Enhance fall festivities with Jewish visit online

Sunday night marks the start of the seventh day of Sukkot, which is called Hoshanah Rabbah, a time when prayers for salvation are recited frequently. The Hebrew word hoshanah means "please save." Virtual Jerusalem offers an explanation at http://207.168.91.4/vjholidays/sukkot/simchat.htm

For a very interesting article on how the word hosanna found its way into the English language, see Eliezer Siegel's essay at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/930929_Hosanna.html

Although Hoshanah Rabbah is considered a special day, it does not share the same work prohibitions as other Jewish holidays. That's why you can watch an online video taken of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach as he conducted a two-hour Hoshanah Rabbah service at New York City's Congregation Kehilath Jacob. It's at http://www.613.org/video.html

One of the central traditions of the day is the striking of the floor with five willow branches. According to the Virtual Jerusalem site, the reason for this tradition is mystical and "hidden to all but a few." But that hasn't stopped the folks at Ohr Somayach from giving us a Top Ten List of the wrong reasons for hitting hoshanas (willow branches) on the floor, at http://www.ohr.org.il/judaism/humor/top10/hoshana.htm

A sampling: "to punish the floor," "to punish the synagogue janitor," "because speaking to the floor isn't giving us water," "because hitting out heads against the floor is too painful."

From there we move on to Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, celebrated for one day in Israel and by Reform Jews, and for two days by others. Considered a separate holiday from Sukkot, it marks the annual completion of the reading of the Torah and the celebration of its start with the story of Beresheet. Project Genesis' Torah.org site gives an explanation at http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/sukkos

Surely one of the holiday's highlights for any child is dancing around the Torah while waving a flag -- maybe even adorned by an apple. If you want help making your own flag, you'll find instructions at the UAHC Jewish Parent Page, http:uahc.org/educate/parent/0303.html

Of course, the holiday is best known as the time of endings and beginnings. According to "Succoth and the Festival Cycle" at InnerNet magazine -- http://www.innernet.org.il/archives/succot.htm -- Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah represents two climaxes in the Jewish calendar. It comes at the end of the holiday season, which begins in the month of Elul and continues through Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. And it also marks the end of the harvest season, which began with Passover in the spring.

Just as Simchat Torah is a time of renewal for the Torah, it can also mark a time of rediscovery as Ruth Britton found when she celebrated the holiday with the tiny Jewish community of Malta, http://www.jflmail.com/oldarticles/2550.html

For Norman Salsitz, a chance visit to the Bobover Chassidic community of Boro Park on Simchat Torah brought back memories of a heroic deed done a world away. During World War II, Salsitz had disguised his Jewish identity and was able to become a Polish state security officer known as Tadeusz Zaleski. Through his secret actions, "Zaleski" was able to save the lives of two Jewish boys. But Zaleski/Salsitz's heroism was never acknowledged until he entered that synagogue on that fateful Simchat Torah. His story is at http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0798/zaleski1.asp

After the holiday winds down, you are faced with the task of taking down your sukkah while trying to remember just how you were able to fit it into your garage last year. According to Ohr Somayach's Ask the Rabbi -- http://www.ohr.edu/ask/ask100.htm#Q1 -- holy items such as Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot should be buried, while old sukkah wood should be burned, perhaps with your chametz or placed in your fireplace for a Shabbat fire. The site points out that it is disrespectful to merely throw items of holiness in the garbage.

Chag sameach.