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Jewish Celebrations · Hebrew Calendar

Simchat Torah

Rejoicing in the Torah · Tishri 23 · Following Shemini Atzeret

Simchat Torah ("Rejoicing in the Torah") marks the completion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings and the immediate beginning of a new cycle. It is celebrated on Tishri 23, the day after Shemini Atzeret.

On Simchat Torah, the final portion of Deuteronomy is read, followed immediately by the opening of Genesis — demonstrating the eternal, cyclical nature of God's Word. The Torah scrolls are paraded around the synagogue in joyful procession.

As Faithful Witness Ministries emphasizes: the entire Word, Witness, Testimony and Counsel of God is to be studied in its entirety — not selectively. Simchat Torah celebrates exactly that commitment to the whole of Scripture.

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