Simchas Torah / Shemini Atzeres: Its Significance, Laws & Prayers: A presentation anthologized from Talmudic and Midrashic sources (Artscroll Mesorah Series)

Simchas Torah and Shemini Atzeres: Its Significance, Laws, And Prayers - A presentation anthologized from Talmudic and Midrashic sources by Rabbi Moshe Lieber Succos is the climax of the most festival-filled month in the year -- and Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah is the climax of Succos. The introspection and spiritual awakening of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Ten Days of Repentance prepare us for Succos, the time of our gladness. And then, after their seven days of joy, the Jewish people bursts forth in the ecstasy of Simchas Torah. How natural. As Sfas Emes comments, when a Jew exults, he takes his happiness and dedicates it to a higher purpose. So when the festival season has elevated the Jewish people to heights of gladness, the nation celebrates with the greatest gift human beings have ever received -- the Torah! Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah combine the intensity of Geshem (the Prayer for Rain) and Yizkor (the Memorial Prayer), with the exultation of the Hakafos, the joy