The holiday of Simchat Torah & Shmini Atzeret , beginning at sundown on Oct. 6, comes on the last day of the weeklong Sukkot festivities. The staff of IsraelNationalNews wishes its readers a happy Simchat Torah & Shmini Atzeret holiday, during which there will no news reports. The next news update will appear on Friday, October 8th.

On this holiday, the last portion of the Torah (Five books of Moses) is read, and synagogues immediately begin the reading from the very beginning again to show that the Torah is beloved to us and never ending. In synagogues around the world, all the Torah scrolls are taken from the Ark and carried in a parade around the synagogue seven times. The Jewish people rejoice, sing and dance with the Torahs, for the reestablishment of the covenant with the Torah as a groom rejoices with his bride.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 7th, 2004 and is filed under news.