That's it. The phase of conclusions and summaries has arrived. It's time to air out the keyboard that has remained orphaned all last month. Throughout the entire last month, the month of holidays, I was forced to store my thoughts in my stomach and keep the insights I gained to myself.
And it really wasn't easy.
Humans are social creatures. They are naturally inclined to share and participate, to grumble, to defend, to criticize, and to vomit out all the accumulated judgment and criticism. So the holidays piled up mountains of experiences and reflections for me, most of which you won't read in this column.
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On the eve of Shabbat Bereishit, I find myself gathering inside, into my home, where I have been staying for the past month, and pondering how I will create another large-family Shabbat with original food, unique presentation, and pleasant and inviting hospitality.
I too feel the slight sense of sadness at the end of a month filled with holidays and smell the scent of the new beginning that awaits beyond the upcoming Shabbat.
The verse "And Jacob went his way" rings in my ears in the deep voice of my father, peace be upon him. I remember him returning from the synagogue at the end of Simchat Torah, after having been there all day, after the alcohol in his blood had completely dissipated and was replaced by the solemn atmosphere of the rain prayer and the never-ending chain of aliyat, which came after long hours of Hasidic gatherings and endless dancing.
Father would finish the havdalah and announce loudly, "And Jacob went his way!".
This is it. "In Haider Aren." Returning to Haider. Returning to routine. Each to his corner, to his mission, to the place where he must operate throughout the year with the forces he has accumulated during the long month of holidays.
Joys in the Holy Torah
The Lubavitcher Rebbe also made sure to mention us – the women – on Simchat Torah, when he taught the work order of "And Jacob went his way" after the holidays.
The Rebbe mentioned the Mishnah in Tractate Taanit: "There were no good days for Israel... and Yom Kippur." The Rebbe mentioned the fact that Simchat Torah is the holiday that concludes Yom Kippur and the fact that these holidays belong to the daughters of Israel (and the daughters of Jerusalem) who rejoice in the "crown that his mother adorned him with on the day of his wedding," is the day of the giving of the Torah, and there is no better way than Simchat Torah to remind us of the joy of the daughters of Israel in the Torah.
Those responsible for the second circumambulations at the Beit Menachem synagogue in Kfar Chabad, which is attended by thousands of Jews from all walks of life, also took extra care this year to highlight the place of women in the great joy - the joy of the Torah - and allocated them a large space (well, anyway, the strollers and babies are always on us) either with the help of the women or in the Frenches that were set up next to the walls of the synagogue.
I wasn't surprised to see hundreds of girls dancing in the sterile, enclosed space assigned to them outside the synagogue as if they were celebrating their wedding day with their bride-to-be friend.
I was not surprised to see in their eyes the great joy in the Torah that belongs to the entire people of Israel, men, women, and children. "The daughters of Zion looked and saw King Solomon, with the crown that his mother had given him on the day of his wedding and on the day of the joy of his heart.".
His wedding day is the giving of the Torah, and the day of his heart's joy is the building of the Temple soon in our day, Amen, and both are interconnected because the study and observance of the Holy Torah will bring us true and complete redemption and the building of the Third Temple.
Yes. The joy of Torah also belongs to the daughters and women of Israel. It is not the exclusive domain of men who are obligated to study Torah.
Strength to get going
That's it. It's over. The holidays of Tishrei have passed and we are entering the routine of the weekdays of the year, not before God, in His great goodness and grace, gives us another holy day – Shabbat in Genesis.
As mentioned, in Chabad, at the end of Simchat Torah, they used to proclaim the verse "And Jacob went his way," to remind everyone that the joy, the prayers, the supplications, and the forgiveness are intended to give us the strength to move on, to return to our daily routine with the intention of moving forward, to the path of a holy life that illuminates even the weekdays with the light of the month of holidays.
This instruction also applies to everyone. Even to women and children. Women should take from this month the reflection on the responsibility assigned to them by God - to bring warmth, light, and true joy into their homes, so that the home will be a happy Jewish home in the joy of Torah.
It goes without saying that the woman is the "mistress of the house" and for good reason, because she is the essence and foundation of the home and has the power to bring divine blessing to it.
I wish you and all readers a year of holiness, joy and happiness in both physical and spiritual ways, a year of increasing Torah study and observance of the mitzvot, each according to their abilities.
Jacob went on his way and immediately met the angels of God ("And the angels of God met him"). You too, after a month of holiness and joy, set out on your way, for the tasks of the year that has just begun. Healthy winter. A Geisunter Winter!
• The writer is the owner of "My Choice", an event host, lecturer and radio broadcaster: [email protected]
