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Virtual Simchat Torah Box

torah in ark with label "virtual simchat torah box" inscribed on door

Your Virtual Simchat Torah Box holds hand-picked resources for celebrating Simchat Torah with all of your senses.

(In 2020 Simchat Torah falls on Sunday, October 11 for communities following the Diaspora calendar, and together with Shemini Atzeret on Saturday, October 10 for communities following the Israeli calendar.) 

 

Watch: Mah Tovu

Mah tovu ohalekha / How beautiful are your tents…” Sung by Rabbis Annie Lewis and Yosef Goldman. Sourced from Ritualwell

Mah Tovu - Yosef & Annie

 

Read: Intention Upon Restarting the Annual Cycle of Torah Readings

Devon Spier offers some thoughts as we read the end of Deuteronomy and roll back the Torah to begin at the beginning of Genesis once more. Sourced from Ritualwell

five people in tallitot holding a Torah scroll rolled open to display its text

 

Watch: Blessings Before Reading the Torah in ASL

Rabbis Darby Leigh and Roni Handler demonstrate the blessings recited before the Torah reading in American Sign Language (ASL). Blessing text can be found here. Sourced from Ritualwell

Blessing Before the Torah: Rabbis Darby J Leigh & Roni Handler

 

Listen: ‘I Keep My Goodness Flowing to You’

This practice, introduced by Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, can be done as a meditation practice, as well as an intention setting for when one is in a conflictual situation with someone dear to them. Sourced from Reset. For more practices, sign up for Harvesting Resilience: 30 Days of Spiritual Practice Before the Election. Receive a daily 5-minute practice to nourish your heart, mind and spirit. Register here!

 

woman of color meditating seated in lotus position in forest

 

Read: ‘Remember Me’

This poem by Elizabeth Tragash was written for a yizkor service when we remember our loved ones. Our tradition teaches that when we inscribe them upon the pages of our memory, they live on in us. Sourced from Ritualwell

cemetery under gray skies

 

Read: Taking Down the Sukkah

In his d’var Torah, Rabbi Lewis Eron describes the emotional and spiritual process he goes through as he dismantles his sukkah and puts it away for another year at the close of the holiday season. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org

hammer lying on wooden block with nails pounded into it

 

Listen: The Dogma of Jewish Time

Abigail Pogrebin, a noted journalist, spent a year observing the major and minor Jewish holidays, and then writing about her experiences. She discusses what each holiday asks of each of us, and how the Days of Awe challenge us to consider our own mortality and think about how we will prioritize our lives and spend our time and energy. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations

collection of clocks and hourglasses

 

Listen: Dreams — Judaism’s Forgotten Practice

Rabbi Haviva Ner-David, an Orthodox feminist turned “post-denominational, interspiritual rabbi,” discusses how dreams offer each of us a tool to better understand ourselves and our world –— if we only know how to use it. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations

man in yellow shirt sleeping on grass with hands behind his head


These resources were drawn from: