Simchat Torah speech

On Simchat Torah we come to the end of the yearly Torah reading and then start all over again. This always seems nicely timed with the starting of uni, although i’m sure most people were far more excited about hakofas at ACH and Fishel’s party than lectures!

There is a concept in Judaism that time is circular not linear. Just like on Simchat Torah we are not going towards the end but instead each year we return back to the beginning.

I once heard Judaism described like a spiral staircase. We go round and round on the sprirals of the staircase just like the Torah completing it and starting it again each year. Except each year we aim for a higher step on the staircase. When the three of us arrived three or four years ago we were on a much lower step of the staircase in many respects. Over our time here though we have grown so much from the love and nurture we have received from this exceptional community.

ACH is a unique community. The variety of people who attend shul is unseen anywhere else and each person is growing in their own time and own way.
The concept of circular time can also be seen in the hakofas where we dance round in a circle. The Lubavitcher Rebe used to say, ’On Simchat Torah the Torah itself wants to dance but has no feet – we are lifted beyond our individual identities and become the feet of the Torah.’ No difference exists between one Jew and another. The basic commonality that links us all makes us join hands and dance together, oblivious to personal differences that could cause barriers between individuals. This may be the case in all shuls on Simchat Torah but at ACH this is the case the whole year round. Every person who comes here is as important as the next. This is not only the lesson of Simchat Torah but one you can learn from the incredible people here.

And just like there is no limit to what we can learn from the Torah and our staircase of spirituality has no end, we hope our connection here at ACH will be a long and happy one.