(RNS) — Jewish life was nearly extinguished by the Nazis. But because of a historical quirk, Czech Jewish liturgical objects, such as Torah scrolls, survived. Now, one such scroll has made it back.

Consequently, Simchat Torah, the most joyful day on the Jewish calendar, is now intrinsically connected to one of the darkest days in modern Jewish history. This month marks the first Simchat Torah ...

Reading can cause many different emotions. For some people, beginning a new book produces excitement about where the narrative will take them. Then there’s the pleasure of the plot itself, watching ...

"This Simchat Torah, we will dance again." That refrain was echoed coast-to-coast by American Jews on Monday, Oct. 13, as they prepared to celebrate one of their faith's most joyous holidays following ...

(JTA) — How are we supposed to celebrate Simchat Torah this year with a full heart? The very name of this holiday — “the joy of the Torah,” celebrating the completion of the annual Torah cycle — ...

How is it possible to commemorate the darkest event in Israeli history on the most joyful day of the Jewish year? This is not a rhetorical question. The massacre of Oct. 7 happened last year on the ...

(JTA) — For the last dozen years, an array of synagogues from multiple denominations have gathered together in a central location in Brooklyn to sing and dance with the Torah, the centerpiece of ...

Simchat Torah’s unique reading arrangement and the joyousness of the occasion gave rise to the practice of honoring communal figures by having them chant the major readings. Ashkenazic communities ...

What would you do if invited to participate in the unrolling of a 100-foot Torah scroll and an Israeli-style dinner at a synagogue? Don't know about you, but I eagerly accepted the invitation from ...

This history of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, a thriving synagogue for gays and lesbians in New York City that is the most influential of its kind, begins with an ad in The Village Voice offering ...

When we were kids growing up in a suburb of Boston, my brother Richie and I looked forward to competing with each other on an unusual level. It was with the song our father sang at our yom tov meals, ...