”
He said: “We should not eat fruits, as the first fruits have ceased!”
They replied: “It is possible to eat other fruits.”
He said: “We should not drink water, as the water libation has ceased!”
They were silent.

He said to them: My sons, come and I will tell you: It is impossible not to mourn at all, as the decree has already been issued. But to mourn excessively is also impossible, as we do not impose a decree on the community unless the majority can endure it… Therefore, the Sages said:

A person plasters his house with lime, but leaves a small part un-plastered…
A person prepares all the needs for a meal, but leaves out a small part…
A woman makes all of her jewelry, but leaves out a small part…
And anyone who mourns for Jerusalem will merit and see its joy, as it is said (Isaiah 66:10): “Rejoice with Jerusalem…”

Indeed, this was codified by the Rambam (Laws of Fasts 5:12-13), the Tur and the Shulhan Arukh (Orah Hayyim 560:1-2), and this was also followed in practice – as can be seen in the photo I took in the central square of the Venice Ghetto twenty years ago.

One wall of the Venice ghetto courtyard left unfinished. It says “zecher le’hurban.”

In other words, we need to seek a middle path between the usual joy of Simhat Torah and the mourning necessitated by the disaster of Simhat Torah 5784.

Thus far, in most synagogues around the world, it is customary to recite a “Mee Sheberakh” for the hostages and/or chapters of Psalms every day, including on Shabbat and holidays.

I would like to suggest three additional things that we should do on Simhat Torah 5785, and justify each suggestion according to Jewish law. I will proceed from the simplest proposal to the more surprising ones for those not familiar with the history of Jewish liturgy: 

1. Add a Yizkor prayer for those who were murdered on Simhat Torah 5784 and for those who have been killed since then in the war.
2. Reduce the joy of one Hakkafah during which we shall not sing or dance, or we shall sing quiet songs.
3. Add a Kinah or Kinot [elegy or elegies] in the Yizkor service in memory of those who were murdered.

We shall now explain these three suggestions in detail.

1. Add a Yizkor prayer for those who were murdered on Simhat Torah 5784 and for those who have been killed since then in the war.

When I wrote briefly about the Yizkor prayer 37 years ago, I noted that “despite all that has been written about Yizkor, much remains unclear” (see the Bibliography at the end of the responsum). Since I have not yet found a comprehensive monograph on the subject, I decided this time to research it myself.

The Yizkor prayer developed in various directions. It was recited in memory of the massacres of 1096 (the First Crusade) and the Black Death (1348-1349); every Shabbat; on Yom Kippur; on Shalosh Regalim [the three Pilgrim Festivals]; and as a combination of these different customs.

The theological basis for Yizkor is the idea that even the dead need atonement (Sifrei Devarim, Piska 210, ed. Finkelstein, p. 244) and that if one prays for mercy for a deceased person who has descended to Gehenna, “it throws him out of Gehenna like an arrow from a bow” (Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 20, ed. Ish-Shalom, fol. 95b). The Rishonim (ca. 1000-1500) also believed that charity pledged for the benefit of the deceased helps after death (Sefer Hassidim, ed. Wistinetzky, end of paragraph 34, p. 37); therefore, there was usually a close connection between memorial prayers and the pledging of charity.

In general, Yizkor is an Ashkenazic custom that spread from Germany to Italy and to Eastern Europe.

Typically, the expressions l’hazkir neshamot [to remember souls] or mazkirin neshamot [one remembers souls] are used without quoting any specific text, so it is difficult to know which prayer was recited. It is clear that they did not mean the El Maleh Rahamim prayer during the period of the Rishonim, since that prayer was only composed by Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipman Heller following the Chmelnitzki massacres of 1648-1649 (Glick, 1991, p. 146).

There were different explanations as to why Yizkor is recited on these occasions: on Shabbat because it is a day of rest, and the dead also rest and are not judged on Shabbat; on Yom Kippur to elevate the memory of the dead for a blessing before God or to break the hearts of the worshippers and subdue their evil inclination; and on Shalosh Regalim because on the last day of the three festivals in the Diaspora, they read “Kol Habekhor,” where it says “every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you” (Deut. 16:17).

Below are the different customs I have found. The sources in each section are listed in chronological order.

1. Yizkor on the Shabbat before Shavuot and the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av

Initially, Yizkor was recited in memory of the many Jews who were killed for the Sanctification of God’s Name during the massacres of 1096 (the First Crusade) and the Black Death in 1348-1349. The original custom was to recite Yizkor on the Shabbat before Shavuot because many were killed before and after Shavuot in 1096, and on the Shabbat before Tisha B’Av, which was called “Black Shabbat” because 6,000 Jews were murdered in Mainz close to the date of Tisha B’Av during the Black Death massacres in 1349 (Freehof, pp. 179, 183-184). Indeed, this is why “in most Ashkenazic communities,” the Av Harahamim prayer was recited only on these two Shabbatot (according to Yitzhak Baer, Seder Avodat Yisrael, Rodelheim, 1868, p. 233).

2. Yizkor every Shabbat and on Yom Kippur

Rabbi Simhah of Vitry, a student of Rashi (France, ca. 1120), in Mahzor Vitry, ed. Horowitz, paragraph 190, p. 173 – every Shabbat for the elevation of the souls of important rabbis and benefactors; and paragraph 253, p. 392 on Yom Kippur (the second passage is identical to Siddur Rashi mentioned below).

In an addition to Midrash Tanhuma (Ha’azinu, paragraph 1, ed. Mantua, 1563, fol. 103b; see Glick, 1991, p. 140, note 44): “to remember the dead on Shabbat… to remember the dead on Yom Kippur.”

3. Yizkor every Shabbat and on Shalosh Regalim

Rabbi Tzidkiyah ben Avraham Harofeh (Italy, 13th century), Shibolei Haleket, Inyan Shabbat, paragraph 81, ed. Buber, pp. 59-60 (Shabbat); and Seder Atzeret [=Shavuot], paragraph 239, p. 221 (Shalosh Regalim).

Rabbi Yehiel ben Yekutiel Harofeh (Italy, late 13th century), Tanya Rabbati (which is an abridged or alternate version of Shibolei Haleket), paragraph 16, Inyan Keriyat Sefer Torah Vehaftarah, ed. Baron, p. 63 (Shabbat); and end of paragraph 54, Inyan Atzeret, ed. Baron, p. 220 (Shalosh Regalim).

4. Yizkor on Yom Kippur only and not on other Festivals

Siddur Rashi, ed. Buber-Freimann, paragraph 214, p. 99 (= Mahzor Vitry, loc. cit., ed. Horvitz, paragraph 253, p. 392).

Rabbi Eleazar of Worms (Ashkenaz, 1165-1238), Sefer Harokeah, paragraph 217, p. 109.

Rabbi Yitzhak ben Moshe of Vienna (1180-1250), Or Zarua, Part 1, Laws of Charity, paragraph 10 (and cf. paragraph 26).

Rabbi Menahem ben Yosef (Northern France, 13th century), Seder Troyes, ed. Weiss, Frankfurt am Main, 1905, p. 27.

Rabbi Mordechai ben Hillel Ashkenazi (1250-1298), Mordechai at the end of Tractate Yoma, paragraph 727, and from there in Darkei Moshe Ha’arokh of the Rema on Tur Orah Hayyim 621:1, and in the Rema’s glosses on Orah Hayyim 621:6.

Rabbi Natan ben Yehudah (ca. 1300), Sefer Hamahkim, ed. Freimann, Krakow, 1909, p. 41.

Rabbi Aharon Hakohen of Lunel (Provence, ca. 1300), Orhot Hayyim, Laws of Yom Kippur, paragraph 34; and in an abbreviated form in Sefer Kol Bo, paragraph 70, ed. David Avraham, Part 4, col. 301.

Rabbi Ya’akov Weil (Ashkenaz, 1380-1460), cited in Darkei Moshe Ha’arokh on Tur Orah Hayyim 621:1 mentioned above.

Rabbi Moshe Matt (Poland, 1551-1606), Mateh Moshe, paragraph 874, ed. Knoblovich, London, 1958, pp. 271-272.

5. Yizkor on Shalosh Regalim

Rabbi Ya’akov Moelin (Maharil, Ashkenaz, ca. 1365-1427), Minhagei Maharil, Laws of Shemini Atzeret, paragraph 13, ed. Spitzer, p. 388; and cf. Seder Hakeriyah B’fesah, paragraph 13, p. 150.

6. Yizkor on Yom Kippur and on Shalosh Regalim

It is possible that the transition to this custom began with Rabbi Eleazar of Worms mentioned above. In his Laws of Yom Kippur, he wrote that memorial prayers are recited only on Yom Kippur, but in his Laws of Shavuot (paragraph 296, p. 164), he wrote: “And on all the festivals, charity is pledged when they read Kol Habekhor because it says ‘every man shall give as he is able…’ ” (Deut. 16:17). Since there was a close connection in Ashkenaz between memorial prayers and the giving of charity, this likely led to the recitation of Yizkor on the last day of all the festivals.

In any case, the combination of Yizkor on Yom Kippur and on Shalosh Regalim appears in three important Ashkenazic custom books:

Rabbi Hayyim Paltiel (13th century), ed. Goldschmidt, Mehkirei Tefillah Upiyyut, second edition, Jerusalem, 1980, p. 44 (Yom Kippur) and p. 48 (Shemini Atzeret). As Goldschmidt proved, this book is the basis of:

Rabbi Avraham Klausner (Vienna, died 1409), Sefer Minhagim, ed. Disin, Jerusalem, 1978, paragraph 38, p. 34 (Yom Kippur); paragraph 61, p. 57 (Shalosh Regalim).

Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau (Austria and Moravia, c. 1380 – c. 1449), Sefer Haminhagim, ed. Spitzer, Jerusalem, 1979, pp. 65-66 (Pesah); p. 73 (Shavuot); p. 113 (Yom Kippur); p. 136 (Shemini Atzeret).

7. Yizkor on Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and Shalosh Regalim

Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe (Prague, Italy, Poland, 1530-1612), Levush, Orah Hayyim, paragraph 284:7 (Shabbat); 490:9 (Shalosh Regalim); 621:3 (Yom Kippur); 668:2 (Shemini Atzeret); Levush, Yoreh De’ah, paragraph 347:3 (Shalosh Regalim).

8. Finally, after the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, Yizkor prayers were added to the Siddurim and Mahzorim for the martyrs of the Holocaust and for those who fell for the Sanctification of God’s Name, the people, and the land.

But the question arises: How did they recite Yizkor on Shalosh Regalim if we are commanded to rejoice on the festivals? Indeed, several Aharonim [later authorities after 1550] asked this question and provided various explanations (see three Aharonim in Freehof, p. 187; and cf. Glick, 1998, pp. 226-228). However, the interesting thing is that none of the important poskim who mentioned this custom asked this question! They saw no contradiction between reciting Yizkor for the deceased and the commandment to “rejoice on your festival.”  

Therefore, since there are Jews who have been reciting Yizkor on Shalosh Regalim from the 13th century until today, and since the majority of the Jewish people from all streams (except for the Haredim who oppose any innovation in Judaism) recite Yizkor for the martyrs of the Holocaust and for the soldiers and civilians who have been killed since 1948, there is no halakhic problem in adding Yizkor for those who were murdered on Simhat Torah 5784 and for those who have been killed in the war until today. Indeed, two versions appear in the article by Liron Keshet in Pachter, pp. 52-53, and there is a full Yizkor ceremony in memory of those who were murdered edited by Rabbi Karen Reiss Medwed on the Rabbinical Assembly website.

II. Reduce the joy of one Hakkafah during which we shall not sing or dance, or we shall sing quiet songs.

At first glance, this is a strange suggestion. After all, the entire Jewish people today sings and dances seven Hakkafot on Simhat Torah, both in the evening and in the morning, and in Israel, they even add Hakkafot Sheniyot, second Hakkafot, on the night after Simhat Torah. So how can one reduce singing or dancing?

To answer, we must briefly review the history of Simhat Torah based on the comprehensive book by Avraham Ya’ari, Toledot Hag Simhat Torah from 1964. His survey is divided into 41 chapters spanning 530 pages. Here, we will highlight only a few main points relevant to our topic.

During the Talmudic period, the Torah was completed in Israel over the course of three years, as compared to one year in Babylon (Megillah 29b). Indeed, this difference is emphasized in The Differences Between the People of the East and the Land of Israel ca. 700 CE and in the Travels of Benjamin of Tudela from 1170 (Ya’ari, pp. 15, 16). During the Geonic period, the custom developed in Babylon to celebrate Simhat Torah once a year; there was no such custom in Israel since they did not complete the Torah once a year.

During the Geonic period, there was no fixed name for the holiday (p. 20, and also Chapter 2). It was called “The Day of Blessing,” “The Second Day of Shemini Atzeret,” “The Last Yom Tov of the Festival,” and more. Ten people were called to the Torah to read V’zot Haberakhah, but they did not read from Bereishit [Genesis] (p. 21). They would incorporate a long alphabetic piyyut [liturgical poem] Asher Biglal Avot (Ya’ari, piyyut No. 235). Some used to dance while reciting the piyyutim for the Torah, but others opposed it because it is forbidden to dance on Yom Tov (Beitzah 36b; p. 24).

The name “Simhat Torah Day” is first mentioned by Rabbi Yitzhak Ibn Giyyat in Spain (ca. 1038-1089), in the generation immediately after the Geonic period (p. 29).

The custom of seven Hakkafot on Simhat Torah is an imitation of the seven Hakkafot on Hoshana Rabbah. However, the custom of seven Hakkafot on Simhat Torah was not known at all until the Kabbalists in Safed ca. 1570. (1)

In France, Ashkenaz, Provence, and Italy in the 11th-15th centuries, they used to recite Atah Horeita and many other verses in the morning, take all the Torah scrolls out of the ark, chant Ana Hashem Hoshi’ah Nah, “and walk slowly,” then place three Torah scrolls on the tower for the Torah reading, and return the other scrolls to the ark. In The Customs of the House of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg ca. 1300, it’s mentioned for the first time that a similar ceremony was also held at night (pp. 259-266). In all these descriptions of Simhat Torah, there is no mention of seven Hakkafot or of singing and dancing.

The seven Hakkafot are an innovation of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari, who lived in Safed in the years 1570-1572. His disciple, Rabbi Hayyim Vital, reports in Sha’ar Hakavanot, Jerusalem, 1873, folio 104a (pp. 266-267) that the Ari was very meticulous about doing Hakkafot with the Torah scrolls during Shacharit, Minhah, and Arvit on the night after Simhat Torah. “And I saw my teacher, of blessed memory [=the Ari], being very careful about this matter, to circle after the Torah scroll or before it or behind it, and to dance and sing before it with all his might on the night after the holiday after the Arvit prayer, and he was very particular to make seven complete Hakkafot on the day of Simhat Torah.” And on the night after the holiday, he would go from synagogue to synagogue and do the Hakkafot with them.

However, Sha’ar Hakavanot was first printed in Salonika only in 1852. Indeed, initially, the custom of the Hakkafot was not well-known. Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, the author of the Shlah, who made Aliyah to the Galilee from Ashkenaz in 1622, does not mention the custom of Hakkafot at all. The custom became known through quotations from Sha’ar Hakavanot by Rabbi Ya’akov Tzemach in Nagid U’Metzaveh, Amsterdam, 1712, and in Hemdat Hayamim, Izmir, 1731-1732. Rabbi Hayyim Hakohen of Aleppo, a prominent disciple of Rabbi Hayyim Vital, explained that they perform seven Hakkafot corresponding to the seven Hakkafot on Hoshana Rabbah (pp. 266-268).

This custom also spread thanks to emissaries from the Land of Israel. Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi and Rabbi Ya’akov Hazzan brought the custom to Modena, Italy, in 1772. The Hida, Rabbi Hayyim Yosef David Azulai, brought the custom to Livorno in 1786 and even printed the Seder Hakkafot. This Seder was printed dozens of times in a special booklet in Italy, Amsterdam, Salonika, Baghdad, and Tunis. It also significantly influenced the Hassidim in Poland (pp. 269-273).

In other words, the custom of the seven Hakkafot – like many customs of the Jewish people such as Kabbalat Shabbat, Lag Ba’omer celebrations, and many others – was created by the Ari in Safed in the years 1570-1572. However, it only began to spread in the 18th century thanks to the books Nagid U’Metzaveh and Hemdat Hayamim and thanks to the emissaries who came from the Land of Israel. In other words, it is not an ancient custom from the period of the Talmud, Geonim or Rishonim, but a custom of the Ari that only began to spread about 300 years ago.

This means that there is no halakhic obligation to sing and dance seven Hakkafot on Simhat Torah. From the Geonic period until the 18th century, for over a thousand years, Jews celebrated Simhat Torah by reciting the verses of Atah Horeita, by reciting piyyutim (see below), and by completing the Book of Deuteronomy and beginning the Book of Genesis.

Therefore, in light of the terrible disaster of Simhat Torah 5784 and in the spirit of the Baraita about Rabbi Joshua in Tractate Bava Batra, it is advisable to reduce the singing and dancing on Simhat Torah 5785. Each rabbi or Ritual Committee can decide what is appropriate for their community. One can perform one Hakkafah by reciting the piyyut Ana Hashem Hoshia Na without any additional songs, or by singing quiet songs without dancing. Rabbi Robert Scheinberg has suggested doing this in the fourth Hakkafah, while Liron Keshet has suggested doing this in the sixth Hakkafah. The main point is not to celebrate Simhat Torah as usual, but to find a way to relate to the terrible disaster that occurred one year ago.

III. Add a Kinah or Kinot [Elegy or Elegies] in the Yizkor service in memory of those who were murdered.

At first glance, this seems like a very strange suggestion. After all, Kinnot are usually recited on Tisha B’Av and similar occasions. So how can one recite Kinnot on Simhat Torah?! However, as can be learned from Avraham Ya’ari’s comprehensive book about Simhat Torah, there was a widespread tradition to lament the death of Moses on Simhat Torah since we read about his death at the end of V’Zot Haberakhah. Moreover, there were places where more Kinnot were recited for Moses than piyyutim in honor of Simhat Torah! Indeed, out of the 786 piyyutim for Simhat Torah that Ya’ari listed in Chapter 37 of his book, 77 of them – or almost 10% – are piyyutim or kinnot about the death of Moses!

Here are the facts according to Chapters 18 and 37 of Ya’ari’s book. The numbers in parentheses refer to pages in his book or to the number in his list of piyyutim.

One of the most popular piyyutim for Simhat Torah is called Asher Biglal Avot Banim Gidel Uva’avuram Torah Natan (No. 235). As mentioned above, it was already recited in Babylon during the Geonic period, not as an independent piyyut, but integrated into the Haftarah blessing. This is an ancient piyyut from Eretz Yisrael before Yannai and Kalir, long before Simhat Torah existed. The letters Tzadi to Tav of the piyyut are dedicated to the death of Moses (p. 168):

.צעקה גדולה ומרה, בשעה שאמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא עלה ומות בהר
.קרע בגדיו והרים קולו, יהושע בן נון שמר נא צאני
.ראה משה מראש הפסגה, נחלת שבטים עומדים לפניו
.שם מת משה עבד ה’, מול בית פעור אספו אלוהינו
.תפילת משה קרע רקיע, וענה צור לעמו בעת צרתם

A great and bitter cry, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Ascend and die on the mountain.”
He tore his clothes and raised his voice, Joshua son of Nun, “Guard my flock.”
Moses saw from the top of the peak, the inheritance of the tribes standing before him.
There Moses, the servant of the Lord, died, opposite Beth Pe’or, our God gathered him.
The prayer of Moses tore the heavens, and the Rock answered His people in their time of distress.

Indeed, there were places where the above-mentioned final verses were not recited because they contain an elegy about the death of Moses, but the entire piyyut was recited in Spain, France, and Ashkenaz, and it was considered the most important piyyut (pp. 168-171).

The second most important piyyut in Ashkenaz, Provence, Spain, North Africa, and Cochin in India was the piyyut Ashrecha Har Ha’avarim by Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, which is also dedicated to the death of Moses (No. 246).

According to the testimony of Rabbi Aharon Hakohen of Lunel (ca. 1300), and his “brother” Sefer Kol Bo, in Provence, piyyutim were recited after the Haftarah on the tower with the Torah scroll, “and everyone lamented the death of Moses, the master of the Prophets” (p. 172).

Avraham Ya’ari then lists nine piyyutim about the death of Moses that he found in manuscripts of the Provencal Mahzorim (p. 172). The custom of lamenting the death of Moses was preserved until recent generations in the Mahzorim of four communities in Provence. They include seven piyyutim for Simhat Torah recited after the Haftarah, two of which are Kinnot about the death of Moses, and it is stated: “The lamenters shall say” (p. 172). The two Kinnot are Galgal Hozer Besibot Arba (No. 299) and Ya’alu Al Lev Yoshvei Adama (No. 461).

In Algiers in 1775, all six piyyutim recited on Simhat Torah were Kinnot about the death of Moses (p. 173).

In Tunis in 1891, five piyyutim about the death of Moses were sung in addition to a series of joyous songs (pp. 173-174).

In Fez, Morocco, in 1889, they sang one piyyut about Simhat Torah and one piyyut about the death of Moses (p. 174).

According to the custom of the Jews of Rome from 1541, 16 Kinnot were recited – and the Mahzor calls them “Kinnot”.

In Aleppo (Aram Tzova), five piyyutim about the death of Moses were recited after the completion of the Torah, and another 18 joyous piyyutim were recited after the Haftarah (p. 175).

According to certain Tiklalim (Yemenite Siddurim) from Yemen from the years 1580-1644, 3-8 piyyutim were recited in honor of Simhat Torah, among them one piyyut about the death of Moses. According to another Tiklal from 1508, three piyyutim were recited on Simhat Torah – two about the death of Moses and one about Simhat Torah (pp. 176-177).

According to the custom of Romaniote Jews, i.e., the Jews of Byzantium, they recited one piyyut about the death of Moses and two piyyutim about Simhat Torah. In manuscripts of the Romaniote machzor, there are seven more piyyutim about the death of Moses (pp. 177-178).

In Cochin in southern India, both joyous songs and piyyutim about the death of Moses were recited (p. 178).

Even the Karaites recited piyyutim in honor of Simhat Torah, but in their Siddur printed in Crimea in 1836, it is stated: “And this Kinnah is for our Master Moses, our teacher, of blessed memory… ‘Do not hold back your tears, faithful seed, for Moses, the servant of the Lord, has been gathered’” (p. 179; and No. 130).

It is worth noting two more interesting facts in this context. Rav Hai Gaon (Babylon, died 1038) was asked about the custom of taking the Torah scroll out of its case on the last day of the festival (the name “Simhat Torah” did not exist in his time). He replied: “This is not our custom. But if it’s done in mourning in order to remember the death of Moses, it’s permitted…” (pp. 26, 172).

In modern Ashkenaz, they no longer sang Kinnot for Moses. Nevertheless, the piyyut scholar Menachem Zulay recalled in 1952 that his late father used to sit at the Simhat Torah meal in a small town in Eastern Galicia “and sing in a mournful tune the piyyut ‘Then when the humble one listened: Rise, ascend to Mount Avarim’ (No. 73), and when he reached the verse ‘Woe, woe, he cried, this ascent is a descent!’ he burst into tears and continued crying until the end of the piyyut” (p. 175).

In summary, in France, Ashkenaz, Aleppo, Yemen, and Cochin, more joyous songs for Simhat Torah were sung than Kinnot for the death of Moses; while in Provence, North Africa, and Italy, more Kinnot for the death of Moses were sung than joyous songs for Simhat Torah.

What can we learn from the above? If our ancestors lamented the death of Moses from the Geonic period until the 20th century through piyyutim and Kinnot, to the extent that in some places most or all of the piyyutim dealt with the death of Moses, how much the more so is it permissible for us to recite a Kinnah or Kinnot for the approximately 1,145 men, women, and children who were brutally murdered by evildoers on Simhat Torah 5784. The most appropriate place to include the Kinnot is within the Yizkor service. Most of the Kinnot published so far were related to Tisha B’Av, but there is still time to compose additional Kinnot related to Simhat Torah.

IV. Summary and Practical Halakhah

Rabbi Joshua stated shortly after the Destruction of the Second Temple: “My children, come and I will tell you: It is impossible not to mourn at all, as the decree has already been issued. But to mourn excessively is also impossible, as we do not impose a decree on the community unless the majority can endure it…” This approach must be kept in mind as we plan how to celebrate Simhat Torah in the year 5785.

I made three suggestions above, in addition to the Mee Sheberakh for the hostages and the chapters of Psalms:

1. Add a Yizkor prayer for those who were murdered on Simhat Torah 5784 and for those who have been killed since then in the war.
2. Reduce the joy of one Hakkafah during which we shall not sing or dance, or in which we shall sing quiet songs.
3. Add a Kinnah or Kinnot in the Yizkor service in memory of those who were murdered.

There are undoubtedly additional suggestions, but the main point is to find the balance between the traditional joy of Simhat Torah and the mourning needed to commemorate the terrible tragedy which occurred on Simhat Torah 5784.

May it be God’s will that together we will prevail and bring all of our hostages home in the near future.

David Golinkin

Jerusalem

21 Menachem Av 5784  

 Notes

1. At first glance, the Rema in Orah Hayyim 669:1 is hinting at seven Hakkafot – see the Mishnah Berurah, ibid., subparagraph 10. But Avraham Ya’ari already proved (pp. 263, 265) that the Rema, as is frequently the case, based himself on Sefer Haminhagim of Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau who described one Hakkafah around the Torah reading tower and not seven.

Bibliography

1. Suggestions as to how to commemorate the tragedy of Simhat Torah 5784 on Simhat Torah 5785

Pachter — הרב עידו פכטר, עורך, זיכרון ישראלי: הלכות, הצעות וביאור בעקבות מאורעות שבעה באוקטובר, הוצאת למעשה, 2024

Keshet — לירון קשת, שם, “זכר חרבן ותקומה”, עמ’ 64-50, כולל הצעות להקפות וליזכור

Medwed — Rabbi Karen Reiss Medwed, Yizkor for Victims of October 7, 2023 

https://files.constantcontact.com/4f1bc8ab001/1ef25413-a4c1-4fde-a626-6c9090cae33a.pdf?rdr=true

Scheinberg – Rabbi Robert Scheinberg, A Suggested Hakafah Ritual for Simhat Torah 2024/5785 

https://files.constantcontact.com/4f1bc8ab001/2285b02e-0239-459d-9363-572f39f3e7da.pdf?rdr=true

2. Yizkor

Buber — שלמה בובר בסדור רש”י, ברלין, תרע”ב, סימן רי”ד, עמ’ 99, הערה א

Eisenstein — י”ד אייזנשטיין, אוצר דינים ומנהגים, ניו יורק, 1917, עמ’ 97-96, ערך “הזכרת נשמות”

E”T — אנציקלופדיה תלמודית, כרך שמיני, ירושלים, תשי”ז, טורים תר”ג-תר”ט, ערך “הזכרת נשמות”

Freehof — Rabbi Solomon Freehof, “Hazkarath Neshamoth”, HUCA 36 (1965), pp. 179-189

Gaster — Theodor Gaster The Holy and the Profane, New York, 1955, pp. 182-195

Glick, 1991 — שמואל גליק, אור לאבל, אפרת, תשנ”א, עמ’ 147-133

Glick, 1998 — שמואל גליק, “עוד על מנהג ה’יזכור'”, סיני קכ”ב (תשנ”ח), עמ’ ר”כ-רכ”ח

Goldschmidt — דניאל גולדשמידט, מחזור לימים הנוראים, כרך ב’, יום כפור, ירושלים, תש”ל, עמ’ כ”ה-כ”ו והספרות שם

Golinkin — דוד גולינקין, “תשובה בעניין מועד ההקפות בשמחת תורה”, תשובות ועד ההלכה של כנסת הרבנים בישראל ב’ (תשמ”ז), עמ’ 27-21 ; also available at responsafortoday.com

Greenwald — הרב יקותיאל יהודה גרינוואלד, כל בו על אבלות, חלק א’, ניו יורק, תש”ז, עמ’ 404-401

Halevi — הרב חיים דוד הלוי, מקור חיים השלם, חלק ה’ פרק רצ”ב; עשה לך רב, חלק ב’, סימן ל”ד

Idelsohn — A. Z. Idelsohn, Jewish Liturgy, New York, 1932, pp. 230-232

Kasher — הרב מנחם מנדל כשר, תורה שלמה, כרך ט”ז, ניו יורק, תשי”ד, מילואים, סימן י”ט, עמ’ 259-257

Levi — Israel Levi, “La Commemoration des Ames dans le Judaisme”, REJ 29 (1894), pp. 43-60

Ta-Shema — ישראל תא-שמע, תרביץ נ”ג/ד’ (תשמ”ד), עמ’ 561, הערה 9

Tukichinsky — הרב יחיאל מיכל טוקצ’ינסקי, גשר החיים, חלק א’, ירושלים, תש”ך, עמ’ של”ה-ש”מ

3. The History of Simhat Torah

Ya’ari — אברהם יערי, תולדות חג שמחת תורה, ירושלים, תשכ”ד, תשמ”ט, 530 עמודים

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