Tonight begins Simchat Torah, the celebration of reaching the end of reading the Torah, and then starting over again. Traditionally, the Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried or danced around the synagogue seven times. During the Torah service, the concluding section of the fifth book of the Torah, D’varim (Deuteronomy), is read, and immediately following, the opening section of Genesis, or B'reishit, is read. This practice represents the cyclical nature of the relationship between the Jewish people and the reading of the Torah.

Additionally, tonight is our Consecration service, when we recognize all of our new religious school students, Kindergarten and older.  We welcome them into our Temple Emanu-El family with our community service and blessing from the clergy, Rabbi Magat & Cantor Shafritz.