The cycles of life: Simchat Torah – closing a cycle, starting another

By: Eran Glazer

Simchat Torah: How Each Generation Interprets and Sees Every Holiday and Festival Differently 

Simchat Torah is a Jewish holiday that marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah reading and the beginning of a new cycle. On this day, the final portion of the Torah, Parashat V'Zot HaBerachah ("And this is the blessing" - Deuteronomy chapters 33 and 34), is read, followed immediately by the beginning of the first portion of the Jewish calendar, Parashat Bereshit ("In the Beginning" – Genesis chapters 1 through 6:8).

In human life, there is a sense of circularity that is not necessarily routine, especially when it comes to the Bible. Since October 2023, the Bible has taken on a tangible dimension, as if it were written today.

As a child, the holiday was an exciting family event for me. I would go to the synagogue with my grandfather, and this day was always wrapped in reverence, as my grandfather treated it with great respect.

In the Diaspora, the holiday was always celebrated as if redemption would come tomorrow. People prayed with the sense that the entire Jewish community worldwide was dreaming of a new beginning in the Holy Land.

Here in Eretz Israel, my mother would dress me in white clothes, and my grandmother would buy me a flag adorned with an illustration of the Torah scroll. How eagerly I awaited going to the synagogue with my grandfather! It was emotional to see him tear up as he stood and prayed with such excitement. In the Land of Israel, with the atrocities of the Nazis behind him, standing with his grandson, it felt as though he had defeated evil by closing a cycle and beginning the Torah reading anew.

This past year, we shed many tears for those who were kidnapped from their beds. We cried for the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives, for the mothers and fathers who witnessed the worst. We prayed daily, crying out to G-d to free us from the cycle of suffering, hatred, and fear.

Since October 7, 2023, an entire generation of Jews here in the Promised Land has lived with a feeling similar to what my grandfather experienced for many years in Europe, but with one difference: we live knowing that the Jewish people were not destroyed back then. This past year, no oppressor has been born who can defeat us or G-d, who promised us this land. Despite the horrors and tears, we knew that by the end of this cycle, we would survive, grow, and thrive.

At the National Leadership Center, I witnessed different cycles of beginnings and continuity between generations. Recently, an army officer came to us with his soldiers, straight from the fighting in Gaza. He stood before them, his voice full of authority, and said:

"Today, I am closing a cycle and opening a new one. I am closing the cycle for myself, as I was once a high school student who didn’t know my purpose. I came here to the National Leadership Center, and when I climbed the 'Leap of Faith' pillar, I knew that King David was the figure I looked up to. I knew I would be the protector of Israel. I knew that G-d would send me to defend the people of Israel. And today, I stand here, closing a cycle and opening a new one for you. You fought like lions in recent months, and today is for you and because of you. Take the Leap of Faith, like me, to a personal place. Look to the heavens and decide on the new cycle in which you will lead the future."

I stood to the side with tears in my eyes, full of admiration. This man was a source of inspiration for his soldiers, who were thinking, "How can I be like the commander, and how will I lead a new cycle of life?"

In our parent-teen program, I also see the cycles of life, where many parents desire to strengthen the bond between generations. This was evident during a workshop for widows and orphans who had lost their most precious loved ones and were focused solely on survival.

Following their journey on the Odyssey course, they understood that G-d had commanded Abraham, "Lech Lecha" (Go forth). First and foremost, Abraham embarked on a personal, internal, and spiritual journey.

I saw the children, who for the first time allowed themselves to look their parents in the eye and ask, "Why? Why did bereavement come into our home?" The mother looked into her child’s eyes, tears streaming down her face, and said, "I don’t have a good answer, but there is nothing in the world I love more than you. Let’s decide that G-d sent us on a life journey where we open a new cycle. We will not forget the dead, but we will focus on the living."

At the National Leadership Center, cycles of life open and close. I see cycles of strength and power, and as some close, new ones begin.

The Torah is the book of the cycle of life, and the Jews living in the Land of Israel preserve the memory while opening new cycles of life. G-d promised us this land and chose us from all nations, and we are committed to continue.

This year will be a day when we cry for our dead, but my prayer is that we will focus on strengthening our faith.

Our work at the National Leadership Center builds and nurtures the future generation of leaders who know their purpose in life, are connected to their roots, and whose hearts are full of burning faith.

At the end of the final Torah portion reading, it is customary to say aloud, "Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek" – Be strong, be strong, and we will be strengthened.

CHAZAK, CHAZAK, V'NITCHAZEK